5 km Races in Valais

The 5 km is the ideal gateway to sporty Valais: a few kilometers in the Rhône valley, a bib number, and you already feel like you've climbed a small summit 🌞. Between Sion, Martigny and Monthey, the courses stay flat and accessible. A 5 km in Valais can be run with family, with friends, or with a stopwatch in mind, without any marathoner's training. Children are welcome at several starts, for a relaxed atmosphere.

Conditions are favorable for a good part of the year. The Rhône plain wakes up early, with its apricot trees in bloom from March, while the high-altitude villages stay cool in July and August 🌸. Morning starts avoid the peak heat, and the shaded slopes offer welcome relief to summer runners. The first fine days of March are enough to kick-start the season. Autumn, mild and bright, is perfect for relaxed outings.

The 5 km race calendar is centered on three major events. In May, the Marathon des terroirs du Valais BCVS, in Martigny, offers its short version in the middle of a costume party 🎭. In Sion, the Running du Valais brings together 5 km and 10 km enthusiasts at the end of July. In Monthey, La Montheysanne invites women to run in August for a good cause, in a warm atmosphere. To aim higher afterwards, the 10 km races in Valais are already waiting.

Valais is also the land of the Grand St Bernard pass, where monks have been raising the famous rescue dogs for centuries 🐕. No need for a dog here: Valais 5 km races are best run with kids and friends. Pick your 5 km, put on light clothes and enjoy a human-scale race, followed by a nice piece of cheese.