Our seven-year old niece/cousin Erin, whose singular devotion to the unicorn has led to her wearing the same pink and purple Halloween costume each year since 2007, would have loved the Color Run, billed the happiest 5K on the planet.
Erin’s favorite magical creature played a prominent role in the run happy jog, which asks participants to confirm their belief in unicorns right in the registration form.
In addition to unicorns, we saw tutus, feather boas, super heroes and plenty of color as we wound our way through the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay campus on a perfect late September morning.
I took the pre-race advice to wear all white very seriously and ended up looking like a giant Tic Tac, but my all-white ensemble didn’t last long as I trotted through clouds of pink, yellow, orange and blue clouds, high-fiving some of the jolliest race participants I’ve ever seen.
I passed a trio wearing an interesting tuxedo/tutu combination and they bid me a cheery hello, I gave a dignified nod to a group of tutu-wearing gentlemen and I high-fived a tiny girl wearing a crown and holding her friendly dad’s hand.
I can’t say I ran for a cause on Sunday. The Color Run is a for profit organization that raises awareness and some funds for charities it supports. This year they hope to contribute $1 million through Global Citizen, a charity curator. With 7,000 registered runners per race paying fees between $35 and $40, and Color Runs popping up all over the world, the Color Run will rake in much more than that over the course of a year.
Still, I admire the organization’s ingenuity. I appreciate its ability to spread joy and to get people out and moving on a sleepy Sunday morning.
And, like my niece and the Color Run, I salute the unicorn.
What a great time you must have had! We had quite a few colorful gals come in for coffee after the run. Now if it was in Green Bay & they came to the Northland store I sure hope they had covers in their cars.