A few months ago a friend texted me to ask if I wanted to do The Color Run. It was a no-brainer, as I’d missed doing one in Hartford last summer, and it was something fun to add to my Spring. Over the course of the last few weeks I got really excited, and started planning our outfits to make sure we took full advantage of the opportunity to be ridiculous.

After a tutu-making mishap, I was able to find everything we needed at Party City. Who knew they kept a costume room all year round!? We looked awesome, even before the color.

What we didn’t expect was the fact that it was in the upper 40’s and not a ray of sunshine to be seen. For future reference, boas can act as a way to stay warm when running a costume race. We stood in the cold, dancing around to stay warm, finding fun signs to take pictures with all around the finish area.

The general organization of the race was a little lacking. They didn’t let you know in advance that they were starting in waves, so people in the back didn’t start for over an hour. Thankfully, we were in wave 3, so we only waited about 30 minutes before taking off. Also, apparently there aren’t rules against wagons. Yes, wagons. Apparently if you don’t have a running stroller, and you have an infant, a red wagon is the appropriate option.

We had already decided we were there to enjoy the fun, not race it, a decision we were extremely happy about when the pedestrian bridge across the river was the first part of the race. It’s long and steep. As someone who would prefer never to run a hill again, I was happy we agreed to walk it.

The excitement of entering the first color area was awesome!

And then we entered it.

While getting covered in color is awesome, breathing it in, is not. For someone with asthma, something I should have thought through a bit more, because my chest is still feeling a little stuffy today.

The other complaint is that for such a “fun” race, there was nothing in between color stations. No music, no cheer stations, nothing. A little music would have been amazing.

All in all, however, it was fun. There’s something to be said for getting crazy with color, tutus and dancing for much of 3 miles.

In short, it is a fun event, but don’t treat it like a real race. Enjoy the color stations, dance along the route, bring music, and dress like a fool!