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Dash Like a Hero at the SLS Dash 5K at Kessler Mountain

Your Halloween costume got one night out. The SLS Dash wants to give it a second, plus a 5K.

On Saturday, November 7, Kessler Mountain Regional Park hosts an inclusive race where neurodivergent and neurotypical runners of all abilities line up side by side, and the course has room for every one of them. It also runs straight through the place your entry fee helps build.

THE DEETS

📆 Saturday, November 7, 2026
🕑 9 a.m.
📍 Kessler Mountain Regional Park, Fayetteville
💵 5K $25 · 1 Mile Fun Run $15
🎟️ Event page

SLS Dash 5K for Neurodiversity
Source: SLS Dash 5K for Neurodiversity

Three Ways to the Finish Line

  • 1 Mile Fun Run – kicks things off at 9 a.m.
  • 5K run/walk – go fast, go slow, go however you go, starting at 9:10 a.m.
  • Adaptive Mobility 5K Run/Walk – these participants get the front of the 5K lineup

Both courses are wheelchair accessible. Rather work the event than race it? You can volunteer instead.

Dash Like a Hero at the SLS Dash 5K at Kessler Mountain
Source: SLS Dash 5K for Neurodiversity

Capes Encouraged, Costumes Recycled

The theme is “Dash Like a Hero,” and that goes for runners and volunteers alike. Pull on your favorite superhero’s costume or any family-friendly re-purposed Halloween costume. If that outfit still has some miles in it, we know exactly where they should go.

Hero Headquarters

The Vendor Village and Family Fun Zone keeps the morning going:

  • Vendor booths and activities – browse and play between races
  • Live DJ – handling the soundtrack
  • Pathway Cafe – coffee and snacks from a culinary training academy for individuals with disabilities (pathwaycafe.org)
  • Crystal Bridges’ Mobile Art Lab – the museum’s art experience brought to the park (details)
  • Food trucks – on site for anyone who ran up an appetite

Got something to sell? Vendor Village spots are $50 for the 7-11 a.m. window, and registration closes October 31, 2026, at 5 p.m.

Dash Like a Hero at the SLS Dash 5K at Kessler Mountain
Source: SLS Dash 5K for Neurodiversity

Every Step Builds a Future Home

Your entry supports SLS Community, a Fayetteville-based nonprofit providing residential and supported employment services for neurodivergent adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The course winds through SLS Community’s future home, below the rolling hills that stretch from Mount Kessler at “Mile Zero” of the Razorback Greenway. You’ll literally be running, walking, or rolling across the ground your registration helps build on!

Dash Like a Hero at the SLS Dash 5K at Kessler Mountain
Source: SLS Dash 5K for Neurodiversity

Dash Like a Hero at the SLS Dash 5K at Kessler Mountain
Source: Be Local NWA

$25 for the 5K, $15 for the Mile

Source: Be Local NWA

Register for the 5K for $25 or the 1 Mile Fun Run for $15, with discounted prices for neurodivergent participants. Race-day check-in and registration run 7-8:50 a.m. Not a morning person? Check in the day before, 4-6 p.m., at 2190 S. Razorback Rd. in Fayetteville.

See you there, NWA.

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