Howl-O-Ween 5K
Manchester, NH
- 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Howl-O-Ween 5K is a dog-friendly run/walk that benefits the Animal Rescue League of NH. This is a great opportunity to get out and be active with the whole family including your dog(s). Get into the spirit and wear your favorite Halloween costume!
Local Historical Weather (Oct 19):
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
| H (°F) | 68 | 66 | 57 | 63 | 62 |
| L (°F) | 38 | 50 | 34 | 44 | 37 |
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For the Dogs
I was looking for a warm-up 5K in NH this Saturday and was excited to find this one. It is both a Halloween and dog themed 5K that benefits an … MORE
I was looking for a warm-up 5K in NH this Saturday and was excited to find this one. It is both a Halloween and dog themed 5K that benefits an animal shelter in NH. Costumes and dogs are encouraged. I didn’t bring a dog but I did dress up in a costume. There was a helpful pre-race email with all the necessary information sent before the race. The race is a the minor league baseball stadium in Manchester and was the perfect location as Manchester is on the way from Salem to Concord, NH which was my next destination and right near by the Millennium Running store so I could get my bib for the New England Half right after the race. Parking was free at a stadium garage and easy, breezy which was appreciated after last Sunday’s parking nightmares. Bib pick-up was easy and included a very nice tech shirt which a cute design and a nice maroon color. You also got a swag bag with lots of goodies. Mostly donated stuff from local companies but some of it will be useful. There were a lot of booths in the upper level of the baseball stadium. I loved that there was a NH animal rights organization giving out vegan Halloween candies and also had a sign that said “dairy is scary” which was funny as there was also a dairy bar giving out chocolate milk at the race. The race was chip timed and an out and back that started in the stadium. The start was generally organized enough for a small race but I wish they reminded walkers to stay in the back. Since this is a fun theme there were a lot of groups of walkers with dogs who don’t regularly participate in races who stood in the front and were difficult to navigate around which was a bit annoying. The course goes through the baseball stadium down a ramp and then around the stadium to a bridge and then goes on the rail trail. No hills but the stadium has a ramp and the bridge has some inclines and declines so I wouldn’t call it flat. It was cool running through the stadium and the rail trail was really pretty with fall foliage. There was one intersection with police controlling traffic. There were also volunteers there to cheer and make sure no one got lost though it was a pretty intuitive course. The out and back made it very fun to see everyone’s costumes and all the dogs. The finish is a bit tough since you have to go back up. I was relatively happy with my time. I just made my goal of under 40 minutes. I could have been faster but I had to adjust my costume and was a little distracted by the dogs. The course may have been a tiny bit short as my Garmin said it was only 3 miles but my GPS wasn’t working correctly in the stadium so it may have been a Garmin error. It was fun to watch all the dogs finish. There is no medal but there was plenty of swag for a 5K. Overall this was a very fun event and I would definitely do it again. It worked great as a warm-up 5K before the New England Half. I have the same feedback as I did for the other dog race which is I do wish there was a shorter option such as a 1 mile race as my parents have a shih tzu puppy who would have liked to participate but can’t do a full 5K yet. Maybe next year she will be able to.