My favorite running teen-ager wanted to get plastered with colorful powder. The photos and videos on the Color Run‘s site made the self-described “Happiest 5k on the Planet” look like a blast. The reviews were positive; all runners looked like they were having a ball.
The reality was a bit subdued.
Yes, we had a nice time, but it was anything but a race. There were a lot of walkers and brand-new runners who didn’t quite know race day etiquette and kept walking five and six people across, creating a human roadblock. There was little to no running through large portions of the route.
That did mean that we could take the time to, for example, stop to chat with a spectator who happened to have the cutest Bernese Mountain dog.
The colorful powder? Race volunteers were scooping it up from buckets at spots throughout the race, forcing participants to walk in line to get anywhere near the stop’s color.
Was it fun? It would have been a whole lot more fun had we known the reality versus the hype. Would we do it again? Probably not, but we could both see the appeal of the Color Run as a goal 5K because it isn’t timed and it really does have a lot of energy and fun atmosphere, including a Zumba-style class afterward.
The race was held downtown Lansing, so parking was super easy and the route was well-marked, with lots of music. Participants seemed to be having a great time. We saw a lot of people laughing and even rolling on the ground to get more color on their white clothes.
The race swag was awesome. The T-shirts have held up really well through the years. There were fake tattoos and stickers. I still have one of the stickers on my office bulletin board!