As promised, we signed up to return for Color Me Rad 2014, and a couple friends even took us up on our offer to join the color. Thanks to one of said friends who happened to be graduating from med school the day before the race, we even had a team uniform: short white med student coats. It was a fun way to send Grant off to his West Coast residency with a bang, since graduation means trading up to the longer, full-fledged doctor coats.
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| pre-race white |
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| post-race tint |
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| post-color rave saturation (photo by Grant) |
I fully intended on training for this race, even though it isn't timed. Last year it was so satisfying to know I ran the whole thing. But the cold hung on through the end of April, and the race was at the end of May. I got all of one run in, and hoped my yoga practice and weekend bike rides would carry me through. Had the course been the same as last year (flat), I'm sure I would have been fine. But the course this year at Kimball Farm (gorgeous) was mown into a field with lots of elevation changes. Almost immediately after starting, we slowed to a walk to climb a muddy hill single file while holding a safety rope. The rest of the course was less intense, but contained a few climbs steeper than my lungs could handle at a jog. Thankfully, my very fit teammates were kind enough to not leave me in the dust. We crossed the finish line together in a glorious puff of purple cornstarch.
I was slightly disappointed we were not met with free coconut water and frozen Greek yogurt popsicles, but we happily accepted free iced tea and dove straight in to the color rave. All of the running is really an excuse to enjoy the after party, which we discovered is even more fun with more friends. And it's even better when one of those friends is tall and can snag an impressive haul of the free color bombs and t-shirts tossed into the crowd. We also learned our formerly white coats were the perfect party attire. The deep pockets that hold pens and stethoscopes and other medical supplies also happened to be perfect for cell phones in plastic bags and Grant's haul of color bombs and swag. By the time we finally piled back into our rented minivan, we were infinitely more colorful than last year, and so thankful we were able to share the fun with Grant and Caroline.
Our coats are bleached white and our registrations are in for 2015 (thank you, $20 repeat runner registration), and we would love for you to join us next May. Who wants to get rad?
Read about our 2013 Color Me Rad experience, and see all our 2014 race photos on Flickr.