color run

This morning was the 5K Color Run out in Tempe. Roxanne and some friends ran in it last year. It was sunny and dry and pleasant. This year, Melanie and her friends wanted to run, but it was not sunny and dry and pleasant. It was raining all night long and was raining pretty hard as it was time to leave. I thought the rain would decrease the attendance and participation in the race, but no. It was crowded with crazy people.
I was just following a conversation between Melanie and a couple of her friends on facebook:

Brad: “What the heck is a color run???”

Kinsie: “You run a few miles, and they throw chalk stuff on you as you run and then you look colorful at the end “!

Melanie: “ Kinsie that was a very anticlimatic explanation. It’s true, but needs more umph. Brad, it was a magical journey across the lake in the town of Tempe. At first you start off getting a packet of a Tee shirt, bracelet, tattoos(removable), headband, a personal packet of chalk, and your honorary number of runnage. Then at once your leg is about to start. The personal packets of chalk are supposed to be used at the very end when everyone goes wild throwing it at each other's faces. As you start off, the hosts are chucking fanny packs and free offerings at you. The countdown begins and you are running off into the distance with your fellow friends hoo-raying the entire time. On this particular day, it was raining, Therefore we splashed in every gutter/puddle possible. All puddles were colored. Every half mile or so there would be a part of one color where as you run through they chuck a puff of chalk in your face or body & you holler some more and push through. The journey ends and you gather yourselves at the DJ stage and crowd area only to receive more chalk to the face in a form of personal packets and go cray the whole time all to the tune of sweet sweet remixes and screaming happy people. Pictures are a must and you go home only to try and scrub off the stained chalk..because it wasn’t supposed to rain. That is the color run."

Here are a few before and after pictures.

Sometimes it's fun to just walk around and see what everyone wears to this crazy race. (This dress started out white.)

Roxanne and I watched for them near the finish line. We were huddling under the bridge to stay out of the rain. Surprisingly, we both made it through the morning and didn't get colored or muddy.

Here's the group at the finish line.

And then this happened. I'm not sure why.

They tried rinsing it off, but there was no hope. They were all permanently tinted green even after we got home and everyone showered. I think they got about 90% of the color off when we got home, but the last 10% is going to have to wear off somehow!