Running with the Balloons 5K

Sunday, July 26th, will be Health and Wellness Day at the Festival highlighted by the
6th Annual Advil Running with the Balloons 5K Cross-Road Challenge & Fun Run!

Join 1000 runners in this unique event featuring a new flat, fast grass & street course that takes the
runners right past the balloon launch area and finishes in the heart of the festival.

The 6th annual Advil Running with the Balloons 5K Cross-Road Challenge and Fun Run 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 Run offers a setting like no other: racing through the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America. Start and finish right in the heart of the festival and be cheered on by thousands of our attendees.

The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank presents its 6th annual race on Sunday, July 26, 2015 at Solberg Airport in Readington, NJ. Race time is 8 a.m. with 1,000 runners expected to participate in conjunction with Sunday’s early morning mass ascension.

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 concerts. 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 from the Advil Running with the Balloons 5K Cross-Road Challenge and Fun Run will benefit the Center for Educational Advancement (CEA) and The Children’s Miracle Network.

Are you up for the challenge!?!