HipFitFam: The Color Run report

First off, I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Ours was....decent. It started out really well with the run and a soggy, colorful trip to Ikea. But then it took a turn as my youngest got sick. Also, I had to finally go through our scary attic. On the bright side though, the boy's fever is gone and it's just a regular cold now, plus we have a clean attic and I can actually SEE every box in there! I'll call those both wins.

Now onto The Color Run! First of all, let me say that this is the first time I've ever gone into a race of any sort with a jogger. And I had the big mamma jamma double jogger, too. I was mostly expecting to get rude stares, but it wasn't so much the case. Sure, there were a few, but it was mostly people smiling and saying that we were "cool parents" for bringing our kids. I agree, we rock! The kids both have ongoing colds, so we dressed them like they were in the arctic and I also put the wind cover over them. It was actually quite perfect because it kept out the wind and the mass amounts of colorful powder thrown on us. So if you're a parent and you're thinking about doing a Color Run--take the kids! Our daughter ran across the finish line with us, and we saw lots of other strollers and running/walking/eventually carried youngins out there. Do it, it's a great family event!

The race itself was an absolute blast. We ran in a winding circle around the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is cool in it's own right, plus there were multiple color stations to go through. The race was coordinated into three waves scheduled 45 minutes apart, but since it wasn't actually timed, they just did random jump-in-whenever waves every five minutes. Which I thought was absolute genius. The only problem is that the runners will come up on the walkers from previous waves quite quickly, but seriously, the race isn't timed and we got over it quite quickly. Plus everyone wants to slow down for the color bombs anyway, and it's just fun! The color bombs were about every half a mile, in this order: blue, yellow, pink, orange, green. At the end of the race, we took out our color packets that we got in our registration bag (we also got white shirts and headbands that we could wear for the race or save). The "party stage" was right by the end, and every 15 minutes they did a group color bomb. They counted it down and everyone threw their opened packet of color into the air. For an instant, we actually lost view of the sky and everything went purple. It was fantastic. Well, until my daughter spit purple on my face. But still worth it. (Note--close your mouth and eyes for color bomb).

We enjoyed the post-race snacks of granola bars and large bottled waters, and we also liked that we could wear our race shirt AT our race. That's usually a faux-pas, but I found it refreshing that it wasn't this time. I also really liked the vibe that was going on, it was very friendly and non-competitive. I never felt like I put anyone out with my beast of a stroller, and there were plenty of other families participating.

I also really enjoyed AND didn't enjoy that there were plenty of running/fitness newbies out there. I think it's a wonderful place to start, and loved seeing all of them trying, even if they were walking. It's better than sitting on the couch! But with newbies also comes people who don't know race repertoire. Example: A group of girls must've thought they were missing their heat, so they jumped the entire line, including us. Because I have a tendency to be a ~~mouthy bitch~~ outspoken individual, I confronted them. Their solution was to move farther in the line and get away from the scary mom. But I got my revenge on the first hill, as I ran past them while pushing a jogger and ever-so-delicately gave them the finger. I think I smiled for the next mile. And my favorite funny newbie moment was seeing a man at the start with a GU. Yes, a GU for a three mile, untimed, not even hot outside run. I think if he took it at the beginning he MIGHT feel it by the end, just in time for some wild color throwing! Please note that I'm not trying to be mean. I still would rather have seen all those people (yes, even the line cutters) trying at this event than to know they were home not doing anything. We all start somewhere!

After our awesome experience at the run and the afterparty, we decided that our next step was to barely wipe down and then head to the perfect place for being completely filthy--Ikea. It was right down the road, and we hate driving to that side of town just for that. Fortunately, there were lots of other Color Runners there and we didn't look TOO insane. Plus I think I managed to clear the way in a few crowds, with my purple-covered face. Win!

So yeah, if you ever get the opportunity to do The Color Run--jump on it! They cost slightly more than your average 5k (I think it was $45?), but it's so worth it because it ISN'T your average 5k. It's soooo much cooler. Just be cool with the newbies, they're doing their best. Unless they cut your family in line, then you can get Jersey Shore on them.