Running Man Season 1 — episode guide & air dates

The final race of the year turns Running Man's 2025 prizes into a tax nightmare, transforming past winnings into collectible badges. In the Year-End Tax Settlement by Getting Rid of Prizes race, members must shed as many badges as possible through missions and strategy. The one left with the most badges faces a penalty, while the rest risk penalty balls based on what remains. Who will successfully offload their winnings, and who will pay the price?

To ring in 2026, the Year of the Red Horse, the cast takes on the Follow the Horse, Complete the Bingo Race. Working as one team, they must clear horse-themed missions across a nine-square bingo board before the deadline. Each completed mission earns prize stickers, with bonus rewards for completing bingo lines. All stickers earned get placed onto dice that will decide everyone's fate. Can teamwork and strategy beat bad luck in this all-or-nothing New Year's race?

Apink joins the cast this week to show off their golden friendship in the Gold Bag Chaser, Gold Me More Race. Divided into three teams, they must choose from identical briefcases, only one of which contains real gold. While stealing or swapping bags is allowed, teams will also earn hints through missions, making trust and deception key. When the Judgment Stand opens, each team can place only one bag, and only the team with the gold walks away with the prize. The rest will all face the penalty. Who will secure the gold, and who will be left empty-handed?

Kwon Eun Bi joins to celebrate Running University's Class of 2026 in the Lucky 2026 Orientation Day Race. Through missions, members aim to collect Face Balls, used in a special Lucky Face Lottery, where they guess unlucky faces for prizes. Luck-enhancing items linked to secret missions may help, but only those with true fortune on their side will succeed. Who will ride their luck to victory, and who will end the day with a penalty?

Kim Hye Yoon and Lomon join as guests in The Starting from Today, I'm a Nine-Tailed Fox Race. In Gwangjin-gu, once known as Fox Valley, they take on the challenge of becoming nine-tailed foxes. Each member starts with a different number of tails, or none, and must carefully collect exactly nine to win a prize and dodge the penalty. But there's a twist. Collecting more than nine tails resets to zero. With no advantage to starting ahead and no room for error, strategy and restraint are key. Who will successfully become a nine-tailed fox, and who will end the day with a penalty?

The TV Rating Notice Survival Race gets underway to determine a new poster theme for the new year. Each member presents a concept they want to bring to life, but only one will survive a series of elimination missions to win. As alliances form and deception spreads, a tense battle of strategy and survival unfolds. Who will survive to see their vision become reality?

Inspired by the episode airing in the second week of February, the Game of Two kicks off with guests Hong Jin Ho and Mimi, who perfectly personify the number two theme. Every mission revolves around the number two. A win earns prize balls, while losses add penalty balls. At the final draw, names are drawn at random, but only those called twice can claim a prize or suffer the penalty. Who will be the lucky winner?

To celebrate Lunar New Year, Kyu Hyun and Roy Kim join the cast for the festive I'm the Magpie for the Lunar New Year's Day. At the start, only three members are secretly chosen as magpies, while the rest become crows hoping to take their place. Through missions, members earn R coins to spend at a special shop, purchasing exchange, defense, or random draw cards to change their fate. Only the three who finish the race as magpies will receive prizes, while the remaining crows face penalties.