EmpowerMoms: Color Me Rad Blacksburg, VA race recap

http://www.colormerad.com/

Last month I had the opportunity to drive to Blacksburg VA (about 45 mins away) with my husband to participate in the COLOR ME RAD 5k as a race blogger. This was my second "color run" this year.
First I'll tell you about my experience with Color Me Rad and then compare it to my other color run earlier this year.

The day before the race, we drove up to Blacksburg to get our race packet which was annoying because it was kind of inconvenient having to drive there and back home for a less than 5 min experience. I should have taken that into account when I signed up for the race. We got our race shirts, bib numbers and sunglasses in our race packet. I loved getting sunglasses-that was cool! Of course I picked out purple because its my favorite color!

My husband and I got to the race over an hour before our wave was suppose to start. It was pretty chilly but I eventually warmed up by walking around the campus looking for a bathroom. We were able to start our race earlier instead of waiting for our specific wave to start which was nice.

The scenery was really pretty!! We ran thru neighborhoods and around the Virginia Tech college campus. I wasn't impressed by the "spectators" and race helpers. Most looked like they were cold and or bored and didn't want to be there. There wasn't much cheering or enthusiasm which was disappointing. I would have been SO bored running it by myself!! This was my first race with my husband so that was fun to run with someone. A date together with no kids! Running together and talking and taking pictures was more fun than the actual race. The color dust didn't stick very good- I think because there was a slight wind the entire time we were running. So I didn't think we got very "colored" in this race. After we crossed the finish line (which was awkward because it crossed paths with people just starting the race) they had a couple tables with some snack bars and water. Quest nutrition bars also had a table set up so we got a free bar from them. I took some more pictures and then we cleaned up and went to my favorite place for lunch-Panera Bread!! YUMMY!!

Overall, it was an okay race. Didn't seem very well planned. The waves were awkward and confusing because there were people just walking around waiting to start or just finishing and everyone started and finished in the same section. There wasn't alot of music through out the race, and as I said the spectators and race helpers were pretty pathetic in cheering and directing. I would not have been happy if I had to pay for this race. I didn't feel it was even worth my gas and travel there and back 2 times (race pick up and then the race).

Compared to the other color race (which I ran earlier this year), The Color Run was MUCH better organized, people were WAY more enthusiastic, music was upbeat, there was a clear start and finish line. The didn't have any snacks though like Color me Rad did.

I glad I got to do my first two color races this year and I'm glad I got to run both of them to compare. Below you will see lots of pictures that I took of the race, because I love to take pictures!! :-)

Before the race