Color Running!

A few weeks ago I saw an advertisement for a Color Vibe race in Vermont.  At first I brushed it off a little.  I didn’t think I was ready.  I totally fell off the bandwagon for my running group.

Also, I saw the advertisement two weeks before the day of the race.  Could I really get back in shape in 2 weeks?

I put the invitation out to a few of my friends to see if I could get any buy in to give me some extra motivation.   All 3 of the friends I asked had interested in doing a color run.  However, only one was able to register and sign up to participate.  I was so happy to have someone onboard with me for the race!

With a friend signed up to run with me, I kicked it into high gear and got out running.  I set my alarm for 5am and got outside and moving almost every morning before the race.

Here is what 5am looks like around here:

Despite the initial “Oh-my-gosh-it’s-5am” feeling, it does feel really good to get up and start moving.  I found that it set the tone for the day.   (Now if I could only keep this up!)

Here were my expectations for the race:

1.       Have fun

2.       Get some color

3.       Catch up with an old friend

All expectations were met.  I had a good time!

The night before the race I was able to pick up my registration packet which included my t-shirt, color packets, sunglasses, and registration bib.  When I picked up these items it became clear that this race was not competitive at all. The bib numbers weren’t matched up to names and there was no tear away piece for the finish line.  Clearly the goal of a color vibe race is to simply have FUN.

Upon arriving at the race a zumba instructor was getting the runners warmed up with some fun tunes.  A DJ then took over and began to release waves of runners every 4 minutes or so.

The course followed a golf course around a few holes, went into the woods for a bit, and then popped back out in a field for a long straight away to the finish line.

Every so often on the route there were packs of volunteers dousing runners with color.  The color stations were fairly evenly spaced throughout the race.  It is impossible to run through them without getting color.

Before:

During:

After:

I would definitely recommend this race to anyone looking to have some fun.  You don’t need to be overly athletic to participate. Many groups were walking or walk/jogging through the race.

I do recommend purchasing extra color packets.  My friend and I carried packets with us and sprinkled runners that we ran past.  It was a little extra motivation for runners that we were passing and a little extra fun for us.

Cheers to a 30/30 accomplishment and a great day of fun with a good friend!