Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Plano, TX
- Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, 1K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
It’s time to take your run on an epic adventure! The Plano Balloon Festival’s runs/walks will all take place on Saturday (5K & 1K) and Sunday (10K & Half Marathon) once again featuring the Elevate and Sky High Challenges! All participants in each distance will receive dazzling commemorative finisher medals! … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 23):
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| H (°F) | 93 | 95 | 83 | 71 | 93 |
| L (°F) | 71 | 72 | 53 | 63 | 77 |
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Does NOT live up to the hype.
Race staff and volunteers only supported the fastest part of the pack. Volunteers were teens that were clearly only there for credit. They were more focused on their phones or … MORE
Race staff and volunteers only supported the fastest part of the pack. Volunteers were teens that were clearly only there for credit. They were more focused on their phones or books, rather than pointing out turns in the course, cheering people on, or giving out water. The course was poorly marked, which led to many people having to backtrack and go further than planned. No shade. Many switchbacks in residential areas.
The “pacers” were the worst I’ve ever seen. Less than one mile in, the pacers were on top of one another and yelling at one another about who was off pace. Then the blonde pacer for 3:30 let everyone know she believed that that was a slow pace, so she’d “make it a quick 3:30”. That’s not how pacing works. They would also walk as slow as possible, then sprint to make their pace. Again, that’s not how pacing works. Pacers should be encouraging and supportive, not bringing people down and having negative comments about another participant’s pace.
I was very disappointed that the race staff were telling cops and volunteers “oh the sweeper is coming up the back stretch, so we’re basically done once the slow people finally wrap it up”; I asked to address this with the race director, so it could be handled same day, but I was continually told they were unavailable.
Post race food was dismal, you’re better off bringing your own food and planning to go somewhere after.
Overall, very disappointing. Race does not live up to the hype.
Fun little festival
I'm from flat Florida, so this had considerable rolling hills for a FL girl, but nice scenery on roads or through a park with a wide paved trail. Packet pick … MORE
I’m from flat Florida, so this had considerable rolling hills for a FL girl, but nice scenery on roads or through a park with a wide paved trail.
Packet pick up is just that–nothing but pick up your bib and shirt. However, take the time to go to the hot air balloon festival after you get your packet and they have fun give-aways at the festival. The balloons are 100% dependent on the weather, so if it is windy or rainy, they don’t inflate them. Lots of food trucks with food for purchase at the festival. Post race, they had scrambled eggs and bacon and muffins. While I appreciate the effort of the volunteers, they were the worst eggs I’ve ever had. :-0 I did manage to place in my age group and it was fun that they had “Miss Texas” on hand to present the awards. The guy who runs the race is very kind and let me defer my race from 2018 to 2019, as I had a broken bone in 2018. Nice looking shirts and medals.
Nice Course - Hot Air Balloons
Great event - would consider running again if I was looking for a run. I registered for the Sky High Challenge. I am not fast but I do like anytime … MORE
Great event – would consider running again if I was looking for a run.
I registered for the Sky High Challenge. I am not fast but I do like anytime they add “challenge” to the name.
The Sky High Challenge was running the 5K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday.
So – registration – no issues and as with most events the earlier you register the lower the cost.
Communication – Great got lots of emails reminding me of the event and all the details you need to know.
Packet Pickup – No race day pickup which seems to be more common these days and is a bit of a pain when you dont live in the city or near the city for the event. You had to go prior to race day to pick up your packet which of course means an extra trip but hey, we runners are used to it.
Packet – for the half marathon you got a tank top tech shirt. It was pretty plan in design but I dont end up wearing most of my shirts so no biggie and i dont wear tanks. They gave you two tickets to the Balloon Festival. You as the runner do not need tickets as your bib is your entry. But if you bring any non-runners they will have to pay to get into the event. It is $5 per person. Your bib was the only other item in the packet.
Race Morning : Parking – lots of parking (free with your bib) or $10 with no bib. There were several lots available. I recommend parking at Collin County College, then you have to just walk down the grassy hill to the start line. Best to arrive early, parking lots open at 6:00 AM. Others are there for the festival so it can be busy. But at 6:00 AM no issues, drove right in and parked.
Port-o-johns – lots of them – no issues.
The course: it was a pretty flat other than one easy incline and maybe two smaller ones but nothing that is really going to slow you down.
Half of the course was on the roads through nice neighborhoods and the other half was on paved park trails. It was intermixed so you went back and forth from the road to trail. Most of the course was shaded due to the position of the sun and or the number of trees. Lots of water stops with both water and sports drink but the sports drink really seemed like tasteless colored water (seems to be the case for most events). They were well staffed with eager volunteers. They handed out squeezable apple sauce at one point in the run.
The balloons launched at about 7:30 or so and flew over the course. They were doing a competition to drop a marker on a target so they flew really low over the course.
Bling – all finishers get a medal. If you did the sky high challenge you received an additional medal. Not sure what you received if you placed as I knew my time would not get me on the podium so I didnt even check the results before i departed the event.
Post Race – They had a band playing both before, during , and after the run in the runners village.
There were also several vendors handing out samples.
The race also provided breakfast which I believe was eggs, sausage, and muffins as well as water and sports drink for all runners. You had to give them your food tag from your bib. I am sure a few non-runners slipped by but they had food for all the runners and never ran out.
After the run you could walk around the festival and visit other vendors. Your bib is also your admission to the festival . Once the balloons launch in the morning there pretty much isnt much to see other than the various vendors selling stuff until later in the evening when the balloons are scheduled to fly again. But that is all dependent on the weather. If it is too windy or raining the balloons will not fly. We got lucky this year and the weather cooperated.
So it is a good running event if the weather is nice.
Fast Course Balloons and a Festival
Great event - would consider running again if I was looking for a run. I registered for the Sky High Challenge. I am not fast but I do like anytime … MORE
Great event – would consider running again if I was looking for a run.
I registered for the Sky High Challenge. I am not fast but I do like anytime they add “challenge” to the name.
The Sky High Challenge was running the 5K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday.
So – registration – no issues and as with most events the earlier you register the lower the cost.
Communication – Great got lots of emails reminding me of the event and all the details you need to know.
Packet Pickup – No race day pickup which seems to be more common these days and is a bit of a pain when you dont live in the city or near the city for the event. You had to go prior to race day to pick up your packet which of course means an extra trip but hey, we runners are used to it.
Packet – for the 5K you got a short sleeved tech shirt. It was pretty plan in design but I dont end up wearing most of my shirts so no biggie. They gave you two tickets to the Balloon Festival. You as the runner do not need tickets as your bib is your entry. But if you bring any non-runners they will have to pay to get into the event. It is $5 per person. Your bib was the only other item in the packet.
Race Morning : Parking – lots of parking (free with your bib) or $10 with no bib. There were several lots available. I recommend parking at Collin County College, then you have to just walk down the grassy hill to the start line. Best to arrive early, parking lots open at 6:00 AM. Others are there for the festival so it can be busy. But at 6:00 AM no issues, drove right in and parked.
Port-o-johns – lots of them – no issues.
The course: it was a pretty flat out and back course with a small incline but nothing that is really going to slow you down. For the most part it is just your typical street running but what made this one cool is the Hot Air Balloons launched right after the start of the run and they were floating overhead.
Bling – all finishers get a medal. If you placed they gave out ceramic tiles and had printed on them the event name, place and division.
Post Race – They had a band playing both before, during , and after the run in the runners village.
There were also several vendors handing out samples.
The race also provided breakfast tacos and water for all runners. You had to give them your food tag from your bib. I am sure a few non-runners slipped by but they had food for all the runners and never ran out.
After the run you could walk around the festival and visit other vendors. Your bib is also your admission to the festival . Once the balloons launch in the morning there pretty much isnt much to see other than the various vendors selling stuff until later in the evening when the balloons are scheduled to fly again. But that is all dependent on the weather. If it is too windy or raining the balloons will not fly. We got lucky this year and the weather cooperated.
So it is a good running event if the weather is nice. We did not stay long since I would be returning in the morning for the half marathon.
The rain was a bit of a damper
I was a little bummed because the weather kept the. ballons from being able to lift off at our race. That being said everything else went really well. The medal … MORE
I was a little bummed because the weather kept the. ballons from being able to lift off at our race. That being said everything else went really well. The medal is really cool and the shirts were sleeveless which was perfect for the weather. The hydration stations were well planned as well as the race course.