Dunkirk: Dynamorun 2023 Review

For the second time, I participated in the Dynamorun running event that took place in the port city of Dunkirk in Northern France. Should you do it next year? Here are my thoughts based on my personal experience.

Video clip from last year’s first Dynamorun event (2022).

What is Dynamorun?

Dynamorun is a running event designed to commemorate Operation Dynamo, an important historical event during World War 2 that took place on the beaches of Dunkirk.

Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was a rescue operation of more than 300,000 British and French soldiers as they were encircled by the advancing German Nazi army.

Official brochure of the Dynamorun 2023.

Photos and videos from Dynamorun 2023 in Dunkerque

Here are some photos I have taken (unless otherwise stated) from the Dynamorun 2023 event.

My race bib for Dynamorun 2023. Although I had to travel from Lille to Dunkirk, collecting the race bib was easy and the race staff were friendly.

Huge crowd gathering before the start of the 5 miles race.

The race was supposed to occur on a sunny day except fogs obscured the sun. Luckily, there were no winds. As such, the race offered a great, comfortable running experience evident in my smile! (Photo taken by an event photographer)

Dynamorun is a celebration of four countries involved during the Operation Dynamo which occured in Dunkirk, France.

Soldier-uniformed staff to add to the Operation Dynamo ambience of the event.

Here’s the running category I registered for and below was the actual distance I ran.

Participants of the Dynamorun 2023 ran on this beach.

Recovery time after an unexpected 10km run.

What I liked about Dynamorun 2023

Great running experience. The event involved running on pavements, sandy beach, the Malo-les-Bains town, and some park trails.
Multiple running categories available.
Fantastic race partners gave free entry to the 1970 Opération Dynamo Museum in Dunkirk, support of post-race food and drinks, and more!
I really liked the festive ambiance of this running event. It felt like the run was a celebration of four European countries: France, Belgium, United Kingdom, and Germany!
Lots of running photographs thanks to its active volunteers. They also shared their race photos very quickly.
The running route was slightly different from Dynamorun 2022, which is great. It would be boring if the route was exactly the same as last year’s. The running route was slightly different from Dynamorun 2022, which is great. It would be boring if the route was exactly the same as last year’s.
Great and yummy post-race foods and drinks representing France, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Again, yummy food and beer!
Easy access to toilets at the event location.

What I did not like about Dynamorun 2023

Some running categories’ running routes converged at some point. I ended up running some segments of another category’s route. Instead of 8 kilometres (5 miles), I ran 10 kilometres instead!
This year, they removed the beach hill obstacles.