Eugene, say hello to 5,000 pounds of pure rainbow bliss.
The man-made color bombs that will be thrown during this Saturday’s Color Me Rad 5k are a combination of cornstarch and food coloring – perfectly safe if any powder gets in your mouth, but not without a “chalky” taste and texture according to freshman Kathleen Tran.
“We never call it paint because it actually, I think, confuses people to hear the word ‘paint’,” said Gretchen Willard, Color Me Rad public relations director. “They think of it as painting on a canvas and it’s not paint at all.”
Tran — who took part in The Color Run, another powder-based event last September — says her experience with the powder was not uncomfortable.
“I think the main thing to watch out for would be your eyes. If it gets into your mouth that’s no problem at all, but I didn’t get any in my eyes with the sunglasses on and I think almost all runners wear sunglasses or they just shut their eyes when the powder is being thrown at you,” said Tran.
Based in Utah, the first run took place last April and was initially inspired by the enormous Holi celebration that is held annually in Salt Lake City. This year, Color Me Rad runs will be held in nearly 100 cities throughout the United States and Canada.
“Eugene was a great choice because there’s a lot of runners and a lot of really active people,” Willard said.
Around 4,000 are expected to take part in the 3.11 mile course will start and finish by Valley River Center after winding around the Willamette River. Powder and liquid-based color stations (water added to the cornstarch concoction) will punctuate the course, with volunteers ready to douse participants in color.
“My favorite part is definitely seeing people have fun while they’re participating in fitness,” Willard said. “I think that it’s great that it also supports a local charity, so it’s so many things at once.”
This particular run will benefit the Relief Nursery, a nonprofit organization in Eugene focused on preventing child abuse and neglect.
“It’s also fun to see a lot of people who are first-time runners try their first 5k, and I think they don’t feel pressured, they don’t feel like they need to be the fastest person out there,” Willard said.
Willard, who has participated in several Color Me Rad events (including the very first run), says that although the run looks messy, event cleanup only takes around two to three hours. Rain takes care of what a water truck and sweeper miss, marking a tidy end to a brief moment of vibrance under Eugene’s gray skies.