The Running Fence Run: A Run of Freedom Celebrating Christo's 1976 "Running Fence”

The Running Fence Run: A Run of Freedom

Artist Christo fled the Soviet-bloc in 1957 to seek freedom in the West. Becoming internationally-renowned, he realized the American Dream, an undocumented immigrant obtaining U.S. citizenship, and completing his audacious Running Fence in America's Bicentennial. The Running Fence was a 24.5-mile-long fabric curtain temporarily installed for two weeks in September 1976. The Running Fence, like the original marathon run of 490 BCE, delivered a message of freedom. It's 24.5-mile-length evokes the 1896 Olympic marathon in Athens, lengthened to 26.2-miles for the London Olympics of 1908. The marathon event celebrates Pheidippides, the ancient herald who ran to the young democracy of Athens from Marathon with news of victory — their outnumbered citizen army defeated the Persian Empire’s best trained warriors. The victory at Marathon ensured the survival of democracy, which later inspired America’s own revolution for independence. Christo’s Running Fence carried a similar message: that freedom, like a long run, demands endurance, courage, and the willingness to go the distance.

The Art and Meaning Behind the Fence

Unlike the socialist-realism Christo studied in communist Bulgaria, agit-prop art promoting happy workers and the superiority of the authoritarian state, the Running Fence was not required to have meaning. Christo and Jeanne-Claude self-funded all of their projects, answering to no one. Once winning permission to install the Running Fence across the California hills, the work stood entirely on its own terms: a 24.5-mile ribbon of fabric answering only to the wind.

Celebrating Historic Dates

The Running Fence Run celebrates freedom on September 12th, the historic date of the run from the Battle of Marathon, and the 50th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s legendary landscape installation across the hills of Sonoma and Marin counties.

Key Connections and Challenges

Christo conceived of the Running Fence in October 1972, following American Frank Shorter's graceful marathon victory at the Munich Olympics. The "Running Fence" was controversial requiring years of public debate before installation permits were approved. The Running Fence - Watson School Historic Park memorializes the project. Runner's World magazine revealed another key running connection: Bob Urie, who supplied fabric for Christo's projects, was both a marathon runner and an organizer of the 1976 New York City Marathon. Despite critical dismissal of the Running Fence at the time as being "meaningless", it embodied themes of running and the democratic freedoms that originated in ancient Athens. Christo, having fled Soviet-bloc oppression, characterized his creation as "a scream of freedom."

Join Us in 2026

2026, on September 12, Runners return to the beautiful Sonoma County rural landscape of Running Fence to celebrate:

• 50th Anniversary: The 50th anniversary of Christo & Jeanne-Claude’s "Running Fence" exhibited in 1976 from September 10th - 21st.
• Battle of Marathon: The 2,516th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon - September 12, 490 BC.

Choose your distance, 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, or modern 26.2 Mile Marathon, and challenge yourself while supporting great causes.

Visit the Museum of Sonoma County's Christo exhibition:

For more information, visit The Running Fence Run.