If you’ve ever wished your morning workout felt more like a festival than a slog, Brisbane Festival has just delivered your dream event in partnership with Fitstop. This September, the city’s iconic riverfront is transforming into a sunrise playground where cardio meets community, and sweat meets celebration.

Run The River Run Club isn’t your standard Saturday jog. Imagine this: you lace up at dawn, join a crowd of hundreds on the South Bank Cultural Centre Forecourt, and take off on a 6km loop framed by Brisbane’s most scenic backdrops. But this is no ordinary fun run – it’s part moving party, part morning rave.

As you weave through the Botanic Gardens and under Craig & Karl’s dazzling new bridge installation, live beats keep the pace high, the energy electric, and the Instagram content flowing. By the time you hit the finish line at Kangaroo Point cliffs and loop back to South Bank, a live DJ is waiting to turn post-run endorphins into a riverside dance floor.

It’s fitness reimagined – the kind of event where PB-chasers and vibe-hunters share the same path. With supporting partners like LSKD, Dr Hydrate, and Wolff Coffee Roasters fuelling the fun with free samples and giveaways, your reward is as much about fresh brews as it is about finish times.

Think of the sunrise dance parties filling your social feeds – DJs taking over cafés and warehouses – but now, stretched along the Brisbane River with sneakers instead of stilettos. Whether you’re sprinting, strolling, or stopping for selfies, Run The River proves that the best way to start a festival day is with a little movement and a lot of music.

Brisbane Festival has always been about celebrating the city in unexpected ways. This year, sneakers and sweatbands are your ticket to the most Instagrammable morning of the season. Because sometimes the best stage isn’t under the lights – it’s by the river, just after sunrise.