I tried the Color Rad last weekend in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. My daughter was registered for the race. She was running it with her friends from Syracuse and she asked me to join them. (If asked by either of my kids to spend time with them, I’m there!)
At 7 am, we left our home on Long Island and traveled through the city to the Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey. Thankfully, it was a slow traffic day and we breezed into and out of the city. It took us a little over an hour to get there.
Since we hadn’t picked up our race numbers, we had to find the registration line. It was not as organized as I had hoped. There were several different lines and it seemed like no one knew what was going on. When we finally found registration it was nearly an hour wait before we got to the front of the line. We picked up our numbers, got a nifty tee shirt, was given a “rad” tattoo and funky green ray band style glasses. Many people pre-purchased a color pack but we didn’t.
Everyone wore white but that didn’t last. As soon as we approached the start line, we were squirted with colored corn starch, which kicked off the beginning of the un-timed race. (I noticed that it was un-timed because there was nothing on the race number and no tag for your shoe.)
I was curious. The race was supposed to be a 5K race around the stadium. I put on my Nike Sports Watch and let the calculations begin.
I really didn’t know what to expect before we got there. But once we were there, I saw at least five stations that we ran through where colored corn starch was thrown or squirted at us. They used bright colors including pink, blue, green, yellow and orange. It actually looked really pretty on the once white shirts.
They also had a DJ and one live band. I wished that there was more music playing because once you ran by, there wasn’t any music for at least a half mile at a time. But, this wasn’t unusual. It seems like most races are the same. After about a mile, I lost my daughter and her friends. I figured I would meet them at the end.
A half mile or so later, I decided it was time to turn on my iPhone and listen to some music. Running around the parking lot was boring, even if there were a couple of stations where people threw colored paints at you. The music helped the run go easier.
Before I knew it, I saw the finish line. I couldn’t believe it. That was 3.1 miles? I looked down at my handy Sports Watch and noticed that it was only 2.65 miles at the end. I guess someone miscalculated. But you know what? I don’t think anyone really cared. Most of the crowd walked the race and some were so into getting “dirty” that I saw many of them rolling around on the ground in the cornstarch. There was even an area where dozens of people were doing push ups on the cornstarch.
Although it wasn’t the most structured race, it was still an interesting journey worthy of the experience.
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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, MY OWN OPINIONS
I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.