Ready, Set, Glow! 5 Unique Summer 5K’s in Wilson County
Are you an early bird or a night owl? A fun runner or in serious marathon training mode? Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, you can glow, dance, and crawl your way through Wilson County this summer all while giving back to some great causes.The growing trend of themed fun runs and glowing nighttime 5Ks is hitting Tennessee hard this summer with hundreds of local and out of town teams already registered for the slew of courses glowing through the Volunteer State.
5K’s used to be associated with getting up way too early, lacing up your Nikes, and hitting a local park or busy street in town to raise money for a cause within the community. They often coincided with a popular holiday like St. Patrick’s Day or Thanksgiving and catered to those already fairly active in the sport of running. Over the past 5 years however, there has been a noticeable shift in the scale and mood of 5K races as well as what type of runner that the events
are catered to.
Themes, outfits, after parties, and obstacles all play a big party in the new event style production 5Ks touring across the country this summer. Local races are following suite and often pull in just as large of crowds as the nationwide events. Here are our top 5 picks for fun run that will get you going, glowing, and giving back in Wilson County this summer.
The slogan on the Night Nation Run tshirts is “I run for the after party” and with good reason. This event combines a 5K with an EDM music festival. The race portion of the evening is just a warm up because the real cardio comes in with all that dancing at the after party.
The official charity partner of Night Nation is I Stand Up to Cancer. A portion of all proceeds benefit this cause and if you are running in honor of friend or loved one affected by cancer, you can purchase a customizable race bib for a $1 donation. The bib says “I Stand Up For __________ “ so you can use the race to honor someone specific.
This event is held at The Fairgrounds. Packet pickup begins at 4, the first DJ goes on at 7, race starts at 8, and how long this festival rages on is up to the runners (and city ordinances).
Foam Glow brings the bright aesthetic of races like The Color Run to a nighttime timeslot by setting the colors aglow in a knee deep, neon sea of foam. Race participants come armed with bubble guns and navigate a course filled with neon foam shooting cannons. The aerial view of this race looks like a scene from Ghostbusters, with runners wading through a glowing, foam filled street.
This event has already attracted over 350 team sign ups for the Nashville event and raised close to $6,000 in donations. Foam Glow gives back to Children’s Cancer Research and is still looking for volunteers for the July 30th event held at The Fairgrounds.
This down and dirty day caters to participants or all ages and abilities from the fun runner to the serious competitor. The 5K course has 18 obstacles while the 10K course has 25 30 obstacles. Be prepared because almost all of the obstacles contain water and mud.
Some people take this mud run very seriously. If that’s you, you may chose to enter the Competition group section of the 10K which is timed, requires you to wear boots and pants, and of course qualifies you to place. There are waves for kids and even dogs at this events as well.
This event is held at Taproot Farm in Franklin and begins at 9:00am. Cost of registration ranges from $20 $55 depending on which event you choose.
Sherry’s Run is a local favorite in it’s 13th year of racing across Lebanon. As depicted in the picture of the starting line last year, the race kicks off with a balloon release and encourages race participants and spectators to attach the name of a loved one they wish to honor with their donation or participation. What’s really neat about this is Sherry’s Run hosts an online forum for people who find the balloons to write in, telling participants where, when, and by whom their balloon was found. Check it out.
There are additional fundraising events surrounding the run such as an auction and the Paint Your Town Green campaign in which donors purchase green bows to place on their homes, mailboxes and trees. The race starts at 8:00am on West Main Street in Lebanon. Runners can choose to be chip timed or not and registration fees range from $30 $ 35.
About Katie (our guest Blogger)
Katie Dillman is a Communications Coordinator with Premier Glow , an online retailer of glow products. She enjoys working with businesses through copywriting to share ideas that connect with their audience.
Foam Glow Run, Night Nations Run, Ready Set Glog, The Glo Run, The Mud Run
