This is my first Gen Con and I'm considering participating in the Orc Stomp 5K. I enjoy running and races, but would appreciate if anyone could fill in some details for me to help me evaluate if the early morning start and time away from gaming is worth it.

Are there finisher medals for all participants? I love race bling!
What is the heat like that early in the morning?
Do many/most wear costumes for the race?
Any other considerations?

The Orc Stomp is a lot of fun and well worth participating in. It keeps growing every year.

Everyone gets a medal!

I've done the race 5 times and the heat has never been an issue (and I'm a huge heat wimp).

There are lots of costumes but I would say they aren't as common as people in their regular running gear.

Come out and enjoy the race. It's well organized and well worth the effort.

I would not worry too much about 'losing time away from gaming'. They have been very good about starting on time at 6:30am and even at a walking pace you can be done and have enough time to catch a 9am event and if you jog/run it, you can also very reasonably finish in time to catch an 8am event! (Note: most events don't start earlier than 8-9am)

Heat can be variable. It will always be humid at that time of year so take that into consideration for hydrating pre-race. I can remember a couple of years when the humidity was +90% even that early in the morning. They do have water stations at the first and second mile though and the course is gorgeous but there are a couple of spots (mostly by the zoo) where there isn't much air flow so things can get a little warm.

Going back to the 'lost gaming time' if you are staying at a hotel that is not within walking distance I would highly recommend checking out NIFS. You will run right past them during the first mile from the start, just past the NCAA buildings. They have fantastic showering facilities and a day pass is only $15.

Whether it's worth the time away from gaming depends on your priorities.  I'll be running a marathon in Eagle Creek Park on Saturday morning.  It didn't occur to me to travel to Indianapolis for Gen Con until I discovered they were both on the same weekend.

Thanks dgmillions, cincinatas and pizzarunner. Your information and tips are quite helpful.
I love interesting race experiences and the Orc Stomp sounds like a great one. I think I'll go for it.

Does it typically sell out early?

pizzarunner - best wishes for your marathon! I've only ever done a half and that was extremely challenging. I am in great awe of those who run marathons!

They do sell out and it has gotten earlier when they sell out each year but it is not quite as bad as something like True Dungeon. It certainly would not hurt to get the tickets within the first couple days of registration opening, but there is no need to have to put it at the very top of your wishlist if you are going to go for the mad noon dash to submit it on May 19th. 

As a note, don't worry about getting the 'ticket' for packet pick-up as unfortunately Gen Con's registration system is not terribly sophisticated about realizing it is okay for the packet pick-up event to overlap with other events and you could accidentally lock yourself out of being able to get other event tickets during that time slot.

Mike Boozer
Customer Service & Event Team Manager
Gen Con LLC 

Thanks Mike!

Last year it "sold out" about a month after event reg opened. That said I believe normally the organizer also tries to keep some spots for last minute (but no t-shirt)

And welcome. We are an odd, strange lot that run the stomp, and voluntarily exhaust ourselves before the con.

That is fantastic to hear! Thanks for the heads up, Mike!