Consumers are swapping hedonism for health as the growth of the fitness festival continues
Consumers, it seems, are swapping hangovers for healthy highs as a new type of entertainment – the fitness festival – replaces the traditional party-till-you-puke approach.
“The truth is,” says Theo Larn-Jones, founder of Love Trails Festival powered by Garmin (lovetrailsfestival.co.uk) “hangovers just aren’t so fun anymore. It turns out the endorphin rush from a trail run can replace the other kinds of highs people used to chase at festivals.”
Love Trails takes place on Gower, Swansea in the third week of July, and offers punters a mash-up of running events alongside music acts to be found on the regular festival circuit.
We caught up with Theo to find out what’s driving the fitness festival, why Love Trails works and what consumers can expect to find.
Men’s Fitness: What is driving the move to more fitness-focused festivals?
Theo Larn-Jones: I think it’s driven by a real cultural shift in what people want from their weekends. Basically, it taps into a desire—especially among younger people in their 20s and 30s—to live fuller, healthier lives and feel good.
I’m part of that group myself: we still want to go to festivals and party, but we don’t necessarily want to get totally messed up in the process.
People have a much greater awareness of their mental and physical well-being, and they want to do things that feel good for body and soul.
Festivals that incorporate fitness or wellness let us have the best of both worlds – an epic party experience and an uplifting, healthy adventure.
In my view, that’s why we’re seeing fitness-focused festivals take off: folks are realising you can have just as much fun dancing at midnight as you did before, but now you wake up the next day ready for a hike or a run rather than nursing a hangover.
It’s a long-term shift toward valuing how we feel, not just during the festival but after it too, and that’s powerful.
Men’s Fitness: Is there a typical consumer that is attending, or a particular age group?
Theo Larn-Jones: When we first started, I honestly thought it would just be my friends – basically avid runners in their twenties who also loved music festivals. And yes, a big part of our community is in their mid-20s to 30s.
But one of the coolest surprises has been how broad the audience is now. It turns out the love of adventure and good music doesn’t have an age limit.
We’ve got university students in their late teens or early twenties discovering trail running for the first time, and we’ve got people in their 40s and 50s treating Love Trails as a healthy escape from the daily grind.
I’ve even seen parents bring their teenagers along. It’s really less about a specific age and more about a mindset.
If you’re the kind of person who’s up for running through beautiful landscapes by day and dancing under the stars at night, you’ll fit right in – whether you’re 21 or 51. We’ve always put a big emphasis on inclusivity and making this festival open to all fitness levels.
You don’t have to be an ultramarathoner or a trail junkie to enjoy it. In the morning you might find yourself jogging next to a first-time 5K runner, and later you’re swapping stories with an ultra-runner who’s done 50-mile races. That mix is part of the magic.
Men’s Fitness: The music festival market seems saturated. Is this an opportunity for unique festivals like Love Trails?
Theo Larn-Jones: Absolutely. In fact, I’d say the saturation of the traditional music festival scene creates the opportunity for festivals like Love Trails.
When every other weekend there’s a cookie-cutter festival with the same big headliners and the usual camping setup, people start looking for something new.
We never set out to compete with the giant mainstream festivals – instead, we offered something unique, a twist that made people go “wait, a running and music festival? That sounds different.” And it worked because there was this pent-up demand for a fresh experience.
We were the first festival to really combine running and music in this way, and at the beginning it felt like a bit of a crazy idea, a niche within a niche. But we quickly noticed that we were on the leading edge of a trend, and now other festivals and groups are picking up on it.
Even the big-name events have started adding wellness or fitness elements (ED: Joe Wicks took to the stage at Glastonbury) which to me is proof that attendees crave more than just bands and beer.
So yes, the market may be saturated if you’re doing what everyone else is doing, but if you have a clear identity and offer something genuinely different, you will find your tribe
Men’s Fitness: What is the USP (unique selling proposition) of Love Trails?
Theo Larn-Jones: The unique thing about Love Trails is that it truly blends two worlds that a lot of people never thought could go together: a trail running adventure and a music festival.
We give equal weight to both sides – the running and the partying are on the same level – and have leaned in much harder to hiking and other programming like talks and workshops, yoga, films, and more so there’s something for everyone.
It’s not like a marathon that just happens to have a DJ at the finish, and it’s not a music festival that throws in a token morning yoga session.
At Love Trails, you might spend the day running to a wild sea-swim or along a stunning coastal path, and that evening you’re watching one of your favorite bands or DJs on stage, dancing with a cold drink in hand.
In fact, it’s the only event where you can run a half marathon in the morning and then catch a DJ set from an artist who was playing Glastonbury the week before.
No traditional running event offers a proper festival lineup like that, and no traditional festival gets you out into nature running trails. That combination is our DNA.
It creates this incredible feedback loop of energy – you run and hike all day, you get that runner’s high, and then you ride that high straight into dancing and celebration at night.
Beyond the run-and-party mix, I’d say our USP is also the community and the sense of adventure we foster. There’s a spirit of camaraderie at Love Trails that I haven’t experienced anywhere else.
During the day on the trails, everyone’s cheering each other on – it’s not a competitive race, it’s about exploring together. Then at night, you’re all in front of the stage, singing along and sharing this euphoria that you earned together out on the hills. That creates a bond. People come as strangers and leave as friends.
Men’s Fitness: What can visitors expect from this year’s event?
Theo Larn-Jones: This year is going to be our biggest adventure yet. For the 2025 UK festival, attendees can expect an epic four-day celebration of movement, music and outdoor adventure on the wild coast of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales.
We’re pulling out all the stops. For starters, we have our biggest music lineup ever for 2025 – without giving away all the names, I can say there will be an exhilarating mix of live bands and DJs across multiple stages, from legendary acts you might know to up-and-coming artists you’ll be glad you discovered.
Every night is going to be a party, whether you’re into high-energy dance sets or a chilled acoustic campfire session. During the day, as always, there’ll be a packed menu of trail runs and hikes.
We’re talking everything from a casual 5K scenic jog to challenging 16K , 27K or even ultramarathon routes for those who want to push themselves. All of them are optional and guided, so you can choose your own adventure.
And of course, there’ll be yoga classes, wellness workshops, inspirational talks, and all those extras that make the weekend well-rounded.
On top of the flagship festival in the UK, 2025 is a landmark year for us because we’re expanding beyond home turf. We just hosted our first ever Off-Season event in the French Alps, which was incredible.
We’re also launching our first international Love Trails festival in Croatia. From 30th Sept to 5th Oct 2025, we’re heading to Baška on the stunning island of Krk in Croatia. Visitors to that event can expect the Love Trails experience with a Mediterranean twist – think epic coastal trail runs with views of crystal-clear Adriatic waters.
This year we’re also hinting at more destination-based experiences in the pipeline, which I can’t fully reveal yet, but the idea is to keep exploring new ways and places to bring people together through running and music.
If you come along, be ready to make some amazing memories (and probably leave with sore legs and a full heart!). In short: expect the unexpected, and expect to leave inspired and energised.
