Halloween is best known for its two main components, which are wearing costumes, and eating candy.

While the candy sure is important, it’s also important to stay active during this time of year, so what better way to combine sweets and exercise than the Pumpkin Run.

The Northland’s oldest Halloween themed race, the Pumpkin Run celebrated its 18th annual running of the event this past weekend.

This year, the Pumpkin Run, which is held at Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College, added a new option for those that couldn’t or didn’t want to run.

“This year we’ve added the option for the ring race, so that younger kids and people with young children can do the race as well, which is really important to us,” said Govinda Budrow, a coordinator of the Child Development Program at FDLTCC.

The Pumpkin Run prides itself on the fact that it’s an event to just have fun at. It offers a welcoming environment to those that have run thousands of times, or are just trying it out for the first.

“If you’re a first time runner, this is a great first time race, ” said Kate Meisner, a participant of the event. “It’s just so supportive. There’s always people cheering you on at the finish and throughout the course. I highly encourage people to come on in.”

For those hoping to run for the first time, Paul Wilken, another event participant, had some advice to share.

“Start out with shorter distances and don’t do what you think of as running because, you know, people sprint, they get tired afterward, they get frustrated. If you’re just starting out, you just kind of want to do like a fast walk and work your way up kind of thing.”