Dopamine release in the striatum is crucial for motor control, as exemplified by psychomotor activation elicited by dopamine-mimetic drugs and motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease upon the degeneration of dopaminergic axons in the striatum. Evidence indicates that meso-striatal dopamine activity supports motion vigor and/or exhibits “chunking”, a movement-bracketing activity pattern related to movement initiation and termination. However, the role of striatal dopamine during movement, especially in the absence of rewards, remains insufficiently understood. Here, we investigated dopamine release in the dorsolateral (DLS) and the ventromedial (VMS) striatum simultaneously, during self-initiated, unrewarded locomotion. Rats had access to a running wheel for 6 weeks. Dopamine was measured during weeks 1 and 6 using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. We found a consistent increase in dopamine release during movement initiation, which was independent of running-wheel experience. This dopamine peak was associated with the acceleration during the initiation of a running bout, but not acceleration during ongoing bouts, nor the duration of a bout. In contrast, a trough in dopamine concentration occurred proximal to movement termination, which became less prominent as rats gained experience. Interestingly, peaks and troughs in DLS dopamine release consistently preceded changes in VMS. Together, these findings demonstrate that the initiation and termination of movement are bracketed by increases and decreases in striatal dopamine release, respectively. Thus, dopamine signals may be related to intrinsic motivation and seem to underlie a topographical hierarchy that is consistent with the idea of a wave-like spread of dopamine release from the lateral to medial striatum.