The Color Run NYC 2012

Tonight, there is no Weekend Photos in Review. But photos? I have plenty. I did the Color Run in New York with friends this weekend.

And it was multiple levels of awesomeness.

My third 5k so far this year, and the best one yet.

I don’t know how it could possibly be topped.

Except perhaps by doing another Color Run.

I first heard about the Color Run last year. All the reasonably close Color Runs had already passed for 2011, and I made a mental note to keep an eye out for the schedule for 2012.

And the more pictures I saw.

And the more videos I watched.

The more excited I became about it.

Billed as “the happiest 5K on the planet,” they couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate slogan.

Because it truly was.

Everywhere we turned, people were smiling. Dancing. Laughing.

One of the most awesome experiences ever.

Swear.

Although my alarm was set for the ungodly hour of 5:15 am, excitement woke me up at 3:56 am, and I couldn’t get back to sleep.

Everyone met at my house and we were off super, super early on Saturday morning.

Caffeine and a laundry list of other items in hand, we were ready for our adventure.

A bonus to getting on the road that early, we got to see the sun rise (New York skyline in the distance).

Twenty-five thousand people signed up to run on Saturday.

And again for today.

Craziness.

The Color Run organization donates a portion of their profits to two local charities at each event they hold.

Which I seriously love.

Considering the amount of people that attended the event, it was incredibly well organized. From the registration packets and parking, to lining up to race, to the party at the finish line. Not one glitch in the system.

When it comes to choosing your attire for the event, beyond the requirement of wearing a white t-shirt, anything goes.

And it was seriously fun to bring back a flash of the 80s with neon pops of color.

Have you seen those rainbow tube socks for sale anywhere? Because I do believe I need them in my life.

A girl passing us in the parking lot said that we were the awesomest crew she had seen so far.

Why thank you.

 

We made our way to the starting line. They release runners in waves of one thousand people, so it’s not a crazy mad stampede. We were in the fourth wave, and this is a shot of the 3000 or so people ahead of us:

And this would be the beginning of 21,000 runners behind us:

This announcer was great at getting the crowd hyped up, playing awesome music, encouraging everyone to dance and have fun, and tossing out free Color Run items (t-shirts and color packets) while we waited our turn:

Some of the volunteers in the yellow section:

Us as we finished the last mile:

Our before and after shot of our shoes. Luckily our shoes fared pretty well. Our bodies, on the other hand, not so much.

Approaching the first wave of color:

The Color Run staff had the most amount of color throwers in the blue section, so we definitely got hit with the blue the most. And it also happened to be the color that is hardest to wash/get off.

My favorite picture ever. Or of me so far this summer:

Love my partners in crime:

During the race, you run through four color areas, and if that wasn’t enough to make you color happy, at the finish line area, there is a color party every 15 minutes, with more color being thrown up in the air to welcome new finishers to the end.

My before and after:

The Color Run is held all over the country, at various locations, so if you have the opportunity to sign up, do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. You will have a blast. If you do attend, here are some helpful hints:

• If at all possible, pick up your race packet before event day. Packets are available at specific locations the day before (and sometimes even two days before) the event, so if you take advantage of that opportunity, you’ll save yourself seriously long lines the day of.
• The powder that they throw and use is colored cornstarch. Totally safe. And easier to get off than it looks. A few extra minutes of scrubbing in the shower and we were almost as good as new. I used a body scrub from Neutrogena that has scrubby bits in it, and that made it super easier. I have never appreciated a shower more, except right after I delivered my kids. I think our hands really got the worst of it, and it might be a few more days before they look completely back to normal.
• Bring towels for your car. We all did, and the powder definitely still managed to get on the seats a bit (came off fairly easily with some wipes).
• Register early for early-bird pricing.
• Bring a reusable water bottle. They have filtered water stations at the start and finish line for you to refill your water, and it was fairly cold, and no lines.
• Be prepared for friendliness. 25,000+ people and not one without a smile. We helped others take group pictures, and they helped us. We shared our color packets (you receive an extra packet of color in your registration package), and colored strangers. Never met a more friendlier bunch than the group of color runners.
• Drag your friends with you. It was way more fun doing it with friends, and we got a kick out of the “anything goes” part of getting ready. Neon headbands, sparkly jewels stuck to our faces, bright sunglasses, rainbow socks … it was just as much fun as the actual race.
• Understand that everything on you will somehow manage to get color on it. Even your undergarments. So either buy something cheap for just that day, or use something older that you don’t care about as much.
• As for t-shirts, Wal-Mart has awesome Hanes white t-shirts for $5.96, which are pretty perfect for this.
• Above all else, have fun!

Bonus Photo – August 25, 2012

Monument we passed on the way to Brooklyn.

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