A cloudy Saturday morning was perfect for a running/walking event in downtown Columbus called The Color Run.
Billed as the Happiest 5K on the Planet, the color run is all about having fun and being healthy (although breathing the dust is debatable).
At the start everyone was festive and clean.
After crossing the Broad Street bridge the participants went through the first zone of getting blasted with colored dust.
The volunteers enthusiastically douse the runners from large squirt bottles.
A cinematographer from a local TV station apparently got too close.
Most came through looking to add to their colorful collection on their previously white shirts.
Reactions varied!
Billed as ‘not a race’ some clearly were regular runners – although the red makes it looks like she is running from zombies in a George Romero movie.
The kids really embraced the event.
Another great form for getting powdered.
Many were taking selfies along the way.
The blue zone. Many participants wore bandanna’s over their noses to keep the dust out. The dust is a food grade corn starch.
I kept hearing the Pat Benatar song ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ watching the people encouraging the volunteers with the dust.
You look good.
In the pink zone one of the volunteers was over enthusiastic in his delivery.
He was hammering people with the dust.
Resulting in serious clouds and coverage.
While other volunteers hurried to keep up refilling the bottles.
One lady had her dog with her – the dog came through it much better than she did.
Nearly all seemed to enjoy the event.
Many wore tutu’s – not sure why.
The Columbus Police have always worn crisp white shirts – probably not the best for the day. This young lady was asking for a hug – they agreed to a fist bump.
As they approached the finish line they ran through giant bubble machines.
Before arriving at the party area.
The skyline had a very colorful look today.
One of the sponsor was a laundry detergent company with a faux washing machine.
The DJ was throwing packets containing more colored dust to the crowd. About every 10 minutes he would encourage them to open them up and toss the contents into the air.
The results were spectacular.
The dog’s final look – a bit colorful but no worse for wear.
The participants were happy.
There were stations they could participate in – bouncing the dust off on trampolines.
All headed home happy.
Covered in colorful dust.
RDZ Photography 