Oh, I’m having a mini mid-life crisis. I think you do every time you hit those double digits….20, 30, 40, 50, etc. This was my attempt at doing something crazy, and out of my comfort zone. So, a few weeks ago I dragged my family to Color Me Rad. And they had a blast! I learned a lot from this 5K with my family and I would love to share a few tips if you plan on braving a Color Run with your family. Here ya go!
How to survive a Color Run with kids:
1. Color Me Rad is free to kids 7 and under, with a paying adult! Woo-hoo! All of my kids were free. I bought mine and hubby’s tickets off LivingSocial and got them for half-off. Yep, smart shopper. My family of six was able to go for the price of one adult. Just think about that! Don’t worry ColorMeRad people, I’m sure I made up the price difference with all those extras we got. 🙂
2. Have your race packets shipped to you. There’s an option to have them shipped (for a fee) or to go to a location the day before the race and pick them up. Well I didn’t feel like driving 40+ miles with my kids, by myself. So I saved time and added to their excitement by having them shipped. We got them a week before the race. The kids went crazy with excitement. (A little secret…you can pick up your packet the same day at the race but you’ll have to fight the crowds to do it. Save yourself that hassle, so you can keep your eyes on your kiddos.)
3. Don’t bring water. Yeah, you heard me. They provide tons of water at all of the water stations. The volunteers just give that stuff away. You won’t be hurting for water, trust me. You can always take more than one bottle. They gave my kids a whole mini pallet of them. Leave your special water bottle at home…you won’t need it.
4. If you bring a stroller, only bring a jogging stroller. There are so many hills, and all of your kids will try to cram into it. At one point I had three kids tagging along on it. I’m impressed. But my legs burned for a week. Lol. Jogging strollers are light and can handle the crazy terrain of a Color Run. And you can take a hose to it later and that stuff comes right off.
5. Don’t plan on running. We ran the first leg of it, all downhill. Everyone was hot stuff and looking good. Once we hit that blue water station and turned around, it was all uphill the rest of the way. The only running you’ll do is to chase down your kids. No kidding, I saw people in wheelchairs. These runs are more for the social aspect and less about the actual running. If you want to run, pick the first wave.
6. Pick anything but the first wave. All of the people who want to run are in the first wave. It’s freaking crazy. But the volunteers are more fun in the later waves. They want to get rid of the extra water, packets of color and what-not. It’s more leisurely in the other waves, and you can watch your family better. Pick a later wave.
7. Cover your camera with plastic wrap. I stuck my phone in a plastic baggy and put my Otter Box back over it. Not a speck of color on it when I opened it up. But I wanted awesome pictures, so after the race I ripped a tiny hole over the camera part and snapped a few pictures. Only do that when you know people aren’t going to pelt you with color. This shot alone was worth risking my camera for it. Awww, my loves.
8. Buy extra Color Bombs. Do it. You know you want to. Do it. My family went crazy when they realized what they were. The tiny ones ripped into those and started plastering each other with them. It’s so completely adorable. Do it.
9. Bring hats for the wee ones. It’s hot and sunny, and color is everywhere. If you have bald little babies or a sweet blonde child, for heavens sake, stick a hat on them. It takes too much shampoo to try and get it out. Those cute little hats you see…I made those for my wee ones with the Beach Sun Hat and the Azalea Hat from Stitchwerx Designs. They fit perfectly! You can even pick up some cute hat patterns for yourself. 😉
10. Have fun! If you want the kiddos to get color on them, point to the kids and tell the volunteers to “Get them!” when you run through the color stations. Otherwise, they avoid kids. I stuck a blanket over the stroller while tiny one was napping, and they put color on the blankie instead. She only has blue because I gingerly put it there for pictures.
11. Oxiclean. It gets everything out. Two runs through the washer with this stuff & Tide gets everything out. You would not believe it. Except for my most colorful child. Her shirt is always going to be a little pink. That’s okay. But these are what the hats looked like after I washed them. Wow. Seriously, wow.
I put all of our car keys, phones, etc in a PUL “wet bag”. The kind you use for cloth diapering. It’s waterproof and apparently color proof. Not a speck of color seeped into it. It truly is the best thing to protect your valuables. I just snapped it onto the handle of the stroller and ran.
Oh, and I made the kids special shirts a few days before. They told me what they wanted and I went from there. Freezer paper or stencil plastic is your friend if you want to try.
And one last hint…they have tons of photographers at the race. If you want them take your picture instead, wear your number bib on the front and smile directly at the camera guys. They took over 40 pictures of my family just because I smiled at them, they even waited for my kids to catch up to me. Don’t forget to get your before AND after shots. 🙂
Happy running!
Let me know how it goes. 🙂