You ask, we answer! Here are the most common questions asked by our HoBOOken5K Runners:
The HoBOOken 5K Halloween Run is Hoboken’s one and only charitable, costumed race! Founded in 2010 the race is an exciting fundraising event that benefits The Hoboken Shelter.
The Hoboken Shelter transforms lives, with the capacity to shelter up to 50 people nightly, serve 500 meals daily, and host 1,000 showers weekly for those in need. It also provides support services to help guests gain employment, achieve independence, and reintegrate into the community. We can only do this with your support! You can find out more about The Hoboken Shelter here.
The HoBOOken5K Halloween Run to End Homelessness is The Hoboken Shelter’s biggest fundraising event of the year. It is organized by a team of volunteers from The Hoboken Shelter who give their time to ensure you have a great race!
Volunteers are always needed for race day (Saturday, October 29). It's a great day to meet people, get involved, and support a meaningful cause. You can learn more about our race day volunteer opportunities here. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us at volunteers@hobooken5k.com
You can help support The Hoboken Shelter by signing up to run and creating a fundraising page. Find more information here.
Don't want to race this year? You can still support the Shelter with a donation here.
The HoBOOken 5K in person is on Saturday October 29, 2022 at 10am at Pier A Park. The virtual race can be run anytime between October 29 and October 31.
The race starts and finishes at Pier A Park in Hoboken, New Jersey. You'll run through the beautiful, historic streets of Hoboken and get to take in the gorgeous skyline of New York City along the way.
Get directions here.
It is a 5K Race (approximately 3.1 miles). Our team works diligently to make sure the course is as accurate as possible, working around current construction and ensuring a safe course.
The HoBOOken 5K is a flat and fast race that runs along the waterfront in historic Hoboken offering beautiful views of our city as well as the New York City skyline.
The race will be timed by Compuscore. The timing device will be a b-tag that you will receive attached to your bib. We’ll have timing mats at both the start and the finish, which means your net time will be recorded regardless of when you cross the start line. Results will be available at Compuscore about a day after the race.
In order to avoid congestion at the start we’ll have minute per mile signs. Please line up at your expected pace per mile (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11+). Walkers please line up at the back.
Additional information to have a safe start and race is up to the discretion of the race director.
No! The HoBOOken 5K is a charity event for the seasoned vet and newbie runner alike. In the spirit of The Hoboken Shelter, which creates community in Hoboken, we want our race to be welcoming. You can choose to walk the event. Please note, our volunteer crew will complete cleanup by or before noon on race day. There are course marshals all along the course and the course info is sent to runners in advance of the race.
You can find some suggested training plans here.
There's a race for every age! Children aged 12 and up can participate in the HoBOOken 5K Run. Children under the age of 12 can participate in the Scary Scurry race. We will allow strollers, however there will be a separate start for stroller runners and they must run in the back of the main group of runners. Stroller racers will not be timed.
Race organizers will comply with all CDC recommendations, in addition to any local, state and federal health and safety guidelines at the time of the race. These are subject to change and are at the discretion of the race director.
As one of the largest races in Hoboken, the HoBOOken5K is committed to ensuring that all participants, staff, volunteers, and community partners remain as safe as possible while attending the event. As such, we will comply with CDC recommendations, in addition to any local, state and federal guidelines related to health and safety in place at the time of the race.
Race guidelines and procedures may be modified at any time, but will be communicated to registrants prior to race day. All decisions are at the discretion of the race director and when runners sign their waiver they agree to these terms and conditions.
Currently, there are no mask mandates or vaccine requirements to participate in the race.
Rain, wind and even snow has not stopped the HoBOOken 5K in the past. We will be running rain or shine. In the event of severe inclement weather or another dangerous race-day scenario which requires the race to be canceled, we will immediately send an email and post updates to our social media pages. The safety of our youngest racers is always prioritized so there may be race-day adjustments for the Scary Scurry Run due to weather restrictions like rain, which would not impact the HoBOOken 5K run.
Race fees are non-refundable and cannot be transferred to next year’s race or another event. You can change events to the virtual option. To see how to transfer events, https://help.runsignup.com/support/solutions/articles/17000062922-transfer-to-another-event.
However, your registration can be transferred to another participant until online registration closes (Friday October 28th at 11:59pm). Registration transfers can be done through the online registration page once you have logged into Race Roster. There is a $15 transfer fee along with any event price difference.
There will be no registration transfers after the online registration deadline or on race day.
You can register online and in person at packet pickup. THERE IS NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION.
Prices, dates, locations, and times to register for the HoBOOken 5K can be found here.
Everything you need to know about registering for the Scary Scurry Kids Race is here.
In 2022, there is NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION. If you want to run on Race Day, you are able to make a donation on site and join the team. We will be so grateful for your same-day donation, but please keep in mind you will not receive a race medal or official CompuScore race time calculation. You will not be able to switch from a virtual to on-site runner the day of race.
To make sure you enjoy ALL the amazing benefits of racing with us, we recommend you sign up today!
Each registered runner will receive a custom race t-shirt, medal, and digital swag bag with goodies from our sponsors! There are also swag add-ons!
Packet Pick Up 2022
-Thursday, October 27, 2022 - 4pm to 8pm - at The Shelter - 300 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken - come to the church steps on Bloomfield
-Friday, October 28, 2022 - noon to 8pm - at The Shelter - 300 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken - come to the church steps on Bloomfield
-Saturday, October 29, 2022 - 8am to 9:30am - at Pier A Park - 100 Sinatra Drive, Hoboken - come to the registration table
On pickup day, you will receive your official race bib and your FREE race t-shirt.
Please bring a copy of your registration to packet pickup on paper or visible on your phone. If you do not have a copy or registration or lost the original email, please go here, to the Find a Participant section on our website. Enter your name, click "more details" and you can resend yourself a copy of your registration, it will directly to the email you used to sign up for the race.
Help us make packet pickup quick and easy. Please bring a COPY of your registration to packet pickup. If you do not have a copy or registration or lost the original email, please go here, to the Find a Participant section on our website. Enter your name, click "more details," and you can receive a copy of your registration at the email you used to sign up for the race.
Remember, registration is not available on the day of the race.
Yes, you can pick up a packet for a friend or relative. Remember to bring a copy of your friend/relative's registration to the package pickup location at 300 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken, New Jersey.
When you register as a team (versus an individual), you get perks like choosing a groovy custom team name and team costume (always encouraged!). Team members can run/walk together (optional). There is no “relay” component to this race, so team members can finish together as a unit or separately.
Don't forget, there are super sweet team fundraising prizes, find out more here!
Team packets can be grouped together if you registered as a team and request ‘team pick-up’ by emailing us.
Volunteers are always needed for race day (Saturday, October 29). It's a great day to meet people, get involved, and support a meaningful cause. You can learn more about our race day volunteer opportunities here. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us at volunteers@hobooken5k.com
Yes! We encourage you to wear costumes during your run. That's what makes this race fun and memorable for so many of our participants and spectators! If you're a registered 5K runner, we have a fun costume contest with great prizes! You can learn more about it here. Children participating in the Scary Scurry race will not have their costumes judged.
The race begins promptly at 10am. If you need to pick up your packet, the race site will be open from 8am to 9:45am. Please give yourself enough time for whatever you need to take care of before race day and be at the start for 10am. If you are coming in from out-of-town, please note parking is extremely limited in Hoboken so give yourself ample time to find a spot or garage and arrive to the race start. Bear in mind the start may be on the Pier so you may need to walk down to the end of the Pier to get in line to start the race.
Yes, you can check your bag and swag on Pier A, but please do not hand over your crown jewels—we are not responsible for lost or stolen items. Please consider not bringing a bag.
Information on spectators will be forthcoming. Pier A Park is a public park, but please keep in mind, we will ask spectators to help us keep the finish clear so runners can come through safely.
We will allow strollers, however there will be a separate start for stroller runners and they must run in the back of the main group of runners. Stroller racers will not be timed. We will comply with CDC recommendations, in addition to any local, state and federal guidelines related to health and safety in place at the time of the race.
For the safety of our runners and animal friends, we do not allow animals at our race — but you can come dressed in costume as a dog/cat/turtle/Scooby Doo!
As much as we love hanging out with cute kids, alas, we will not have activities for the kids during the 5K—nor can we guarantee your kid’s safety!
Consider involving your little one's in our Scary Scurry race.
Live Scary Scurry Kid's Race & Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Scary Scurry Race Families: Please make sure you pick up your child's free t-shirt and race bib at The Hoboken Shelter, 300 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken by 8:00 pm on Friday, October 28. You can also pick up these items on Saturday, October 29 between 8:00am and 9:30am at the Pier A race site.
The HoBOOken 5K event has something for everyone - including young runners! The Scary Scurry Kids' Run is open to children between the ages of 2 and 12. This live fun run is organized with age-appropriate heats that begin at 11:00 am on the open grass field located on Pier A in Hoboken, New Jersey. Registered children are encouraged to run in their favorite Halloween costumes (there will be no judging of costumes, but we love to see your kids in the Halloween spirit).
Pre-race organization will be provided for our racers by the fitness pros from The Inner Athlete.
An adult must be present at all times with registered children. This is not a drop-off event.
Age 3 and under - child runs with parent
Age 4 and 5 - optional parent-guided run
Ages 6 and up - child runs independently (if able)
If your child needs any assistance during the race, please just ask our race staff - we'll make sure your child has a great time with us!
All Scary Scurry Run participants receive a free t-shirt, race medal, and an amazing bag of goodies (while supplies last).
Looking for something to do at your family's own pace? Register for our fun and interactive Scary Scurry Virtual Scavenger Hunt. You and your Halloween partners can visit various fun spots around Hoboken and pick up special stickers to complete the official Scavenger Hunt course. Available from October 29 through October 31.
Live Race Fee: $20.00 per child, includes a FREE event t-shirt, race medal, and goody bag (while supplies last)
Virtual Scavenger Hunt Fee: $10.00 per child
We do not provide parking. You are responsible for your parking and need to plan accordingly. There are several parking garages nearby, as well as on-street metered parking. Hoboken utilizes the ParkMobile app to help you manage your parking throughout the city. Arrive early if you plan to find a spot, and please obey all Hoboken Parking regulations. Certain parts of city streets are reserved for residents only so please read the parking signs carefully. The race is not responsible if you receive a parking violation. This Hoboken Parking Primer is very helpful.
It is easy to get here by public transport, find out how here.
For more information on Hoboken municipal garages, please see here.
For parking information in Hoboken via Spothero and to reverse parking, please see here.
For parking information via parkwhiz, please see here.
For parking information via spotangels, please see here.
Contact us at info@HoBOOken5K.com
Contact us at info@HoBOOken5K.com
You can reach out to us at info@HoBOOken5K.com and we will do our best to answer all your questions!
Thank you! Your message was posted to Facebook.