About the Skokie's Backlot Dash 5K and 1/2 Mile Youth Color Run
The course runs through downtown Skokie, winding through the streets around the Backlot Bash festival grounds. It is a road race on flat urban terrain, and because the festival is already set up around you, the atmosphere is livelier than a typical weekend morning run. The kids half-mile runs on the same footprint before the main race goes off.
Packet pickup is available at Weber Leisure Center over the two days before the race, with an additional option at the festival grounds on the evening before. Race-morning pickup is inside the Backlot Bash grounds near the Oakton Street beer tent. There is a post-race beer included for adult finishers.
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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.
3.1 Miles · 2025 results
345finishers
16:58winner
33:24median
1:15:36cutoff
Top 3: William Chiang (16:58) · Nail Denikeev (17:13) · John McCarthy (18:30)
0.5 Miles · 2025 results
85finishers
3:48winner
5:47median
9:39cutoff
Top 3: S. Schmidt (3:48) · M. Chmiel (3:48) · K. Vyas (3:48)
The Skokie's Backlot Dash 5K and 1/2 Mile Youth Color Run has been held every year since at least 2018. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.
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
3.1 Miles8/29/2026 08:30$40
0.5 Miles8/29/2026 08:00$20
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