Every year, thousands of Oslo residents and visitors come together to take part in Norway's biggest pub crawl – the Tom Waits Run. This tradition-rich relay run, first held in 1999, has grown into a beloved event in the Gamle Oslo district. With its name borrowed from the American blues and roots singer Tom Waits, the run is a tribute to his distinctive, "brown-bar" style and the informal, inclusive atmosphere that defines the event.
What is the Tom Waits Run?
The Tom Waits Run is a pub-to-pub run that isn't about fast times or sporting performance. The main focus is being social and having fun – with no judgement if you choose to sit down at a pub along the way. As the event's own tagline puts it: "Ingen skam i å være sist" – there's no shame in being last. The run is designed as an alternative to the more performance-focused races, letting participants enjoy both music and beer without any pressure to "finish" the route.
Where the idea came from
The Tom Waits Run was created as an informal, unpretentious counterpart to the Grete Waitz Run – Norway's huge women's fitness race, now rebranded as "Vårspranget" – aiming to strip away the performance anxiety and sporting seriousness that traditional running events carry, and replace it with community and music instead. Naming it after Tom Waits was a deliberate joke on his reputation for a rough, unpolished, "brown" sound and persona, matching the unpretentious brown pubs the route runs through.
The official route: "Fra ruin til Fiasco"
Participants following the traditional official route start at the pubs near Minneparken (also known as Ruinparken) in southeast Oslo, wind through the bars and pubs of Grønland, and finish at Café Fiasco closer to the city centre – a route that gave the event its motto: "Fra ruin til Fiasco!" ("From ruin to Fiasco!"). In more recent years the starting point has shifted to Klosterenga café and bar on Schweigaardsgate 60B, with the full route only announced on the day itself, following tradition.
Tradition and atmosphere
Live music provides the extra atmosphere along the way, with local acts – the Oslo band Blow, known for playing Tom Waits covers, has been a recurring fixture on the route in recent years. Community and cosiness are the focus, and sharing the experience with friends and strangers is what makes the Tom Waits Run unique.
Taking part and signing up
One of the most appealing aspects of the Tom Waits Run is that it's completely free to take part. There's no requirement to register in order to show up and enjoy the event. Even so, the organisers typically offer the chance to order an official T-shirt in advance – a great way to remember the day, and one that often becomes a sought-after collector's item among participants. The shirts are usually sold in limited numbers, so it pays to secure one in good time if it's offered that year.
It's not just an Oslo thing anymore
The format has spread well beyond the capital. Spin-off versions of the Tom Waits Run have been held in Kristiansand since 2003, in Tønsberg and Trondheim since 2010, on Sortland since 2014, and in Stavanger since 2016, with more recent editions also popping up in Risør and Haugesund. Each city organises its own version and route, though Oslo's is still considered the original and the largest.
An alternative for everyone
The event is open to everyone – whether you're a keen runner, a pub-going music lover, or just want to join in an informal and fun celebration. Participants often jokingly call themselves "losers" (or in Norwegian, referring to themselves as coming in dead last), which underlines that the main goal is to have fun together, and not necessarily to win.