Running a race is about as basic as competition can get – it’s you versus the ones beside you and may the best woman (or man, of course) win. But then you add different food, draw prizes and live entertainment, you’re left with unique events for people to choose from – with each one offering a different ambience, yet each is still a race from start to finish.
Now
picture an event with all competitors dressed in white t-shirts while waiting
for the starting gun. The runners/walkers then take off and through each
kilometer they’re showered with color powder made with food grade cornstarch,
100% natural and safe. It’s new, sounds
like loads of fun, is coming to Montreal
For
those runners who merely estimate their kilometer split times, this is the race
for you as you will be doused five times with different colors, giving you a
70’s tie-dye look at the finish line.
Some
runners will wear bandanas or dust masks because of the powder, thrown by
volunteer color throwers, sponsors and Run for Color staff who aim low as much
as possible when you pass by. The idea is to get your t-shirt as colorful as
possible by race end. To re-state the obvious, you start in white and you
finish looking like a hippie gearing up for a Joan Baez tribute concert.
You
are officially a color runner/walker and you get to celebrate at a post 5km
party. At the finish,
the crowd will do a color throw every 15 minutes to welcome new runners coming
in.
The first
official Color Run was held in Tempe ,
AZ
In a recent email
interview with the Color Run mastermind, 34-year-old Travis Snyder from his
office in Draper, Utah, the founder and executive director began by saying, "Seeing how happy The Color Run has made all different
kinds of people has been very rewarding. It really is an event for all fitness
levels, ages and backgrounds. Our tag line is "The happiest 5k on the
planet" for a reason. That line was created after seeing how happy it made
people." You might say it puts the fun into a fun run.
Snyder, a former
triathlete and avid runner, began creating his own running events 10 years ago.
In an effort to create a non threatening running environment where professional
and novice runners could come together and enjoy the purity of the sport, The
Color Run was born. "I wanted to create an event
that would encourage people to get out and run just for the fun of it. I wanted
people to enjoy the community experience of running together, and I wanted to
add something a little out of the ordinary to the race; something that could
serve as a sort of visual reward for all the hard work these runners put into
training for the event," he said.
He continued,
“The Color Run has had more first time 5k runners than any
other event in history. For most of these runners it will lead to more
participation in fun runs and competitive events. We take a lot of satisfaction
in the fact that our events lead people to have a more healthy and active
lifestyle. The demand has been crazy and exciting. Every day hundreds of people
make requests on our Facebook page for us to bring the event to their favorite
city. We're excited to answer the call!”
You can run
the event solo or enter as a team. This makes me want to participate in this
event. All you need is a white shirt, and be ready to have some fun running and
getting splashed with color.
More
information: www.thecolorrun.com
