Color Run Recap (and Why You Should Give it a Chance)

There are many runners out there who would tell you that The Color Run isn't a real race, and they'd never in a million years participate in one.  It's not timed, there are no winners or medals, and there are most definitely more people walking than running.  I agree - it's not a race, but it doesn't really claim to be, so what's the problem?

When they announced that it was coming to Kansas City, my kids were adamant that we do it.  What's not to love about being doused in a rainbow of color?  While it's not my normal kind of run, I was definitely in.  I'm all for anything that involves outdoor activity and doing it as a family made it that much better.  The only person who was not excited was my husband.  I think he gave me every excuse he could think of to get out of going.  He is not a runner, nor was he looking forward to anything that required being completely covered in colored powder.  He left to go out of town on Friday and came back yesterday, though I think he secretly wished they would make him stay another day so he wouldn't have to participate.

We were moving a little slow this morning, but got dressed and made it out to Arrowhead Stadium in a reasonable amount of time.  There is an hour-long start window, which is especially helpful if you have young children.  We had a decent walk from our car to the starting line, so we had an opportunity to observe some of the color stations and the insane crowd of people beforehand.  Our excitement continued to grow, and I even started to sense a little excitement from my husband.

You're supposed to wear white so that everyone starts off squeaky clean.  

We chose to wear the shirts they gave us at packet pick-up, which were mostly white with a rainbow logo across the front.  The starting line is crazy fun with loud music to get everyone pumped up.  They send you in waves so the path isn't wall-to-wall people, which, again, if you have children, is really nice.  There are people in a tower shooting out colored water and throwing all kinds of swag.  The announcer is at the starting line with another group of people tossing swag into the crowd.  There's a countdown, and then everyone is off - runners on the left, walkers on the right.

Every 1K or so, there's a "color station."  Volunteers with bottles of colored powder spray you as you run by.  You have the choice to run straight through and not get much color, or to go up to every volunteer you see and get doused by each one.  We were somewhere in between.  There were even people laying down on the ground and making snow angels in the color.  It really was quality family time, and everyone was having fun (yes, even my husband!)  

We crossed the finish line, and the party kept going.  There was water and food (KIND bars, Papa Murphy's pizza, and funnel cakes) and more color.  Down by the stage, every 15 minutes or so, there was a countdown followed by an incredible cloud of color.  We received color packets with our registration, and everyone threw them into the air at the end of the countdown.  You know, in case you hadn't gotten enough color on the course itself... :)

As for there being no winners, I beg to differ.  I had a blast and more importantly, so did my husband and kids.  There were no games, practices, or anything else getting in the way, and we spent precious time together as a family.  Yes, we walked almost the entire way, but there was no complaining from anyone.  I highly recommend doing one of these at least once in your life, if only for some crazy quality time with your family and/or friends.  

No, it wasn't my usual run (I did that when I came home, color and all) but as they say, variety is the spice of life.  Oh, and one other thing?  Guess who ended up doused in the most color BY CHOICE?  You guessed it...