EAST PROVIDENCE - There were no ghouls or goblins running around Rumford Sunday morning, but local residents looking out their windows in the area of North Broadway might have thought differently.

For the fourth year in a row, the East Providence Fire Department sponsored its “Freaky 5K” last weekend. Always held in late October, the event serves as a fundraiser for various community causes.

It also allows runners of all skill levels along with their family and friends the chance to dress up in their most nifty Halloween outfits, something you’re not going to find in almost any other road race.

Having this type of race at this time of year was no accident.

“What happened was we were looking for a time of year where there wasn’t a lot of races on the calendar. There’s a lot in the summer on Saturdays and Sundays and we were trying to maximize our fundraising efforts,” said David daFonseca, a city firefighter who serves on the race’s organizing committee.

“So we decided on October. Then, because of the timing of it, the costumes kind of came naturally. We wanted to make it unique. That was the whole thing.”

While there are some runners who choose to sprint for their best times in normal race attire, there are also those who choose to dress up a little and take a nice, leisurely stroll. There were also teams. like the five-member “Team Zombie,” who wore white T-shirts with black letters and numbers bleeding red. Two members of this team, Christen Greguoli of Connecticut and Valerie Faria of East Providence, came in last. But they didn’t mind. Similarly, team member Albert Greguoli said he was just glad he finished. Taking the race more seriously, however, was Stephanie Greguoli and her boyfriend Matt Faria, of East Providence, who were coming back for their second and third “Freaky 5Ks” respectively.

“I just like it. It’s just a really good community event,” Stephanie said.

Outside of the race, the event featured a number of other attractions at Station 3, located on North Broadway. Opening up the doors to the station’s vehicle bay, a crowd of more than 200 people crowded in and around the garage for music and food.

But the day’s biggest attraction, drawing dozens of enthusiastic spectators, was the hot dog eating contest.

“That’s been there since the race’s inception,” Mr. daFonseca said. “We wanted to do something fun and silly at the same time.”

In total, five local firefighters sat down to see who could eat the most “hot wieners” in a five minute time span. This year’s winner was firefighter Jeff Church, who took down a dozen.

“After losing last year I came back with a vengeance,” Mr. Church said. “The trick is using plenty of water.”

In the first three years, the “Freaky 5K” raised about $20,000 for causes like local little leagues, Pop Warner football, turkey baskets for Thanksgiving and “Secret Santa” drives, among other causes. This year, the event raised about another $7,000.

And while this year’s “Freaky 5K” may be over, Mr. daFonseca said it will definitely be coming back a fifth year.

“We just want to thank all the sponsors, the runners and the volunteers who have helped make this event a success,” Mr. daFonseca said.