Buster Barkley’s Community Desk: Fort Bragg’s summer 5K series ended with a pirate-themed run, and the dress code appears to have been “anything that can survive 3.1 miles.”
About 1,400 runners gathered at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds in North Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 15, for the “X Marks the Spot” 5K, according to a report by Jennifer Fayson for the Fort Bragg Garrison Public Affairs Office. The race was the finale of the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s annual summer 5K series.
The field included active-duty soldiers, parents, children and family pets. Participants turned the course into a moving costume parade, with tricorn hats, eye patches and inflatable parrot sidekicks accompanying the usual running shoes.
Fort Bragg special-event coordinator Amanda Cahill said the event brought the installation community together for a quality-of-life activity. In practical terms, that meant people spent a Saturday morning running, walking and committing wholeheartedly to pirate accessories.
Buster’s field note: a 5K is long enough to test a costume, a leash and the structural integrity of an inflatable parrot. The runners made it work.
The morning’s real treasure was the turnout: a community event where families and pets could share the course, and where a pirate hat counted as both race-day gear and a perfectly reasonable conversation starter.
Source: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, “Soldiers, families don pirate gear to run final leg of summer 5K race series”, published Aug. 18, 2026.