Half run, half music festival, all fun: Join the gravel running movement, where performance meets community
Gravelanza Los Angeles is October 3 in Griffith Park. (Photo: Salomon)
Published September 18, 2026 11:11AM
When the first Olympics were held in Greece more than 2,500 years ago, the running event was short, about 200 yards, and most likely it was held on some kind of gravel surface. The sport has evolved in all types of wonderful ways since then, but one thing has not: Running on gravel is still great.
Discovering this for yourself is one reason to join Gravelanza, an all-new running event in Los Angeles debuting on October 3. But what makes this gravel running movement so special is that it’s more than just running. Much more. It’s where performance meets community, surrounded by a festival vibe.
GravelanzaEsther B Studio
It starts with the location. The course is in LA’s iconic Griffith Park, with big views across greater Los Angeles. The park, set in the Santa Monica Mountains, mixes city and wild like nowhere else. And with a high point of 1,625 feet above sea level, there’s plenty of elevation to get your heart rate up.
The five-mile individual race traverses a hilly, mixed-surface route, perfect for gravel running. The single lap includes 864 feet of climbing, views galore, and full immersion in the park’s sage and oak woodlands. Go for the fresh air and good vibes, go for the overall win, or go for a Master of the Mountain prize for fastest time over a defined segment.
Joining with friends? Put a team together for the Gravelanza Run Crew Battle. In this event, mixed-gender teams of six take on a 1.6-mile lap (the total time of all members of your crew creates your finishing time). The cross-country style scoring culminates in a final head-to-head race between the top three teams.
Enjoy live music from start to finish, with a headline act playing the post-race celebration and awards ceremony. The whole event revolves around a festival hub, with a Salomon shoe charms bar, tattoo artists, food and drink stands, and more.
Bonus run: The whole thing kicks off on Friday, October 2, the day before the race, with the Salomon Shake Out Run. Pick up your bib at Fleet Feet in Burbank and join a collective 3.1-mile evening run to get ready for the main event.
Space is limited. Learn more and register here.
Salomon is the modern mountain sports lifestyle brand creating innovative, premium, and authentic footwear, apparel, and winter sports equipment in the French Alps. At the Annecy Design Center, designers, engineers, and athletes intersect to shape the future of sports and culture. At Salomon, we exist to unleash the best in people through mountain sports.
