Pumpkins in the Park 5K (NY)
Rochester, NY
- 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Get those Halloween Costumes ready and let’s run or walk through Cobbs Hill Area! Pumpkins in the Park 5K is a long standing Halloween tradition and has been a festive family friendly holiday occasion through the years. The 5K takes in the scenery from one of the highest points of … MORE
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Great theme & swag but lots of hills
This is a Halloween themed 5K in Rochester at Cobb Hill Park. The park has the word "hill" in it so expect a big hill in the middle of the … MORE
This is a Halloween themed 5K in Rochester at Cobb Hill Park. The park has the word “hill” in it so expect a big hill in the middle of the race. The race is produced by Yellow Jacket Racing. Packet pick-up is either at the store Friday or race day. I wasn’t able to get it Friday so got it race morning. They had instructions for where to park and race packet pick-up was easy. It also includes a nice long sleeved shirt. I’ve done this race virtually and I preferred last year’s design with a black cat but this one was still cute and halloween themed with a big “Boo” on it. Unfortunately there was a warehouse fire that burned a lot of the company’s racing supplies. Luckily no one was hurt and they still had a few items but some of the start/finish arches and other stuff was a little makeshift but can’t fault them for that. The start was just a flag and a mass start. It is chipped time and there was a timing mat at the finish line only. I’m not sure if this is always the case or if they only had one mat. It’s a pretty popular race with a lot of walkers so it would be nice to have a timing mat at the start but not the end of the world. The race is nice mostly through the park and neighborhood. It is relatively scenic with fall foliage and nice neighborhoods with a handful of spectators. A lot of participants dress up in costume. The first mile is just small rolling hills and pretty runnable. The second mile is rough and you up this very steep hill towards the Cobb Hill reservoir. You then loop around the reservoir and it is downhill until the finish. There is a quite a bit of elevation gain with about 200 feet elevation gain total. It’s definitely one of the more difficult 5K course but it’s a road 5K so obviously it’s not too hard to finish just hard to get a fast time without hill training. There was an aid station at the beginning of the reservoir you pass twice. The finish line was set up nice. You get a nice medal and a water bottle. I believe there were some snacks but I had to leave right away to get to NH so I didn’t stay to look. It was a very fun themed race and very well produced. I’d recommend it to locals and do it again if it works out with my schedule. Just don’t expect to PR with the big hill in the middle.