The City of Hobart’s Run for your Life event creates a scary fun evening for all

From fire baton twirlers to scarecrows to the Headless Horseman, the City of Hobart brought the community together for a spooky evening with surprises around every corner. On Saturday, October 24, the 2nd annual Run for Your Life race was hosted at Robinson Lake, a unique event for all ages to come together and celebrate the Halloween season.

“Our goal is to make the experience memorable for everyone— runners, spectators and families watching, and the walkers that come to the haunted trail after the race! I want them to walk into the park and be ready for the mystery of what we’ve got planned around the lake,” said Event Coordinator Corrine Hyland.

The family fun walk/run began at 6 p.m., and the 5K race began at 6:30 p.m. The Run for Your Life event combines recreation, entertainment, and the excitement of Halloween. Attendees have the opportunity to get outside, be active, and experience something special with family and friends. Not only could attendees get spooked from the haunted trail, but they also could enjoy photo opportunities, a DJ, bonfires in the park, free smores, and food and drink vendors.

With a goal to build upon last year’s event and bring even more excitement, this year’s race had many new attractions and a new spooky carnival theme. This included a pumpkin patch, scarecrows, fire baton twirlers, fireworks, and more, making the event much more than a traditional 5K race.

“Hobart doesn’t have a traditional haunted house, so we wanted to create something that gives residents that kind of Halloween experience without having to leave the community. What makes Run for Your Life special is that it combines the excitement of a haunted attraction with an outdoor recreational experience at Robinson Lake,” said Maintenance Supervisor Shawn Bourdelais. “It’s affordable, accessible and designed to offer something for everyone, whether you’re participating in the run or simply coming out to enjoy the Halloween festivities.”

Originally when Kelly Clemems’, the city’s chief of staff,  had the idea, it was a traditional 5K race. When Hyland began working at the parks department last year, her goal was to bring a 5K to Hobart Parks to get the community involved and active. However last year, the team decided to expand the concept to be more inclusive.

“We wanted to create an experience that wasn’t limited to runners, allowing families, friends and anyone interested to walk the trail and enjoy the Halloween attractions at their own pace,” said Bourdelais.

Planning this event involved many moving pieces, and the team took the lessons they learned last year to make the event bigger and better. Bourdelais researched haunted attractions throughout the Region, learning more about their planning and operational procedures to ensure they were more organized, better prepared, and focused on safety. Scare Technician and Maintenance Director Shawn created the spooky scenes and small details that made the event immersive and exciting.

The team thoroughly worked through logistics of the trail and race; everything from entertainment, sponsors, vendors, decorations, family activities, and more had immense detail and research. They also coordinated with other city departments, communities, and race timing companies to ensure safety and an overall positive guest experience.

The City of Hobart has loved thinking outside the box and bringing something different to the Hobart Parks and plans to continue expanding these ideas in the future, while striving to double in attendance.

“Our trail gives us so much room to be creative. Hopefully next year we see more volunteers, surprises, and scare scenes. Maybe next year we theme it after a scary movie, or zombie apocalypse, there’s so many possibilities,” said Hyland.

Bourdelais and Hyland hope attendees left excited not only for next year’s event, but for other events hosted throughout the year.

“We’re always looking for ways to get our community involved and make events bigger and better! These events take a lot of teamwork and we couldn’t do it without the support of the community,” said Hyland. “Thank you to everyone who volunteered, sponsored, participated, or simply came to support us! We love having the opportunity to bring things like this to Hobart.”

To learn more about the City of Hobart and future events, visit cityofhobart.org