I signed up for my first 5K with some people from church. I don't count last year's Warrior Dash a real race per say, just an obstacle course.  I heard that Color Me Rad is the most colorful 5K you will ever run!  The idea came from the  Holi celebration in India. There's also The Color Vibe, Run or Dye, The Color Run, and Color in Motion 5ks which are the exact same concept as Color Me Rad race. My friends did the Color Run and Run or Dye and both races gave them a free white t-shirt to wear for the race. The Color Me Rad run gave us free dark blue t-shirts that you can't see dye on so I wore my own white t-shirt. I washed my shirt four times and am still waiting for all the color to come out.

The coloring used is colored corn starch, so it's safe, but you still need to protect your eyes with sunglasses which they give you. You need to be sure to shield camera lens because the dust can get inside your camera, I got a lens error message for awhile even though I was careful. I coated my blonde hair with coconut oil otherwise the color could remain for a week, I also wore a headband and bandana for triple protection. Like the Warrior Dash because there's so many people it's done with staggered start times and its untimed. The bombardment of color bombs are sprayed on by people so everyone finishes the race looking like a pack of skittles. Unlike a lot of other races this one was pretty affordable, only $30 and a portion of the proceeds went to the Special Olympics.


I'm not a runner, I used to run on the treadmill occasionally until last summer when I bought the wrong shoes and injured my foot. In May of this year I started running again and on my first run could only do 10 minutes! Actually who am I kidding, that was my only run of this year! lol To be honest I didn't train for this race despite having every intention to train for it and even getting a training guide from a friend.

The morning of the weather was perfect and they had a fun pre-race prep rally with a zumba instructor on stage leading dance steps. As you already know running isn’t my strongest discipline,  but I was pleased with my pace and resisted the temptation to get carried away speeding off from the start. I would definitely say this was a beginner friendly race, shoot there were kids and babies running, but it was amazing motivation for me to do my next race. There were some friendly spectators yelling encouragement which helped. The good news is I didn't come in last! Well that would be pretty hard considering I had the first start time. lol

Since I had a lot of energy at the beginning of the race I actually surprised myself and ran the whole race! Lots of people walked it and I just ran right around them! I only wanted pink and purple dust on me but the purple pretty much just looked pink. I ran around the people spraying colored water, so that's why I'm not as saturated in color. In the end I figured I did something fun and fitness related at 9am on a Sunday morning while most people are still in bed. Course I got strange looks from people on the subway on my way home.

I have a few tips for your first race:

1. Get a good nights sleep. 
2. Use the bathroom before the race and before the lines get long 
3. If there are cameras en route, smile, wave, and make sure your number isn't covered. My number was on my back at Warrior Dash instead of the front of my shirt and everyone else could find their photo by number on their website, I looked through dozens of pages of their unIDed pictures but still couldn't find me.
4. Have a snack within half an hour of finishing so you're not famished. They gave us water and a mini lara bar, but you should be prepared not knowing what they will offer you. 
5. Have a small backpack or fanny pack to keep your belongings in. I ran with a plastic bag that contained my purse, not too convenient. lol 
6. Resist the urge to put a temporary tattoo on your neck, I had a heck of a time removing mine. lol 

Well, the Color Me Rad 5K was a success! When's the next one? I signed up for the Electric Run!