My son and I participated in our first color run last weekend. It was the Color Me Rad 5k run, to be exact. Not only was it the first Color Me Rad run for my son and I, it was the first Color Me Rad 5k for our city! Based on the number of people who showed up and the energy level that morning, I’d say the event was a HUGE success.
If you’re not familiar with a color run, here’s how the Color Me Rad organizers describe it: “When Zoloft and balloon animals can’t seem to raise your spirits, the best way to brighten your life is to run Color Me Rad 5k….Start out as clean as a newborn babe, and throughout the run, you’ll coat your chaffing thighs with blue, green, pink, purple, and yellow until your face, shirt, and body come out silkscreened like a tie-dyed hippie on the other side. Yup…that is how you turn regular running into The Art of Running!”
Since I have one color run under my belt, I think of myself as a color run expert now and in a position to give advice on how to prepare for a color run. So for anyone considering signing up for a color run, check out these 10 Commandments:
COMMANDMENT #1: Wear white. Lots and lots of white. Go to a thrift store and buy a white shirt, a white hat, white socks and a white handkerchief. Just don’t wear clothes you care about too much. They will get thrashed.
COMMANDMENT #2: Speaking of a handkerchief…I suggest wearing one so that you don’t inhale the color bomb contents. What is a color bomb made of, you ask? Well, it’s basically cornstarch with pizzazz. Inhaling it won’t kill you but I just didn’t feel like tie-dying my lungs.
Here’s a before picture. I know, I know…we look like a couple of thugs getting ready to rob a bank.
COMMANDMENT #3: Wear sunglasses. Color Me Rad provides each participant with some groovy shades and all the runners were wearing them. Not only do they make you look cool, they will protect your eyeballs from the color bomb dust that will surely make its way to your peepers.
COMMANDMENT #4: Wear shoes you don’t care about. This is not the time to break out your new kicks. Wear the oldest, rattiest, gnarliest running shoes that you own. Something that, if they turned into the color of cantaloupe, you would not be saddened.
COMMANDMENT #5: Bring a trash bag to put your dirty shoes and clothes in after the race. You will NOT want those nasty, colorful items in your car. Bring some flip flops to wear on the way home and you are set!
COMMANDMENT #6: Speaking of nasty, colorful things…your clothes will be wretched, yet beautifully colored. You should bring a t-shirt to change into after the race. Or do what my son did. He just wore two shirts and when the race was over, he took off shirt #1 and was already wearing clean(ish) shirt #2.
COMMANDMENT #7: Bring a sheet or towel for each participant. When it was time for the ride home, I took off my shoes, put the clean sandals on, changed out of my dirty shirt, then wrapped a sheet around my waist so I didn’t get any color bomb matter on the seat of my husband’s car. He really appreciated that.
COMMANDMENT #8: This is an amazing race to run with friends and family so plan accordingly. Don’t do this one alone…It’s a very social and fun event so make it a family affair or a girls day out. I usually do races alone but this run is an exception. Don’t be a loner.
COMMANDMENT #9: Enjoy all of the festivities. The Color Me Rad event had gigantic color bombs go off every 10 minutes. Don’t miss out on that! The volunteers had fire extinguishers filled with the color bomb dust and they would spray everyone in sight. They also had tanks of colored water that they would spray on runners throughout the run. When runners crossed the finish line they received a color bomb (baggie full of colored cornstarch) and waited for the color bomb countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Poof…Everyone simultaneously threw their color bombs in the air. Visibility was zero in the midst of a color bomb. It was awesome. Music was blaring, people were dancing, kids were rolling on the floor getting covered in color, adults morphed into what looked like art class kindergartners gone wild. It was a crazy scene. My husband even had a fun time and he didn’t run. The people watching was entertaining enough for him! (Thanks to hubby for all of the great pics…like this one):
COMMANDMENT #10: A color run is a happy occasion so be happy on the day of your run and be prepared to get messy. Don’t hold back on the color bombs…in fact, buy some extra bombs to throw on your loved ones. And don’t worry, the color will come out!
Have you ever participated in a color run? Did I miss any important commandments?
slowgirlfastdog 