Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Buxton, NC
Entry is $40 now and rises to $45 after Aug 1, 2026, so registering before then saves $5.
The course takes you through the grounds of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, circling the park that surrounds it. The lighthouse itself is mid-renovation, so you are seeing it in an in-between state, scaffolding and all, but the setting is open and coastal, with the structure visible for most of the run. The terrain is flat parkland, nothing technical underfoot.
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Going by the 2025 results, this is a small, friendly field, with a competitive front end and a big recreational middle.
5K · 2025 results
Top 3: Joey Crum (19:05) · Matt Hores (20:04) · David Colbert (20:31)
The Labor Day Lighthouse 5K has been held every year since at least 2024. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.
Enter a finish time to see where it lands against the most recent 5K results.
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.
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Almost certainly not. Half the 5K field finished slower than 33:10, and the last recorded finisher came in around 1:03:51, so there is a long tail of runners behind the middle of the pack. Most fields are far slower than people expect.
It is a small race (112 finishers), which is friendlier and less intimidating than a big-city event, though the field thins out. 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.
The 5K winner ran 19:05 while the median finisher took 33:10. That spread points to a mixed field, with a competitive front and a big recreational middle.