This was my first Color Me Green 5K trail race. It's held annually at the U.S. National Whitewater Center just west of Charlotte, North Carolina. This is an excellent place to run. It also provides excellent trails for mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and additional outdoor activities.

I was hesitant about running this race because it was a torrential downpour just 20-30 minutes before and I've run prior trail races at this location and fallen a couple times. It's not fun getting beat up falling during a race. The event was the start of the Green River Revival, essentially the "St. Patrick's Day festival" for the USNWC.

It was a great send-off and the first blast of color (which was all green...hence the name) was right after the start. The rain also stopped pretty much right at start time. The trail itself was very muddy and slick in some places but I think that made it almost more enjoyable. The Whitewater center has very clearly marked trails that make it very easy to navigate. This is one race I will definitely be doing year after year.