This was my second year running this race in VT, and my third time doing a Color Run event. I was a Color Run ambassador this year, which means I received a free entry, but I would have done the race regardless.

Pre-Race:

Registration was available online with incremental price increases, topping out at around $50. Packet pickup was available from 12 pm - 7 pm the day before the race at a local Kohl's store. While it was weird to have it inside a department store, pickup was fast and organized.

Traffic on race morning was a bit of a cluster. I ended up parking at a friend's house a mile away and walking over to avoid it, and I'm glad I did. Cars were backed up quite a ways, and I have no idea what the actual parking situation ended up looking like.

There was a Jazzercise warm up and plenty of porta-potties (though most didn't have hand sanitizer, yuck), and they started releasing waves of runners/walkers right at 10 am. There was a DJ playing music and keeping the people still waiting to start entertained.

During the Race:

Just like last year, this race went through the empty fairgrounds, so it's not very scenic at all. The color throwers were great at keeping the color out of your face. There were four colors just like last year, but this year there was orange instead of purple, and the final color was silver with glitter mixed in. There was some music on the course, which was nice, and a few small hills, but nothing too difficult.

Post-Race:

New this year, every finisher got a medal, which is unusual for 5k races. Finishers also got free water and Kind bars, plus packets of color and glitter to throw at the post-race Color Party. The DJ was there playing music and organizing the color throws. There were plenty of backdrops for photos, and you could get a professional finisher photo taken, but the lines were really long. They also had a tent with leaf blowers to blow the excess color off before leaving, but that line was really long too.

Overall:

Overall, this is an awesome event to do with a group, whether it's team-building for work, or something fun to do with friends. It's a great first 5k because it's not timed and completely non-competitive. The t-shirts are a decent cotton/poly blend, and getting a medal for a 5k is really nice. My only gripe is that the course was about half a mile short--my GPS measured it as 2.65 miles. While I understand that the Color Run isn't a competitive race, they should at least get within a few tenths of a mile. My friend was so excited to finish her first "5k" race, but because they didn't accurately measure the course (or just didn't care), her first experience was short of her goal, and that stinks.