In case you haven't noticed I haven't been running as many races as usual. Or maybe that I haven't really been running in general as much as usual. Honestly racing all the time can get pretty expensive. And honestly there are some other things that need to be a priority sometimes. But I still have a drive to race. And I LOVE when I can have fun with it and it's not all about timing or speed or PRs.
Well what better way to enjoy a "race" than participating in the Color Me Rad 5k?! Yes it's a "race". Yes it's a 5k. But you don't have to be an establisher runner to participate. You don't need to know what chip timing is all about because they don't care about that. You don't have to worry about those fancy running watches - because this race isn't about speed or time. It's just for fun! People of all ages and athletic capabilities can just get out there, be active, and have a great time - all while being doused in color!
Saturday morning Adam and I woke up a little extra early because we had to get our packets before the race started. There was packet pick-up available the Thursday prior to the race, but I was working sure the pick-up time and it was a bit far for Adam to drive to before he had to head into work (he works in Lakeland).
Last year I ran the same race and also did race day packet pickup. The only bad part about last years race was the crazy lines to get in to park. I remembered this and prepared but trying to get to the fairgrounds early. I didn't want to miss our wave - I knew if we did we could just join the next one - but I wanted to beat the heat.
We arrived at the fairgrounds around 8:15am. There was no line to park and we got in without a problem. SO much better than last year!! I was quite happy about that! We headed over to the packet pickup area. There's one line to get your bib and one line to get your shirt and sunglasses. One thing I will mention here is that the girl I gave my name to didn't even look in the computer before giving me a bib. And I just told her Adam's shirt size and she handed him a bib. She didn't do anything to confirm we were actually registered for the race!
After receiving our non confirmed bibs we waited in line for our shirts. I thought they were cuter this year than last. And we got our glasses too. We headed back to the car to put the shirts away, pinned our bibs on and then headed back to the start area.
There was a lot of excitement in the air and everyone was ready to turn their nice white attire into an array of multicolored masterpieces. There was a countdown for our wave to start and then we were off. As we crossed the start line teal powder was thrown out us and we were sprayed with purple mist. What a fun way to start!
We started out walking a bit because it was super hot even though it was still early. Then we took it up to a nice slow jog. It was a fun treat to see all of the kids running around, tossing color at each other and their parents. It's definitely a great family event!
At about each kilometer they have different color stations set up where volunteers bombard you with colored powder. It's most certainly not your typical 5k, but its WAY more fun.
We got water at about the halfway point, took a few more walk breaks and just had fun.
When you get towards the very end, right before the finish, there are volunteers handing out color packets to the race participants. I grabbed a blue one and might have went a little overboard throwing it at Adam.
After the race we hung out for a little bit taking in the sights of everyone having an awesome time. Kids were rolling themselves on the ground to add more color to their attire. People were splattered head to toe with a rainbow of newly tie-dyed athletic wear.
We then headed back to the car and carefully placed towels over the seats to prevent color from getting everywhere.
We had an amazingly colorful time at the Color Me Rad 5k and can't wait til next year!
*As part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers I was given two free entries to Color Me Rad 5k in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
