My first Color Me Rad 5K!

I just completed my first ever Color me Rad 5k in Madison, WI, over Labor Day Weekend with my college girlfriend, Christine. It was a blast!

In a spontaneous and last minute decision, I decided to head to Madison to raise a little hell with my awesome college friend, Christine. It was a weekend of firsts — my first ever Color Me Rad, actually my first 5K; my first BadgerFest (FUN!); and my first visit to Taste of Madison. It was an absolutely fun-filled girls weekend. And, no, not all the activities will make the blog! Some of what happened in Madison, stays in Madison! 😉

The highlight was Color me Rad. What a great idea to get people of all ages out to have some healthy fun! Color Me Rad is a 5K that fires off in a blaze of color bombs, color cannons, color mortars, and multi-toned courses that guarantee your outlook on life will be brighter. It’s slogan — “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” And each run benefits a charity. In Madison, we ran to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Color me Rad started in Utah and has been around since 2012 with races popping up in cities around the country (not yet in Minneapolis). The race is the most low-key race I’ve done to date, and the most fun! It’s not timed and there are no mile markers — only paint stations where volunteers douse you with colorful powdered paint. People of all ages and fitness levels participated. There were runners, walkers, and run/walkers. And it was fantastic to see so many kids and families running together. The race ends with one big community color paint bomb. Fun! I didn’t know much about Color Me Rad before I did the Madison race, but now that I do — I’m a big fan.

For me, it was a chance to get out and get active with my kick a _ _  friend and catch up on all “girl” things before we took in the music, dancing and fun of Madison on Labor Day weekend. I had a knee injury going into the race — re-aggravated the night before in a twist and shout kind of maneuver while dancing — so I wasn’t sure how it would hold up in the 5K. But I did great and had tons of fun.

We learned from a volunteer who we met up with later at Taste of Madison that about 7,500 people participated in Madison in four separate heats. And, according to the official website – more than 60 percent of color runners are first-time 5k runners. So if you’ve never participated in a community race but have thought about it — this is the one to do! It’s fun, low-key and non-intimidating.

My goal next year is to do Color me Rad in 3-5 cities. I can’t think of a better way to be in my equation than combining travel to fun places with this awesome and healthy event to benefit a local nonprofit. How Fun?!

P.S. Post here if you have done a Color Run and where.

P.S.S. And yes, the paint washed out of the shoes and the clothes. No problem.

About Color Me Rad – Trying to bring to Minneapolis, MN!