Costumes Encouraged, Pets Welcome: Mt. Juliet’s Halloween 5K Oct. 31
On a Saturday Halloween, the question for most Mt. Juliet families is how to fit a parade of costumes, a sugar-fueled evening and a full day of ordinary life into one calendar square. A neighborhood charity race has an answer: do the running, walking and dressing up first thing in the morning, then still have the whole afternoon to carve, decorate and plan the route for the night.
The Halloween 5K 4 Hope and Parkinson's Fun Walk returns on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Mt. Juliet Middle School, 3565 N. Mt. Juliet Road. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. The 5K run and walk starts at 9 a.m., and so does the Parkinson's Fun Walk, so the two groups set off together. The course begins and ends at the school.
Who the money helps
The morning is a fundraiser with three named beneficiaries: the local group MJ 4 Hope, the Peterson Foundation for Parkinsons, and Wilson County teachers. Organizers frame the day as a way to support neighbors close to home, and the walk portion is built for people who would rather stroll than race.
What to expect on race morning
The 5K is chip-timed, with the timing handled by a company called A Matter of Timing, so finishers get official times rather than a guess from a stopwatch. Overall winners receive cash prizes and gift certificates, and there are prizes by age division for runners who are not chasing the podium.
The costume rules are the fun part. Costumes are encouraged, and the top three costumes earn awards. Pets are welcome too, and organizers want them dressed up as well, so expect plenty of tiny capes and tutus along the route. If you plan to run in a full-body costume, test it on a short jog first. Anything that sloshes, drags or overheats gets old by the second kilometer.
A race with some history
This is not a first-year event. Earlier editions of the same race were held at Charlie Daniels Park on Charlie Daniels Parkway. The 2021 edition added a trick-or-treat stop for children 12 and under who took part in the 5K or the fun walk, and the 2022 edition offered pre-registration shirts and awards from the 9-and-under division all the way through 80 and older. The 2026 race moves to the middle school campus with an earlier start than in past years, and the age-division prizes carry on.
Plan your morning
- When: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. Registration at 7:30 a.m.; 5K and Fun Walk at 9 a.m.
- Where: Mt. Juliet Middle School, 3565 N. Mt. Juliet Road.
- Who benefits: MJ 4 Hope, the Peterson Foundation for Parkinsons and Wilson County teachers.
- Cost: The registration fee was not listed in the information published so far, so check the race's registration page before you go.
Arriving early makes sense. With registration opening ninety minutes before the start, there is time to pick up a number, find the group you are running with and settle the dog's costume before the gun. Afterward, when everyone is hungry, our guide to where to eat in Mt. Juliet is a good place to start. If the weekend plans stretch past Saturday, Breeden's Orchard hosts a pumpkin smash on Nov. 1, a fitting way to dispose of the jack-o'-lanterns, and our weekly list of family things to do around Mt. Juliet keeps the rest of the October calendar in one place.
A Halloween 5K is a small event by big-city standards. Yet neighbors in costume, dogs in capes and a good cause close to home is exactly the kind of morning that makes a town feel like one.
Image: illustrative, AI-generated – not the actual location.
