The Color Run San Francisco 2013

My BFF isn’t quite a crazy race runner like I am, but will on occasion let me talk her into a fun 5k.  Last time it was a mud run, this time it was The Color Run.  I had heard about The Color Run, but the timing of where they were and what days they were on had never worked out for me. I was excited to learn that they were going to be at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Saturday March 2nd.  I was running the runDisney Princess Half Marathon the weekend before, but would be home from Florida in plenty of time.  I told my BFF about it and she seemed equally interested.  Next thing I know we are registered and it is on the calendar.

I didn’t really know what to expect so I did some research on their website. www.thecolorrun.com

I learned that it was actually a powder color you get showered with and not liquid.  It is made of cornstarch so it isn’t toxic either (always a plus).  It is not a timed race.  Strollers ARE allowed, but the ones I saw were COVERED in color, so only take one that you don’t mind getting colorful 🙂

The race was a loop around Candlestick Park parking lot.  Candlestick is the current stadium where the 49ers play.  The parking lot does have a lot of broken glass in it, which would be my only complaint about the location.

It is a white shirt mandatory dress code for the start.  It was pretty cool to see thousands of people dressed in all white.  They also give you a white sweatband with your registration.

We arrived early to get our same day race packet pickup.  The expo had been located 50 minutes from where I live and I didn’t want to do that trek the day before the race, so I did what I don’t normally do, a race day packet pickup.  The line for pickup was very very long.  We were in line for 45 minutes before making it to the front.  We got our numbers and were all set in time for the start.  They did a start in waves so not everyone started at once.

My BFF had got us white bandanas to wear so when we ran through a color zone we could put them over our mouths and we wouldn’t breathe it in.  The first color we came to was yellow and I didn’t put it over my mouth and let me just say that after the first one I put it over my mouth for the other 3 colors.  It was very chalky in my mouth.  After yellow we came to orange and than a water stop and than blue and than pink.  It was very fun seeing everyone getting covered in color too.

I learned that the areas where you sweat with the color stain your skin a little.  In the shower I scrubbed and scrubbed and got off all the color except some blue areas.  My best advice for anyone wanting to run this race is try to avoid getting blue on your face since it stains a little.  Also I recommend bringing an old towel and some clothes to change into to clean up a little before getting in your car.

I saw a lot of kids running with parents and thought that it would be a really fun race to do with a family.  I really enjoyed it.  Overall the race was lots of fun and a cool life experience that I can now say I did.  I ran The Color Run!  Woohoo!

Peace Love Run!