It’s 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning, a time where most teenagers would still be tucked in bed, but I find myself standing in a crowd of thousands. A sea of white shirts, shorts, pants, socks, sunglasses, headbands, tutus and capes surround me. Everyone tightens up their sneakers as they prepare to run (or walk) the “happiest 5k on the planet” – The Color Run.
The Color Run wasn’t a normal 5k.
Runners started dressed in pure white and finish looking as if they just escaped the Crayola factory. Each kilometer had a different “color station” where volunteers showered runners in a certain color paint-like powder.
At the finish festival there was a “color extravaganza” where all runners threw their individual powder packets in the air, creating an enormous cloud of color and transforming hair, skin and clothes into a rainbow.
Like many other races, The Color Run raises money to donate to charity. The Color Run sponsors a different charity for each city that it visits. This year, the St. Louis Color Run partnered with Autism Speaks – the nation’s largest autism organization.
The race took place in downtown St. Louis, at Market and Olive Street. Traffic and parking was a bit inconvenient, as we ended up walking half a mile just to get to the starting line. Other than that, The Color Run was a very fun experience. I more than enjoyed getting masked in color, socializing with friends during the race, and dancing in the crowd at the finish festival.
My favorite part about The Color Run was, of course, the color stations. As long as you didn’t open your mouth, being bombarded with colored powder was a great time. Unfortunately, the first station I got a mouthful of powder which not only tasted like chalk, but stained my teeth blue. Despite this, The Color Run was a fun experience and I would love to participate in the race again.
The race is not timed, so I would not recommend it if you are an experienced runner looking for an intense race. The Color Run focused on those looking to have fun getting messy, in addition to getting some exercise. I walked most of it, just so the race would last longer.
The Color Run is coming back to St. Louis next year, so if you get the chance I would definitely suggest you try it. Be sure to sign up early (April/May) because registration fills up very quickly.
