Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen is taking on a new role in 2026, race director.
The Norwegian star announced this week that he and his brothers, Filip and Henrik, will launch RUNFEST, a three-day running festival in their hometown of Sandnes from September 24–26 next year.
Billed as a “celebration of the joy of running”, the event will feature distances from the 1,500m, a nod to Ingebrigtsen’s signature event, to a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon. The aim is to bring together both elite athletes and recreational runners in the same weekend.
“This is a dream that my brothers and I have had for a long time,” Ingebrigtsen said. “It will be a street running festival and a public festival where the world’s best runners are part of the show, but where everyone can participate.”
RUNFEST will also go beyond racing.
Organisers are planning a professional conference with lectures and panel discussions on health, motivation, innovation, and social responsibility in sport, led by well-known fitness communicator Yngvar Andersen.
In the city itself, visitors can expect concerts, street food, art, and other activities, along with an after-run party featuring DJs and social spaces for runners and spectators. Registration opens on September 26, 2025, at 10 a.m.
The move into event organisation comes during a frustrating year for Ingebrigtsen.
The 24-year-old has been sidelined for most of the outdoor season with an Achilles injury sustained last fall, missing major Diamond League meets in Silesia and Brussels.
His last race was at the World Indoor Championships in March, where he won gold in both the 1,500m and 3,000m. While he still hopes to compete at next month’s World Championships in Tokyo, his participation, and whether he will attempt both the 1,500m and 5,000m, remains uncertain.
In the meantime, he has been finding other ways to stay involved in the sport. Earlier this summer, the brothers launched the Spring Run Club, an online community for runners of all levels.
RUNFEST appears to be the next step in that mission, turning Sandnes into a late-September hub for both world-class competition and grassroots participation.
If successful, it could join the growing trend of athlete-led events that blend elite racing with community-focused programming, something Ingebrigtsen hopes will inspire more people to lace up their running shoes.
“Running has given me so much,” he said. “I hope we can create a race in Sandnes that runners from all over the world talk about and want to be part of.”
