On a beautiful Saturday morning, April 18th, 2015, the Color Run: Shine Tour was held in St Louis. The run started at 9:00 AM, and the festivities ended around 12:00 noon. Many people from New Haven ran the run, including Alison Long and her sister Sophia, Michael McKernan, Eileen Roth, Lucy Roth and her brother, Charlie.
A Color Run is a 5K, which is 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers, of total and complete chaos. Odd, happy, energetic chaos. Color runners begin their race in a crowd of about 1,300 people. The national anthem is sung, and runners begin their colorful journey.
Runners run for about a kilometer before they begin to see the big, blue inflatable arch. When running under the arch and in the approximately 30 meters that precedes it, all one can see is the hazy, soft blur of blue powder in the air. Volunteers stand on the outskirts holding squirt bottles filled with the colored corn starch (the powder is metal-free and non-toxic). They squirt it in runners’ hair, around their necks and torso, and sometimes runners get the color in their teeth! Often times, people dance through the color zones or compete for the color with their friends.
There are four color stations. The first is blue; second is yellow; third is pink; and fourth is purple. The Color Run: Shine Tour, a recently added franchise, was the one held in St Louis. At these races, a fifth station where they throw glitter at runners has been added.
When a runner finishes the race, he or she will find themselves heading towards the cloud of color that is produced from one of the ever-famous color throws. These happen at fifteen minute intervals shortly after people begin to finish the race. Everyone in the crowd has a color or glitter pouch. They throw the open bag and its contents into the air all at once. For a moment or two, the person in the middle of the color cloud cannot see anything except the color in front of them. The color rains down on the runner, leaving him or her a brilliant hue of yellow, purple, blue, or pink.
Some people don’t pay to run the Color Run because it’s seen as a novelty. But that’s the fun of it! Due to the laid-back feel of this race, more walkers participate. It’s not everywhere you can a race with such happy energy. Alicia, a Color Run hero, stated, “When I finished the Color Run I was still 220 pounds, but that race gave me the confidence to continue my weight loss journey.” This run is proof that running can be fun and inspirational.
Alison Long, a sophomore at NHHS, ran the run and commented, “I hadn’t ever ran the race before, and I was AMAZED! It was so much fun! My favorite part of the whole thing was the color throw at the end. Music was blaring, and there was color everywhere! I also liked going out in public and getting weird looks from strangers.”
Eileen Roth, Elementary School counselor, had run the Color Run before, but about running the Shine version for the first time, she said, “Having the glitter at the end was like an added bonus, and who doesn’t love to be sparkling?”
Once all the festivities are over, competitors leave with the Color Run badge of honor that is random splotches of color and glitter. Sometimes a strange look from a pedestrian as well! But it’s all worth it for the amount of fun everyone has!
-Lucy Roth
Runners run for about a kilometer before they begin to see the big, blue inflatable arch. When running under the arch and in the approximately 30 meters that precedes it, all one can see is the hazy, soft blur of blue powder in the air. Volunteers stand on the outskirts holding squirt bottles filled with the colored corn starch (the powder is metal-free and non-toxic). They squirt it in runners’ hair, around their necks and torso, and sometimes runners get the color in their teeth! Often times, people dance through the color zones or compete for the color with their friends.
There are four color stations. The first is blue; second is yellow; third is pink; and fourth is purple. The Color Run: Shine Tour, a recently added franchise, was the one held in St Louis. At these races, a fifth station where they throw glitter at runners has been added.
When a runner finishes the race, he or she will find themselves heading towards the cloud of color that is produced from one of the ever-famous color throws. These happen at fifteen minute intervals shortly after people begin to finish the race. Everyone in the crowd has a color or glitter pouch. They throw the open bag and its contents into the air all at once. For a moment or two, the person in the middle of the color cloud cannot see anything except the color in front of them. The color rains down on the runner, leaving him or her a brilliant hue of yellow, purple, blue, or pink.
Some people don’t pay to run the Color Run because it’s seen as a novelty. But that’s the fun of it! Due to the laid-back feel of this race, more walkers participate. It’s not everywhere you can a race with such happy energy. Alicia, a Color Run hero, stated, “When I finished the Color Run I was still 220 pounds, but that race gave me the confidence to continue my weight loss journey.” This run is proof that running can be fun and inspirational.
Alison Long, a sophomore at NHHS, ran the run and commented, “I hadn’t ever ran the race before, and I was AMAZED! It was so much fun! My favorite part of the whole thing was the color throw at the end. Music was blaring, and there was color everywhere! I also liked going out in public and getting weird looks from strangers.”
Eileen Roth, Elementary School counselor, had run the Color Run before, but about running the Shine version for the first time, she said, “Having the glitter at the end was like an added bonus, and who doesn’t love to be sparkling?”
Once all the festivities are over, competitors leave with the Color Run badge of honor that is random splotches of color and glitter. Sometimes a strange look from a pedestrian as well! But it’s all worth it for the amount of fun everyone has!
-Lucy Roth
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