The history of the "Around Cēsis" run began back in 1979, when the first race took place under the leadership of Arvīds Treimanis, the chairman of the Physical Culture and Sports Committee of the Cēsis District in the Latvian SSR. A few years later, the organization of the event was taken over by the new chairman of the Sports Committee, Juris Kreilis, who, together with Druvis Cimža, the leader of the sports association "Vārpa" at the time, continued the tradition that had been started. Back then, the start and finish were located in the old Cēsis city stadium. For several years, Elmārs Ozols, a long-time athletics coach at the Cēsis Sports School, served as the chief judge of the competition.

In 1993, the race became an initiative commissioned by the Cēsis District Municipality and was organized by the Cēsis City Sports School under the leadership of Juris Kreilis. Unfortunately, the history of one of the most tradition-rich races in Latvia and the Baltics came to an end in 2013. After a 9-year hiatus, the race was revived, and on April 30, 2022, Latvia’s best runners once again gathered in Cēsis to compete for the titles of the fastest man and woman in the 5 km and 10 km distances.

The 32nd "Around Cēsis" run took place on April 29, 2023, in a new and improved format – the 10 km distance received certification from World Athletics (WA).