I have now done a Color Run!
I've been wanting to do one of these for a couple years now, really since they first started getting popular. With one thing and another, I just couldn't make one. There are actually a bunch in the area, too. Austin and Dallas both have them, if I don't mind driving. Temple and Killeen both have them too, which was more surprising. But between schedules and having people to run with, it just wasn't working out for me. Normally having buddies on a race isn't a big deal for me, but with this one, it just seemed like a More-The-Merrier sort of thing.
So, we were planning on doing the one in Killeen this fall (November). We still might, come to think of it! But then we lucked out. MWR on post puts on races regularly through the year, and the 4th of July race is one of their standards. This year, they decided to make it a color run! Couldn't pass that up! So here we are, nice and clean white shirts, all ready to go.
If you're going to do one of these, the pre-race picture is important - lets you see how very dusted you actually became!
The race itself was fun, but crowded. It was by far one of the biggest turn-outs I've ever seen at an MWR event, let alone a race! Everyone was taking advantage of it!! There were so many people there, I wouldn't call it a race at all. It was still a 5K (they just used the post's usual 5K course) but with all the people, and especially with so many kids and first time runners, it made quite a crowd to maneuver through, in spite of the wave start. Even with the crowd, I'd say it's worth doing. Especially if you can talk someone into trying a 5K for the first time. All the colored powder and no timing definitely makes it a less intimidating introduction to running. Anything to encourage people to be more active, right?
Despite what you might think looking at Zach's shirt above, the majority of the color doesn't come from the race itself (unless you make a special effort) but from the Color Party afterwards. Zach got so very blue by being at the front of the first wave. The volunteer color teams (those who throw the powder at the runners) were still VERY excited as he was running through. The kids especially were having a blast trying to get the adults with the color. Living in Texas, we don't actually get snow to speak of, so this is the closest we can come to a snowball fight and being able to legitimately throw stuff at one another.
As you can see below, the Color Party leaves significantly more color on a person! People got little bags of color as they finished (I think it comes in the race packets in an average Color Run). And then at the party, the volunteers spray powder over the crowds (in the pictures above) and people toss their powder up (or at each other). Everyone gets very colored!
The race itself was fun, but crowded. It was by far one of the biggest turn-outs I've ever seen at an MWR event, let alone a race! Everyone was taking advantage of it!! There were so many people there, I wouldn't call it a race at all. It was still a 5K (they just used the post's usual 5K course) but with all the people, and especially with so many kids and first time runners, it made quite a crowd to maneuver through, in spite of the wave start. Even with the crowd, I'd say it's worth doing. Especially if you can talk someone into trying a 5K for the first time. All the colored powder and no timing definitely makes it a less intimidating introduction to running. Anything to encourage people to be more active, right?
Despite what you might think looking at Zach's shirt above, the majority of the color doesn't come from the race itself (unless you make a special effort) but from the Color Party afterwards. Zach got so very blue by being at the front of the first wave. The volunteer color teams (those who throw the powder at the runners) were still VERY excited as he was running through. The kids especially were having a blast trying to get the adults with the color. Living in Texas, we don't actually get snow to speak of, so this is the closest we can come to a snowball fight and being able to legitimately throw stuff at one another.
As you can see below, the Color Party leaves significantly more color on a person! People got little bags of color as they finished (I think it comes in the race packets in an average Color Run). And then at the party, the volunteers spray powder over the crowds (in the pictures above) and people toss their powder up (or at each other). Everyone gets very colored!
Surprisingly (I suppose) for a crafty-type person, I did not try to set the color on my shirt. Zach and I talked about it, but ultimately, I just washed it back to the basic white. I took pictures, though! You can probably see why I chose not to - the funny green stripe from Zach hugging me, and the sports bra-shaped void on the back are just kinda funny. So, would rather have my basic black and white running shirt back. Zach's shirt we didn't even try to salvage!
The powder does wash out, eventually. My hat is back to black, and after a few washes, my shirt is white again too. Maybe at the November race, I'll try and get a better "design" on my shirt and try and set it then. We'll see! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment