Tuesday, May 8, 2012

So Cal Color Run Review

On April 22nd, 4/5ths of my old roommate crew (Jessie, Shannon, Tori, and I) reunited for a unique type of 5K- the color run!  The So Cal Color Run was held at the Great Park in Irvine, CA.  They have color runs all over the U.S., so check out the website (http://thecolorrun.com/locations/) to see if it's coming to a location near you.
Team, Sorry We're SLO
(Get it?  We went to school at Cal Poly SLO!  So clever...)

The bib/packet pick-up was held on the Friday and Saturday before the race at RoadRunner Sports and could also be done on-site, the day of the race.  We went Saturday and it was super easy and convenient.  We walked away with a gel or two, a color run t-shirt, and our powder for the race.  The powder comes in a few different colors (pink, green, yellow, blue, purple, orange) and is what is thrown at you and in the air during the run.  According to the website, the powder is essentially food-grade cornstarch and is 100% safe and natural.
The one rule of the race...wear a white t-shirt!  Why?  At each kilometer there is a "color-zone" where a designated color is thrown at the runners by color-run volunteers.  Each color-zone is a different color, so by the end of the run you should be multi-colored.  If you run close to the sides of the path it is designated a "high-color zone" as opposed to running in the middle is a "low-color zone".  Although the colored powder is safe, wearing glasses definitely come in handy and maybe even a bandana over you mouth or nose when running through the color if you have a hard time breathing.  At the end of the race there is a color festival where you are encouraged to use the powder you received (if you haven't wasted it all in the race) and join all the finishers in throwing it in the air or at one another. 

The color runs are "fun runs" and are not timed races.   They tend to start in waves that take off every 5-10 minutes to eliminate congestion, but we were not assigned to a specific wave; just show up and jump into one of them!  It's very low key, but that's not to say it's unorganized...just a lot different than a timed race.  We definitely enjoyed our run, from the pre-race shirt decorating, the run itself, to the festival at the end (which included dancing)!  There were even some post-race vendors for food and drinks, including a slurpee truck :)

Instead of posting a ton of pictures, I'll let you check out what the color run was like from the video I created as a tribute to our race!  Enjoy!

Lesson learned: fun runs are just that...fun!

It's coming to San Diego in November and I am SOOOO excited to do it again!

P.S. The color comes off skin fairly easily, but I did have some pink in my hair for a day or two after. I wouldn't suggest wearing your nicest running clothes, but the color will mostly come out.

2 comments:

  1. This looks so fun! I'd really like to run this someday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do it! do it! do it! It's sooo much fun!

      Delete