Races from 2013

I did two 5k fun runs in 2013, so I thought I'd do a quick review of both.

The first was the Color in Motion run. It was at R.F.K. Stadium in DC and was much more fun than I thought it would be. I did the run with two friends. I hadn't finished my couch to 5k program at that point and one of my friends was having problems with her knees so we decided to just walk the entire time. And it turned out that there were a lot of walkers during that event, so we certainly didn't feel self conscious about it. One of my friends lived close to the stadium so we drove in and just parked at her house. By the time we got to the start, it was maybe 20 minutes before the listed start time.

There was tons of energy at the start line and everyone seemed there to have a good time.  Everyone had packets of colored corn starch so there were clouds of colored powder in the air even before the run started.  Everyone was dancing, singing, and playing around with the colors.  It was really festive but the one downside is that accidental inhalation of the powder did not feel good!

I'm not sure how many people were released at one time but the timed release worked out pretty well.  The course never felt too crowded (except at the very beginning when we went past the starting line) but it never felt too empty either.  During the race, there were various points where the race volunteers were throwing color straight at you, and it was really concentrated in those sections.  The course itself was nothing to write home about because it was just through the stadium parking lot.

At the finish, we were handed bottles of water and there was another dance party with a D.J.  Again, the energy was great and everyone was having a lot of fun.  There were also multiple food trucks selling yummy looking food, and they seemed to be doing a brisk business given the length of the lines!  I would definitely do this run again.  If anyone is thinking about it, I got a discounted ticket through Groupon so definitely something to watch out for.

My second race of 2013 was the Living Social 5k Dance Party.  I was planning to do this with a friend who is a runner, and my husband and another friend who were planning to walk it.  Sadly, that friend wasn't able to do it at the last minute and we didn't want to leave Mike walking by himself so we all walked this one as well.  See a theme starting here?

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this one as much.  The race was at the exact same location, R.F.K. Stadium.  Again, the course was just through the parking lot so nothing to write home about.  I think the main reason I didn't enjoy it as much was that the energy just wasn't there for this one.  I'm not sure if there were fewer people than expected or it just wasn't planned out right, but there were parts where it felt almost empty.  Also, I think the description oversold it.  It talked about music on the whole course, tons of light, a party-like atmosphere, etc.  There were some light tunnels and music in those sections, but that was about it.

There was also a dance party after the race at the armory.  Again, it was a bit of a let down.  The D.J. was playing a weird mix of music, the venue was too big for the number of people there, and the food smells were unappetizing after the race.  Overall, the experience was ok and I had fun, but I wouldn't do this one again.