The Blue Blaze Festival – Run, Hike & Backpack on the Buckeye Trail
The Blue Blaze Festival is a celebration of Ohio's Buckeye Trail in conjunction with National Public Lands Day. Whether you are a trail runner, hiker, or would like to learn more about backpacking you are welcome to be a part of our celebration of the Buckeye Trail (BT). Join us for the 2026 Blue Blaze Festival and explore the diversity and beauty of the outdoors. This year we will be joining forces with Destination Shawnee, the Tecumseh Theater and outdoor recreational organizations to bring together runners, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to the Village of Shawnee. This section of the Buckeye Trail, in the Wayne National Forest, is mostly single-track trail and provides some very challenging terrain. The Blue Blaze Festival will be highlighting the BT as an outdoor destination for running, hiking and backpacking, plus all of the excitement happening in the historic Village of Shawnee.
There is a trail experience and distance right for you: Half Marathon (13.1 miles), 10K, 5K run/walk, 10 Mile Hike and an overnight Backpacking trek. All events are on the Buckeye Trail in the Wayne National Forest.
Running Events – Half Marathon, 10K and 5K
9:00am Half Marathon and 10K, 9:15am 5K start.
All running events are chip timed with live results posted.
Hiking the Buckeye Trail
The 10-Mile Hike will start and finish in Shawnee with hikers following the Blue Blazes of the Buckeye Trail. The hike starts 1 hour before the running events. The 2026 Hike was designed by the Little Cities of the Forest Chapter of the BTA. A guide to historical sites will be provided to participants.