Yesterday I ran in my first “color run.” You know the one where you get doused with corn starch that has been dyed some awfully bright shade of pink, yellow, orange, green, blue or purple? Yeah, that one.
Run or Dye Color Run
I registered for the run back in January or February of this year because I had a code to get half off making it like $20. You can’t beat that. At the time I registered the idea that I would now be regularly running upwards of 10 miles at a time was not even fathomable and a 5k “race” sounded like a real challenge. Fast forward 5 months and hundreds of training miles later and a 5k sounded sort of dull really. I can run a 5k in under 30:00 without breaking a sweat (not that my pace is break-neck speed, but you get the idea). I was almost sort of dreading the run because I would have to get up at 5:00am on a Saturday, cross the Bay Bridge, pay $15 for parking at Candlestick park and to top it off, I’d be messy as hell afterwards. BUT I registered with one of my BFFs and my baby sister. They were both excited and so I feigned excitement too, woke up at 5:00am on a Saturday, crossed the Bay Bridge, (I didn’t pay for parking because I was the carpool – score!) and got messy as hell. It was a blast!
There are at least 4 race organizers who offer these colors runs and I am sure that for the most part they are all fairly similar. I have only been to this one color run so I can only vouch for how Run or Dye operates.
Pre-race selfie
There were 2 starting times, 9:00am or 11:00am. Since we were registered for the 9:00am starting time we got there at about 7:45am. My awesome sister, Mariel, picked up our race packets for us the day before the run and we were able to avoid the pick-up lines which looked pretty long and chaotic. We made our way over to the starting shoot at about 8:15am and sissy handed each of us (there were 6 of us running together) extra dye packets. We immediately started ripping into them and pelting each other and complete strangers with the stuff. We were “dyed” even before the run started.
My baby sister, Mariel (left) rocking the run at 6 months pregnant!
Finally at 9:00am they started letting runners go, but only groups of perhaps 200-300 go at any given time. Because we were not right up against the starting line we had to wait until probably around 9:05am to start. Finally it was our turn and off we went. I am the only serious runner in our group and though I had fully intended on walking the 5k with my sister (who is almost 6 months pregnant) I couldn’t help myself and I took off. The race is not timed. If you come to one of these things with the intention of setting a PR you’ll be sorely disappointed because the vast majority of participants either walk or run slowly. And because most of the participants do not regularly participate in races, they don’t know the “rules” of the road (e.g. slower traffic to the left, don’t stop in the middle of the road to tie your shoe, etc.) and I spent and awful lot of time weaving around people and trying not to trip over them.
As you run the course you go through 5 or 6 color stations where volunteers hit you with handfuls of this colored powder.
My niece Mila (11 years old) did awesome!
The first couple stations I went through I ended up with powder in my mouth and teeth. It is harmless really, but powder in your mouth is not a pleasant sensation. I learned my lesson and started running through the stations with my hand over my mouth. I also wore sunglasses to keep the powder out of my eyes (which didn’t work all that well as I did get some in my eyes early on).
The course was confined entirely to the parking lot at Candlestick park (current home of the San Francisco 49ers and future ghost town after this football season). It was flat for the most part with a very modest “hill” that was perhaps a 1/10th of a mile long). It was clear the course was designed for all runners/ participants in mind.
My sister from another mister Anjulee (right) is now a 5k junkie
At this point I should say that I ran naked yesterday. No! Not that kind of naked! I didn’t want to frighten children and embarrass myself all at once. What I mean is that I did NOT run with my usual music and Run Keeper app chiming in my ears. I figured I’d give it a shot running the 5k au natural and I am glad I did. It was definitely much more pleasant than I thought it would be. I don’t know if I could do it on my training runs, but it is good to know that I have the option for a short race.
Because I ran naked I was able to appreciate the atmosphere of the race and interact with fellow runners. I must have High 5’d at least 2 dozen people coming the opposite direction when running. I must have thrown dye at a dozen complete strangers and been hit with dye by even more. I think the single best part of this race was the crowd. Everyone was clearly there for a good time and checked all their crap at the figurative door.
When I finally saw the finish line I started to pick up the pace a little bit and crossed where a volunteer greeted all finishers with a High 5 and a “good job!” It was pretty neat.
I was the first of the group to finish and I hung out by the finish line so I could nail each of the members of my party with orange powder one last time as they crossed.
The whole group post-race
After reuniting with the group we all picked up some freebies including Noosa Yoghurt. I am NOT being paid by them to tell you that is the best f***ing yogurt I have ever had in my life. The people handing out containers told us to take as many as we wanted and I probably took at least a dozen of them. I don’t even like yogurt. That should tell you how good it was.
Before getting back into the car we all changed clothes, shook out our hair and put plastic bags on the headrests in the car. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren’t any stains on my tan colored cloth seats.
My beautiful shoes!
I was also pretty worried about my shoes being wrecked (even though they were my newly “retired” Kayanos), but surprisingly they look practically brand new after a little rub down with a baby wipe.
All-in-all the race was a lot of fun. So much fun that next time my husband and kids are coming with me. I am going to Color Vibe in September 2013, so that will be subject to another review afterwards. I recommend that any level runner participate in at least one of these. It gives you a little perspective and perhaps a little ego boost regardless of your level because the course is so beginner friendly.
When I got home I stripped (imagine my shock when there was orange powder in my underwear when I undressed (?!?!)) and hopped in the shower. The dye easily came out of my hair and off of most of my body. That being said my armpits had a faint purple tinge, under my nails were grey, I had pink stains on my face and my snot was technicolor. Sorry, no pictures of that! Luckily my skin (both on my face and under my arms), nails and snot have all returned to normal, but my opinion of “fun runs” or “color runs” may never be the same.
Xoxo,
Mimi
Run with Mimi 