Well this race was definitely interesting! We have been trying to do a fun run for about 3 years (I know this because of Timehop on Facebook). This race popped up and we decided to do it!
We couldn't do package pickup so we decided to just do it before the race and they charged us 5 dollars for the opportunity-they definitely made good money off of that! Since we figured we would want to shower after, we decided to make a weekend out of it. I went over to Mallorys on Friday night, we ran errands to buy last minute items (including shorts for me because I FORGOT TO PACK THEM!), had lunch and then headed down to Anaheim. We got a hotel for Saturday night so we went to settle in, grab a quick lunch at Tortilla Jos and then headed to Irvine after stopping for a Starbucks kick.
Package pickup started at 3, pre party at 430 and race at 530. We got there at 330 to see tape set up in out and back in the parking lot. Yeah this is not going to go as planned.
We couldn't do package pickup so we decided to just do it before the race and they charged us 5 dollars for the opportunity-they definitely made good money off of that! Since we figured we would want to shower after, we decided to make a weekend out of it. I went over to Mallorys on Friday night, we ran errands to buy last minute items (including shorts for me because I FORGOT TO PACK THEM!), had lunch and then headed down to Anaheim. We got a hotel for Saturday night so we went to settle in, grab a quick lunch at Tortilla Jos and then headed to Irvine after stopping for a Starbucks kick.
Package pickup started at 3, pre party at 430 and race at 530. We got there at 330 to see tape set up in out and back in the parking lot. Yeah this is not going to go as planned.
The first color toss
We went to check in, go back to the car to get all of our glow stuff on, grabbed some pics, and go to the pre party. It was basically a bunch of teenagers and families with little kids. We saw the first color throw and I looked at Mallory and said-we need a drink. Yes the race sold drinks and food so we went and had a gin and tonic with a splash of cranberry and took in the sights from far back.
pre-race area
we did a potty break and learned the corrals would open "soon" so we went back to the pre-party and listened to a rapper who forgot the lyrics and had to start over. At that point, we saw people getting in corrals so headed over. Basically it was a line that they randomly divided into groups. We ended up in the second group. We started about 15 min after the official start time without much of an idea what was going on because the speaker wasn't working.
When we got to the front, they mentioned runners to the left and walkers to the right and no one moved. Yup, that is not going to work. When we got the countdown we tried our best but it was hard as we were heading down a hill back towards to the amphitheater and NO lights. I mean nothing. There is sand and rocks and a hill and I knew this was insanely dangerous and regretted every decision I had to run this. Out came my cell phone for the light and no one tripped around us (basically a miracle!) and we wandered around the amphitheater. As we left we hit the first color zone and put our sunglasses on and basically had a teenager throw a handful of the color straight at my skirt. Okay we will try again the next time. We hit another color Zone as we came to the parking lot and same thing. So now I just have crazy amounts of color on both sides of my skirt-hopefully it will come out. We started the endless up and down the parking lot.
We noticed that there was still half the people left in the chute and also crazy traffic of people still parking and picking up their bibs. Very interesting. The only thing that happens in the parking lot was 2 small water stops (which we needed to get the color out of our throats) and another color zone where I actually got color on my shirt-woo-hoo!. Towards the end, there were black lights set up so we got a picture.
When we got to the front, they mentioned runners to the left and walkers to the right and no one moved. Yup, that is not going to work. When we got the countdown we tried our best but it was hard as we were heading down a hill back towards to the amphitheater and NO lights. I mean nothing. There is sand and rocks and a hill and I knew this was insanely dangerous and regretted every decision I had to run this. Out came my cell phone for the light and no one tripped around us (basically a miracle!) and we wandered around the amphitheater. As we left we hit the first color zone and put our sunglasses on and basically had a teenager throw a handful of the color straight at my skirt. Okay we will try again the next time. We hit another color Zone as we came to the parking lot and same thing. So now I just have crazy amounts of color on both sides of my skirt-hopefully it will come out. We started the endless up and down the parking lot.
We noticed that there was still half the people left in the chute and also crazy traffic of people still parking and picking up their bibs. Very interesting. The only thing that happens in the parking lot was 2 small water stops (which we needed to get the color out of our throats) and another color zone where I actually got color on my shirt-woo-hoo!. Towards the end, there were black lights set up so we got a picture.
final color pic-we are covered
we finished the race and there was still at least 25% of people that did not even start. The end was basically just people standing by the finish lines taking pictures of themselves all lit up. According to Mallorys Nike+ app, we ran about 2.5 miles.
We got our color packet, I found water under a table-mind you the parking lot is dark with no lights-and we headed to the stage where the after party had not started yet. We threw some color but we're over it quickly. We handed our color to some teens that we're so excited and headed to the car. We went into cleanup mode and with plastic bags, baby wipes and towels. In all honesty, we didn't get that much stuff in our hair or on us. The thing that got the most color was my skirt and there were thick patches where the color had been thrown. We headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready and headed to Disneyland for some nighttime fun!
Overall, I'm glad we did this but would not do it again. The race was not organized well and not to mention the course was dangerous with no light. I would recommend them to put black lights everywhere so you can really see everyone glow and add in more color zones where the people aren't at close range so you can get color spread out.
TIPS FOR A COLOR RUN/BLACKLIGHT RUN:
Have you ever done a Color Run? What were your thoughts on it ?
We got our color packet, I found water under a table-mind you the parking lot is dark with no lights-and we headed to the stage where the after party had not started yet. We threw some color but we're over it quickly. We handed our color to some teens that we're so excited and headed to the car. We went into cleanup mode and with plastic bags, baby wipes and towels. In all honesty, we didn't get that much stuff in our hair or on us. The thing that got the most color was my skirt and there were thick patches where the color had been thrown. We headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready and headed to Disneyland for some nighttime fun!
Overall, I'm glad we did this but would not do it again. The race was not organized well and not to mention the course was dangerous with no light. I would recommend them to put black lights everywhere so you can really see everyone glow and add in more color zones where the people aren't at close range so you can get color spread out.
TIPS FOR A COLOR RUN/BLACKLIGHT RUN:
- Wear the shirt they give you, you won't care if it gets ruined
- Run in old shoes. I had saved a pair of shoes I retired two years ago and they came in handy
- Buy glow necklaces and bracelets and you can get them for cheap at Target
- Bring sunglasses-cheap ones from the dollar store-so you don't get color in your eyes
- If there are lots of color zones, wear a hat (we actually bought the old lady hats from the dollar store but didn't need them)
- Wear a runner's belt and make sure to have a plastic bag for your phone
- Bring a change of clothes. Basically I had a layer of clothes under my running outfit so I could ride home in that
- Bring old towels/buy cheap throw at towels for your car to sit on after
- Pack plastic bags to store your clothes in after. I had one bag for trash, one bag for shoes and one bag for clothes
- Soak your clothes right after. We soaked our things in the sink in the hotel and then let them dry and I washed them again when I got home
Have you ever done a Color Run? What were your thoughts on it ?
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