Foam Glow 5K

Since this was my first 5K, I really don’t have much to compare it to. For $ 25 you register to run/​walk and you get a t-​shirt to use during the race. The registration/​pick-​up process was very organized. They started charging $ 5 on Saturday in order to encourage people to pick up their packets early.
Basically, most people get dressed up in glow gear (glow sticks, glow paint, silly costumes, etc). There is a pre-​party where there is music, some food/​drink stands, places to take pictures, and of course a huge area where they spray different colored foams before the race so you will glow. If you want to get paint on you, I highly recommend going to the pre-​party, because there really are not many places throughout the race where you get sprayed with foam/​paint. I think there may have been 3 throughout the whole race. That part was a little disappointing. Also, since it is at night, the paths are not well lit.
If you seriously want to run a 5K, I don’t know that I would recommend this one. People pretty much do it to walk/​jog for fun and get messy. They do tell runners to go on the left and walkers on the right, but there are so many walkers that the runners had a hard time. There were a lot of kids too (surprisingly). Also, they let people start the race in groups, so it takes a really long time to even start the event (it runs pretty late). Lots of waiting.
We also had to pay to park, but there were free shuttles that take you to/​from the race. I would also recommend putting your phone/​belongings in a plastic bag before doing the race, as you will get wet!
Overall, it was fun, but not a serious 5K. Not sure that I would be racing back to do it again, but I would try it at least once just to say you did it.