Months ago, my friend Joy asked me if I’d be interested in doing a color 5K (specifically, the Color in Motion 5K (CIM5K)) with her and her husband, Patrick. I’m always up for trying new types of athletic events, so I checked the date: April 23. Eight days before my second marathon. I briefly weighed my options and decided to give it a go. Why not, right?
So on April 22, the day before the CIM5K, I did my final marathon training long run – only 8 miles – and headed over to the local running store to pick up my race packet. Never did I ever expect the line to be so long! Despite the fact that the line wrapped the whole way around the side of the building and continued snaking along the back of the store, things moved fairly quickly. Before I knew it, I was equipped with my gray race shirt (to simulate a chalk board), a packet of color (I chose orange…because of basketball, of course), and a few other odds and ends.
On race morning, I woke up to the sound of…rain. That’s right. Ugh. But it wasn’t just rain. It was a cold-ish rain! But hey, when I pay money for a race, I’m committed, so I headed over to the race site, where I met up with Joy and Patrick around 8 a.m. Thankfully, the rain lightened up after a bit, so we didn’t end up getting drenched.
Ready to go!
The three of us were in the first wave, which left shortly after 9 a.m. At first, it felt like a normal 5K because the four color stations didn’t start popping up along the course until maybe a mile or so in. (That’s totally fine; I like normal 5Ks too! Plus, not having color stations right away means you have to accomplish something – going a certain distance – before being rewarded with color.)
When we finally did get to a color station, it was very cool! Volunteers ambushed us with colored powder, and we – if we chose – could “fight” back using our color packet. Very fun! Gotta say, I was glad I wore sunglasses like the organizers had suggested; it would not have been fun getting all of that color dust in my eyes. Nope, nope, nope!
Showing off our shades. Wait…who is that scary outlaw behind us with an umbrella? Oh, it’s just Patrick…
(Many thanks to Joy for letting me use a bunch of her pics, by the way!)
The course took us through a bunch of Lancaster neighborhoods, some parks, the Lancaster Barnstormers baseball stadium, and, of course COLOR STATIONS! I got blasted with color by volunteers each time, and on occasion I’d dump some of my orange powder back at them. I even tossed some orange on my aunt, who was doing the CIM5K with one of her sisters and nieces. So sorry*, Aunt Stacy!
*Not “sorry” as in “I really regret doing that!” More like “sorry” as in “MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!”
The second-to-last color station was the blue one, and it was set up in some park in the city. My favorite part about this station was that the blue drifted through the air and colored the basketball nets! It looked so cool! It also permeated certain parts of our shoes; it was almost like we had each gotten a new pair of sneakers because they looked so different!
These were gray/silver before.
I was having a really good time, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And the CIM5K was one of those things. We crossed the finish line, high-fived each other, and took some “after” pics:
Post-CIM5K fun!
More fun!
YEAH!
We rock!
Joy and Patrick had to head out, so we said our goodbyes and they left.
Now, I don’t know if you noticed anything about these “after” pictures, but I look mostly unaffected by color! I have no idea how I managed to do that, especially because I know I got blasted at those stations. I’m sure the gray shirt makes it tougher for every little bit of color to stand out, but still…I looked much too colorless for my taste.
So I hung around at the Color Festival after the race for a little while until I thought maybe I’d been doused in some more color. While I didn’t get a full shot of color in my face during the festival (which I’m very thankful for, judging from the reactions of people who did receive that treatment), I did end up looking more Smurf-like by the time I left the Color Festival:
Much better!
I can’t speak for everyone, but the cleanup process wasn’t too bad. To be honest, I thought I’d done a really good job scrubbing all of the color away, and I was sure I hadn’t missed any spots…and then I blew my nose. Or perhaps I should say that I “blue” my nose…because that’s what color the tissue was when I was done with it. TMI, yup. You’re welcome.
I know some die-hard runners frown on “gimmicky” races – you know, anything that’s not straight-up running for a set distance with nothing happening between the start and the finish other than a few water stops. I’ve done my fair share of “regular races,” and I thoroughly enjoy them! I’ve also done a few unique events – Warrior Dashes and now the Color In Motion 5K – and I thoroughly enjoy them, too.
Here’s my two cents: There should always be some aspect of exercise that’s enjoyable. It could be something during a workout that’s enjoyable or even the incredible feeling you get when you’re done exercising. For example, if you despise running, don’t run! Find something you like to do (Zumba, walking, lifting weights, jumping rope, swimming, cycling, etc.) and do it! So that’s why I’m all about these types of events, like the color 5Ks and the obstacle races. Will all of these things stand the test of time? I have no clue. But if, for right now, they make exercise enjoyable, I think that’s wonderful.
So keep on keepin’ on, organizers of nontraditional athletic events! You all rock! I can’t wait for my next one.
Bring on the next!
Operation Life 