Color Run San Francisco

Last year, while perusing the Internet for races, I stumbled across a video for the Color Run. The Tiny Coaching Assistant practically pushed me out of my chair so he could get a better look. “What IS this?” he asked. “When is it? When can we do it?”

Now, the Assistant isn’t a big fan of getting messy, so I had my doubts. I figured that he’d forget all about it.

If you know the Assistant, you’ll know that he forgets nothing. He’d bring up the topic about once a week for the entire year. So when it came time to register for the San Francisco run, I figured we should just go for it.

As race day approached, I could tell that his neatnik streak was making him apprehensive. In preparation for running through clouds of airborne, colored food-grade cornstarch, he demanded that I set aside his swim goggles and a bandanna to cover his face in case it was hard to breathe.

(Honestly, neither was necessary. He ran the whole race with the bandanna around his neck like a cowboy, and he handed off the goggles to me about 1k into the race.)

Today was the big day. I dressed him in his Color Run adult size XS dress tee that came down to his knees. He refused to let me tuck it in because that meant that part of the shirt wouldn’t be coated in colorful glory, and isn’t that what it’s really all about?

We lined up in the chute with 20 minutes to go before the starting gun for the first wave. He schmoozed and charmed his way closer and closer to the front of the line where they were tossing out freebie goodies ranging from rubber bracelets to coveted Yurbuds headphones and pairs of knee-high Color Run socks that people were literally trying to wrestle out of each other’s hands.

(Memo to self: if I ever fight anyone over knee socks, it’s time to rethink my priorities.)

They sent us on our way and the Assistant went out like a bat out of hell. As we approached the first color station, he was giddy. I reminded him of the system: the color comes from the left and right. You stay to the outside if you want a heavy dose of color, stay in the center for a light dusting. He declared that he was going left, made a sharp turn to the left side… and at the last minute, sprinted straight down the middle.

We emerged from the cloud of yellow. “Hmm,” he said, analyzing his shirt. “None of it really stuck. I need to go to the edges next time.”

When we got to the orange station, he stayed to the right. I got doused so heavily that I was still leaving clouds of orange behind me 3k later. He examined his shirt, and then looked a little bit lost. “It’s kind of gross,” he said to me. “I don’t feel colorful. I just feel kind of filthy.”

He got a bit more color at blue, but had more or less lost interest in the entire process by the time we hit the pink station. “I just want it to be over. There’s too much mess and too many walkers.” He sprinted to the finish line, mostly because he wanted the event to be over so snack time could begin.

Review

Asked about it tonight, with the benefit of a bit of hindsight, he said, “It was medium awesome. I mean, it was kind of cool, but I felt dirtier than I expected. And I don’t think it’s the best for kids because they try to throw the colors on the grownups at body height [torso], but that’s right in my face. Blech.” He pondered it for a moment more. “I’m glad I did it, but I don’t want to do it again. I’d rather run a small race with a timer.”

From an adult’s perspective, it would have been a fun, goofy outing with similarly-dressed friends. You’ve never seen so many people in matching socks, tutus, wigs, booty shorts, Buzz Lightyear inflatable wings…. I heard someone describe it as “Bay to Breakers, but sober and with clothing.”

They say that the colored powder is machine washable, which I’m hoping since it stained clear on through to my sports bra. My severe dosing of orange, however, seems to have temporarily tinted my skin. My legs look like I got drunk and unevenly applied cheap self-tanner, and no amount of scrubbing seems to make that uneven orange color go away. Yet the big glob of pink powder that was smeared in and around my left eyebrow disappeared without a second wash. Go figure.

Rating

Three of five stars from a kid perspective, four of five stars from an adult-running-with-a-group perspective.

Tags: 5k, candlestick park, color run, fun run, san francisco, sf, yurbuds

« Previous Entry Next Entry »