A Colorful Experience

Earlier this month I got to run a super fun race called Run or Dye. Run or Dye is one of those color races that showed up a couple years ago. I’ve always eyed these races, but never wanted to travel just to run one. When I heard Run or Dye was coming to Santa Barbara, I signed up right away! To make things even better, I found a nice promo code that knocked the price down even further.

Before picture! Nice and clean!

My biggest complaint about this race is that it is advertised as a 5k when it was not. I get extremely nitpicky about races being the length advertised and get frustrated when they are not accurate. My Garmin Forerunner 410 had awesome connection that day and mapped the race at 2.7 (rounding up), putting the race almost a full half mile short. I saw people running as hard as they could and I hate to think someone paid for a 5k with the goal of PRing and being robbed of that chance. They do advertise it as a non-timed race, but I still don’t feel that that gives them the right to make it shorter then promised.

But complaint aside, it as a fun experience! A lot of my running friends came out to this race, so I got to see a lot of people I knew. To top it off, my best friend showed up and took pictures of me running it! My Dad dropped me off at the race since I was a little concerned about the parking situation, but when we got there, there was plenty of spots, so he got to hang out and check out the excitement for a little while.

Color zone right at the start

They sent us out in waves and right at the start was a color zone where we got covered in colored powder. The second they said go, I took off like a shot. About a quarter of a mile down the road, I slowed down, remembering that I had promised myself I wouldn’t race this one. There is no race clock for Run or Dye, it’s all about enjoying the experience and that’s what I had aimed to do.

There was something like four or five color zones along the race route. I would time it so that I was passing through these zones with only a small group of people to maximize the amount of powder that would be thrown on me. I had it down to a science by the end of the run.

Last color zone at the finish

After the race we were given a packet of colored powder which we could use if we wanted. I joined some friends by the stage where everyone was throwing powder into the air and rocking out. I was so colorful by the time I left that area, that I couldn’t even tell that my shorts had been purple when I had arrived.

My after picture before I even went near the stage

The greatest part of the whole experience was my run home. Since the race took place on a Saturday, which is usually a long run day for me, I decided to run the five miles home. I’m actually surprised I didn’t cause a car accident with how many cars were slowing down on the road to look at me. I received a high five from a biker and a couple greetings for other everyday runners.

Caught up with some of my old buddies

My white tank top is a goner. I’m trying to decide if I should go buy some bleach or just toss it. Everything else cleaned up fine, myself included after some serious scrubbing. Overall, I had a blast and complaints aside, it was a great experience! I think everyone should give a color run a chance at some point, they really are a ton of fun!

Color runs are awesome!