The 11th annual Running with the Balloons 5K is an exciting new category of race combining the elements of cross-country with a traditional road race.

 

Our fun, flat, fast, low-impact USATF-NJ certified 5K course features a mix of surfaces including pavement, gravel, dirt road, and grass. Add to this the spectacle of over 100 hot-air balloons taking off in a grand mass ascension and you have the most unique 5K in the country!

 

The race has been featured on a Nationally syndicated Running Show on BOTH the YES Network and Fox Sports Regionals across the USA. Click HERE to watch highlights of the 2019 Running with the Balloons 5K!

 

A signature item of this incredibly unique race is how we count down to race time. Anyone can use an airhorn or a pistol to begin a 5K, but that just won’t cut it around here. Each year we bring a death-defying thrill act to the Festival and they are the ones to officially start the race. 

 

The top male finisher and the top female finisher will each win a free ride in a hot air balloon. The top 3 overall male and female finishers will receive non-cash prizes, with medals presented to the top 3 finishers in the following age groups: 14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, and over 70.

All runners’ entries include a full-day pass to the Festival, which includes Festival admission, free parking, and lawn seating for Sunday afternoon’s headlining concert at 3PM. You also get access to both the morning and evening scheduled hot air balloon mass ascensions.

In keeping with the Festival’s belief in “doing well by doing good,” a portion of the proceeds benefit the Girls on the Run,® a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams, and the Children’s Miracle Network. 

 

 

Are you up for the challenge!?!

 

Register Early

and Save $

5K - Adult

Thru June 21

June 22 - July 21

Morning of Race (July 25th) On-Site Registration.

 

Advance registration for the 2021 Running with the Balloons 5K ends on July 21st. After July 21st, the only way to register for the race will be to register on-site (7/25) at the 5K registration tent on-site at the festival. Runners who register on-site will not receive free parking, or festival admission and are not guaranteed a race t-shirt. The on-site registration fee is $25 for both adults and children. As a reminder, runners wishing to register on-site must purchase a separate festival admission ticket (Gate General Admission tickets are $40 for Adults and $15 for Children) and festival parking ($10).

 

Registraion Fee

Morning of

July 25th