The Color Run

Last year was the first time the Color Run came to Kansas City, and I wanted to go more than anything! Have you heard of the Color Run? It’s the happiest 5K on the planet! Basically it’s a 5K fun run, and at every kilometer you run through a tunnel where people throw colored powder all over you. By the end you’re a multi-colored mess, but it’s such a blast! When the race is over, you run across the finish line and straight into a huge dance party, where everyone throws more colored powder up in the air during countdowns led by the Color Run DJ. Here’s a video explaining the whole, crazy thing:

Last year the race filled up so fast, we didn’t get in. But this year they decided to do two Color Runs in one weekend, so there were a few more spots and we snatched them up. My sister and her whole family decided to run, so we joined up with them and ran as a team. The dads and older kids all ran together, while my sister and I stayed back with Lulu and Tate (who was riding in our jogging stroller). We definitely did more walking than running, but it was still super fun. Here are some pics from race day (all taken with the iPhone since I didn’t want to bring the fancy Canon 60D in to that mess):

Some tips for running the Color Run with kids:

– Make sure the kids and adults know who they are sticking with during the race. It’s a bit chaotic and since everyone is wearing the same thing, it can be scary if someone gets separated from the group.
– Plan on bringing your cell phones both to take pics and keep in communication, but be sure to wrap them up in a plastic ziplock bag. Since we had the jogging stroller, we threw our phones and other items in there, but people (like my sister) were rocking fanny packs and armbands to carry their essentials as well.
– At two-years-old, Tate is a bit sensitive to big crowds and got pretty upset during parts of the run. He didn’t like the colored powder being thrown on him at all, so the jogging stroller was a godsend. We just put down the sun canopy and he was mostly protected. You’ll notice he’s quite a bit cleaner in the photos, and that’s why 🙂
– Bring a change of clothes or something to cover up your car seats so you don’t get the colored powder all over on the ride home.
– Speaking of the colored powder, it’s just corn starch and food coloring, so it’s non-toxic and won’t hurt you if you accidentally swallow some. Wear sunglasses or another eye covering to keep the dust out of your eyes (we even saw some younger kids wearing swim goggles). The color washes out, but if you’re blond, like myself, my sister, both my kids and her daughter, it was recommended to cover up your hair. I had someone who ran last year warn me it took six weeks to wash the color out of her blond hair, so we pulled out all the stops, with bandanas, hats and sweatbands. We still did end up with some in our hair, but it washed out within a few days.
– Before you leave, find the guys with the giant leaf blowers that will hose you down and get a bunch of the loose colored powder off you before you get to your car.
– You will get a t-shirt to wear for the race, but make sure the other clothes you are wearing are ones you don’t mind being ruined. I ended up buying a pair of $10 shorts from the Color Run shop and wearing old sneakers. Not great for running, but it didn’t matter if that were gross after it was over.

The Color Run will be back in the Kansas City area for a race in Lawrence in September. If you’re available, you should totally do it! Such a fun race, and something both the kids and the parents really enjoyed. Happy Color Running!