On Saturday, Miles, Willa, and I participated in the Color Run. It's a 5k run that basically turns 15,000 white clad runners into human canvases of color by the end! Now that's my kind of race! I signed us up months ago as soon as I saw this very cool video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EERSfHiqT8&feature=player_embedded and we'd been excitedly anticipating it ever since.
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| COLOR BOMB!!!!!!!!!! |
All runners(unless you are clueless or are taking the race SERIOUSLY in your fancy running wear) start off in spanking white gear. At the bib pick-up, you're given a Color Run t-shirt and head band, the rest is up to you. So Willa and I visited our local party shop and outfitted the 3 of us in some fun white stuff! Fairy wings for Willa and I and a fedora for Miles, colorful mesh arm warmers, white knee socks, crazy sunglasses and tutus. We we're gonna go all out with the fun for this one!
So the race basically consists of this: at each kilometer there is a color station set up with delightfully very over eager, happy, fun lovin volunteers ready to spray you with paint powder. Each station is a different color. You run through a tunnel of color flying everywhere! And on to the next one. It really was a fun way to run a race....and what better way for Willa to run her first 5k! At the end of the race you'll find photo stations, food and water, and a big stage set up where they blast dance music and an mc gets race finishers riled up
almost to mosh pit level by throwing out Color Run paraphernalia and the coveted packets of vibrant colored paint powder. Every 15 minutes they hold a Color Bomb where they count down and everyone throws their paint up in the air at the same time....resulting in a very awesome and beautiful cloud of color! Intense to behold at a distance....and wacky to be in the middle of when it "goes off"! The cloud literally blocked out the sun for a few seconds. And breathing it in was a little...raw and icky...but it was something! THIS is where the REAL coloring of the people begins!
Now, to be truthful, so yooz are not disappointed, running through the color stations is fun, fun, fun, but you're
not going to get
A LOT of color on you. Most folks end the race with lovely pastel hues. (HINT: If it's a warm enough day, wet down your clothes and that paint will become instantly vibrant when it hits you!!!!) But those official Color Run vids and pics you see of people looking like a Jackson Pollock original? You get the CRAZY color in the Color Bombs because many runners are just CHUCKING the stuff around! It can be fun, but if you're not expecting it, it can be a bit annoying. And then there are the drama queens and kings who pretty much paint themselves and each other just to look outrageous and get great photos. And the Color Run banks on those sweet photo ops. I'm not too big on the Color Run as an organization. They taut themselves as giving back to the community, BUT, I found out after the race that they are not a non-profit and only 2% of proceeds went to their "Charity partner". Meh? Folks? It's the RUNNERS and VOLUNTEERS who make this race! The Color Run literally just provides a "Canvas".
Anyhoo, I'll come down off my soap box.
Here's the 3 of us and our lovely buddy, Martin, squeaky clean pre-race:
And here we are post-race dusted in whimsical colors:
Then things got CRAZY colorful!!!! The Pruners kept it real for the rest of our Color Run experience...just allowing the Color Bombs and our fellow over-zealous runners color us further. But dig our photos at the end!
For now, let's go back to the start of the race:
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| Like an ad for Clorox! |
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| Kilometer 1: Orange! Or, perhaps it was mandarin?! |
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| K2: AZURE! |
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| Even wraping and taping my camera in a produce bag dig not keep the paint from creeping in. Methinks I will need a profesh cleaning!!!! |
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| K3: Mustard! |
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| K4: Magenta! |
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| They're right about the whole "Happiest 5k on the planet" thing! |
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| Zippy! My little kick-ass fairy girl! This kid loves to run! |
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| About to finish! And, HEY!!!! Dig my doppelgänger right behind me running next to Miles!!!! WEIRD!!!! Who IS that chick!!??? |
Ok! So now we're at the stage ready for a Color Bomb!!!! Catch a color packet, hunny!!!!
3...2...1.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Bleeeeeeh! Cough, cough! |
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| After 2 or 3 color bombs! |
Heading home...
So, all in all, we had a friggin' blast! While I don't dig the fact that the Color Run only gives a tiny 2% to a local charity....and I STILL have not found a true breakdown of the ingredients in the paint(I'm NOT going for their whole, "It's elf-made!!!" BS. So far I've read that it is cornstarch based and edible...but they say that MSG is edible, sooooo)... they do promote a day of getting out and doing something healthy in a super fun way. The diversity of runners was huge, unlike any race I've been a part of. There where people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and abilities...from young cross country phenoms to a woman in a wheelchair being pushed by a small child. This was a GREAT way to introduce people to the fun and excitement of the race running culture. If it sparked pride, the realization that a person could finish a 5k, and the desire to get out and do it again in just ONE person....hey, it's totally worth it.
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| You GO, buddy!!!!!!!!!!!! |
OH! And a word on after race clean-up!!! Shake as much of that powder off of you as you can!!! Hop in the shower and USE SHAMPOO on your hair and body to get that paint off!!!!! It was the only thing that worked!!!!
