The Color Run

Saturday, October 6th: It was cold, Des Moines was nuts, and I was so out of shape...but I had the best time!  Stephanie and I took part in The Color Run, "the happiest 5K on the planet."  

We drove up Saturday morning and got there early so we had plenty of time to pick up our packets and get the lay of the land.  We ended up getting some gear at The Color Run store and eating some last-minute lunch I had luckily packed in the warmth of my car before standing in line for the starting line.

So even though we were the 1:00 wave, they released the starting line in 1,000 person heats.  The disappointing part of the race was the waiting.  It wouldn't have been so bad had we known ahead of time that it would be like that, and also, if it wasn't so cold!  As people became impatient, they were releasing their packets of color before the race even started.  It's probably not a big deal, but I wanted to get by first drops of color on the course, but this is what we looked as we approached the starting line (one hour later!):

Once we got started, we had a lot of fun!  Running/walking/dancing through each color station was like entering this alternate universe.  It was a great moment, and slightly crazy to share with 15,000 other runners.  Of course, this race is untimed, so we stopped several times to take some pictures and even to chat with a friend of Stephanie's.

The finish line was a lot of fun, there was a great DJ playing fun music and announcing times to release your color packets....I don't have the best picture of the awesome color cloud we created with everyone (I was scared to take out my camera), but I did get some pictures of the end product! :)

The Color Run was a great event that encouraged participation amongst all fitness levels and ages.  You get to dress goofy, act like a big dork, and dance to your hearts content, right along side every one else, so no one is judging you.  It was so much fun, we want to do it again next year!  

Post-race, Emily R was kind enough to let us utilize her facilities and clean off!! And then Emily, Ashley, Steph, and I grabbed dinner at Raccoon River (one of my faves!), before Stephanie and I made the drive home.  We clean up pretty well I must say!