Sat, Oct 3, 2026

Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest

St. Charles, IL

Registration openAnnual since at least 2019

Entry is $75 now and rises to $80 after Aug 1, 2026, so registering before then saves $5.

About the Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest

The course starts at Mount Saint Mary Park, follows a paved river path through a neighboring park, and loops back to the start. The terrain mixes pavement and trail. Along the way, local craft breweries set up stops with small pours, which makes the pacing feel optional rather than urgent.

After finishing, the park fills out into a full brewfest, with live music and food vendors. The race benefits Project Mobility, which provides adaptive cycling equipment to people with disabilities, and there is a bike giveaway presentation at the post-race celebration that tends to be the emotional center of the morning.

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Finish-Time Stats

Going by the 2025 results, this is a decent-sized field, and the spread of finish times is wide, so this is a mostly recreational race rather than one for club runners.

5K · 2025 results

319finishers

19:48winner

53:05median

1:12:21cutoff

Top 3: AJ Ortega (19:48) · Mike Szydlo (21:42) · Grzegorz Kaminski (22:01)

The Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest has been held every year since at least 2019. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.

Where Would You Finish?

Enter a finish time to see where it lands against the most recent 5K results.

Median

See how your time stacks up nationally →

How we calculate these stats: RunSesh calculates these figures from the most recent published results of past editions, sourced from RunSignup. We show aggregates only: field size, winning and median times, and the cutoff. We never publish individual finisher tables. Last updated Jul 27, 2026.

Distances & Start Times

5K10/3/2026 12:00$75

BrewFest Only (No 5K)10/3/2026 12:30$60

Designated Driver (BrewFest Only - No Beer)10/3/2026 12:30$15

Going for a Time?

Set a goal and get a pace band: every mile split on a card sized for your phone lock screen, so race morning needs no math.

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Common Questions About the Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest

Will I finish last at the Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest?

Almost certainly not. Half the 5K field finished slower than 53:05, and the last recorded finisher came in around 1:12:21, so there is a long tail of runners behind the middle of the pack. Most fields are far slower than people expect.

Is the Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest a good first 5K?

A field of 319 is big enough that you will have company at your pace without feeling lost in a crowd. There is no qualifying time, and the finish-time spread above shows how varied the field really is. If it is your first 5K, that spread matters more than the winner's time.

How competitive is the Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest?

The 5K winner ran 19:48 while the median finisher took 53:05. That spread points to a broad, mostly recreational field rather than a race dominated by club runners.