On Saturday, I ran the Go Commando Adventure Run. You can check out the race recap here. On Sunday I ran the Color Run at the Minnesota State Fair grounds in Minneapolis.
My before Picture |
It seems like just about everyone is familiar with the different versions of the Color Run. It is essentially a 5k that has 4-5 different areas where volunteers throw a colored powder on you. Runners are encouraged to wear white clothing for a maximum effect!
When I signed up for this run, I was pretty excited. I had heard about many others who have had a blast at this type of run. I signed up right away when registration opened, but could not convince any of my running buddies to join me. No one else really thought having stuff thrown on you while you run sounded fun!
Starting Corral! Packed! |
The morning of the run came, again my sister and boyfriend came along for support. My wave time was supposed to be 9:15am, but we got there early, and there were thousands of people!! The starting line was over 2 blocks long!! I just jumped in where I could and got started. I don't know what time I actually started running, but it was before 9:15.
In the starting corral, it first became apparent to me that this was not going to be so much of a run, but more of dodging walkers and strollers type of run. Most of the people I talked to in the corral, had never run a 5k before, or had actually never even run before and were just there to walk.
Strollers... |
Lots of people carried their children & ran!! |
It was a weird vibe.
About a 1/2 a mile in we hit the first color, blue! I ran through while the volunteers (who were covered head to toe in blue!) sprayed me with the colored powder. I was disappointed that not much of it actually stuck to me! It wasn't really sticking to my clothes, but more to my arms and face and teeth
(I was smiling!)
Just about every 1/2 a mile there was another color. People were so excited to get this powder thrown on them. It was actually pretty funny! As much as I tried to get a lot of powder sprayed on me, it just wasn't sticking!
By mile 3, I was sick of dodging people, and really happy to see the finish line. I just wanted to be clean again!
My "after" picture! Not a ton of color... |
The finish line was a huge back up that lead into the post party. This part was pretty cool, as they have color explosions every 10 minutes. But it was so crowded! They said there were more than 20, 000 people in the post party when I crossed the finish line, and more were coming in!! CRAZY!!
My sister took these pictures, I am in there somewhere! |
While this is not a
Color Explosion! |
I also think it is cool to see so many people having a great time together. There were no issues, everyone was happy! That is such a great thing to witness!
Here are some tips if you are planning on doing this type of run:
1. Wear a cotton shirt. While is it not comfortable to sweat in, I think it holds more color. I wore a tech top and it did not catch much color.
2. Wear old shoes! I wore some shoes I really didn't care too much about, but at times I was plodding through ankle-high colored powder! So, your shoes really take a beating!
3. Run with a group! I think this race would have been a lot more fun with a group of people, running alone was pretty boring.
4. Don't expect to PR or even run the whole way! These runs are money makers and they are crowded! Do not expect people to respect or even know about race etiquette!! Walkers are everywhere!
5. Make sure anyone coming to watch is wearing clothing that can get dirty! My sister never dresses down and was not happy when she got some color on her "good" shirt!!
Have you ever done a Color Run? What did you think?
2 comments:
I'm doing one in just about a month, with my boyfriend, roomate, friend, and hopefully a couple more friends. I'm excited, and it'll be my first "race" in a few months.
I haven't done the color run yet, but I've heard very similar reports. I think it should only be done by those who really want to have fun, or are thinking about maybe racing a 5k, this is a great way to try it out but much lower pressure!
Post a Comment