This past weekend was a double race weekend for me; each day I ran a 5k (see the other recap here). Saturday was the San Diego Color Run. While this wasn't a true "race" (ie it was untimed, and people did more walking than running) I still feel compelled to recap the fun. The Color Run is a new type of race where you run through color stations at every 1k mark; at those points, volunteers douse you with color (I believe it's a dyed cornstarch). You start off in a white shirt, and end up looking like a rainbow.
Originally, I was supposed to do this with my whole family. I thought it looked fun for the kids, especially my 8 year-old son, D. When I showed him the YouTube video of the race back in March (when I registered) he was SO excited. It was just up his alley. Similarly, my daughter, A, watched the video over and over again, wanting to be part of it. I also signed up my BFF (best friend forever) as he recently made his bucket list and on it was to run a 5k (he never had before). However, now that A has a broken neck and is wearing a halo until January, she couldn't do it. I sold her bib, and my husband's, to a friend and her daughter. I went to the expo on Thursday to pick up our stuff: bibs, white shirts, white headbands, and a packet of color which we were instructed to save for the finish line. They also had other official Color Run merchandise for sale, which I didn't buy.
On Saturday morning we got up, got ready, picked up my friend and her daughter, and headed down to Qualcomm Stadium where we met up with my BFF. We did some prep work first, by laying down towels on the car seats and taping sheets down on the floor. I did NOT want to get my car color-coated! I also secured a bandana to my head; I had read that was recommended, as the color can be hard to get off and I wanted to protect my scalp. I did not bring my Garmin, as I did not want it to get ruined (also, as an untimed fun run I didn't care what our time was). My friend brought me an old white skirt to wear, so I was all in white. Soon we joined the many, many people, all in white shirts, to wait for our turn to start.
Once it was our turn, we started running. Soon we hit the 1k mark, which was the pink zone. Everything and everyone was COVERED in pink. They had volunteers with big squirt bottles full of the pink powder. You could just run through and get a little on you, but of course we had to stop and have them totally drench us with color. I have to admit, it was FUN! My son, especially, got very colorful. He had them pour powder all over his shirt and head.
The rest of the run was similar. At 2k we ran through yellow; at 3k we ran through orange, and at 4k we ran through blue. At the finish line, was a big crowd dancing to music, and every 10-15 minutes or so they would count down to have people explode their color packets. We definitely looked like a rainbow at the end. One cool thing was someone went onstage, where the DJ was, and proposed to his girlfriend. That was unexpected and fun to see.
Once we got home, it was shower time. I had to really scrub myself raw with a body scrub and washcloth, but was able to get the color off. My son took a bath; the water turned bright green! After draining and refilling the tub, he was able to get most of the color off. To this day, 3 days later, he still has some blue in his ear and some green on his scalp. I highly recommend putting a bandana on your head, as I did; washing my hair was easy.
I will definitely do this race again next year. If it were just me, I might not (once is enough) but my son loved it, and I really want my daughter to experience it, too. If it comes to your area, sign up!
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That stuff is so hard to wash off! I had blue around my right arm for a week. I agree with you - it was fun to do once, but I don't think I'll do it again, though I have plenty of friends that are already planning next year!
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