This past weekend I finally got the color run experience. Yippee! I had wanted to see what the hype was about for a while, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Luckily, my sister gave me registration as my Christmas present – thanks, Jus! My sister made plans to come up to Burlington so we could run the race together a couple months back and my mom joined us last minute. I had two goals going into the run.
- Get as colorful as humanly possible.
- Have a good time.
The race is called the Color Run, not the Color Race. If you want to run a fast time then this is not right for you, but if you want to enjoy yourself then sign right up! I have two types of mentalities going into races, which I mentioned in one of my first posts. I’m either going to race my heart out or I’m just doing it for fun. You can probably guess what mentality I had for this one. 😉
On Saturday morning the weather ended up being a lil’ bit chilly – 40’s-50’s. I guess fall really has arrived. I ended up having to wear spandex and a long sleeve shirt to keep warm. Luckily, the color easily came out of my clothing. I guess it’s just cornstarch. I always pictured paint being thrown, but it was actually more powder-like.
The race started at 9:00, but everyone left in waves all the way up to 10:00. Pump up music was being played and everyone was warming up by dancing. The announcer was throwing stuff to the crowd and I caught a hat! Success!!!!
Around 9:20 it was our turn to run and me, my mom, and my sister took off! There were 4 color stations along the way; yellow, pink, purple, and blue. At each station I probably became a bit obnoxious by raising my hands up and trying to get the volunteers’ attention. I just wanted to get as much color as possible! There were people squirting color at all of us and each station turned into a powdery color haze. It was awesome!
About 28 minutes later we crossed the finish line holding hands. It was so much fun to be able to do this with my two favorite women! I’m so dang proud of them. I’ve been helping my mom with her training for over a year now and my sister asked me to help her out a few months ago. Gotta love it – the youngest in the family giving others advice. To see their leaps of improvement is extremely inspiring. They make me want to push myself even more.
My mom and sis. So proud!
Our colorful shoes at the end. I might not try to get the color off my shoes. I think they look prettier now.
Overall, I think the Color Run was put together extremely well. The volunteers were friendly, the atmosphere was fantastic, and all around was just a lot of fun. Some more serious runners might look down on the whole idea, but I think what they’re doing is pretty awesome. Our country has a huge problem with obesity, and more in general, inactivity. A 5k race might be too intimidating for a beginner runner, but if it takes a run with people throwing color to get someone active then so be it. It was great seeing people of all different abilities at the race. My favorite was when I saw different families running together. The little kids were adorable!
In conclusion, a great time was had by all. Thanks, Mom and Jus for joining me!
posing with the Color unicorn!
Heading out. Clap along if you know what happiness is to you -cue Pharrell Williams-
Have you ever run a Color Run before? Do you want to run one? Anyone else at the event this past weekend?
Joy Runner 