Color Me Rad is a great 5K race to start off with.
My family and I participated in the Virginia Beach run this Sunday and we had a “rad” time.
Today, I wanted to do a quick review of our experience in case this race is something that you’ve been considering.
See Also: Five Reasons to Attend the Color Me Rad 5K
Arriving at Color Me Rad
Expect to arrive at Color Me Rad at least 45 minutes before your race wave start time.
In our case, we didn’t make it to Packet Pickup on Saturday so we arrived at 8 am to be able to do that as well.
The good thing about arriving well in advance of your race wave time is you get to get parking that is close. Once the race is over, if you’re someone who decided to run it, you’ll be grateful that your car is parked close as your legs (and/or your children’s legs) will be on fire.
The Virginia Beach race took place at the Sports Complex and the fee was $10 in cash for parking.
Once you walk up, you’ll be greeted by a staff member who will direct you to get checked in.
With our tickets, we all received a blue Color Me Rad shirt, a color packet, a bandana/sleeve, race number, plastic cover, and pins to pin on the race number. The kids also received a RAD tattoo in their kit.
Additionally, they do have items for sale. When we checked in they were offering a buy 4 get one free deal. We ended up getting three pairs of sunglasses (all the kids left theirs at school and sunglasses are required for the race) and 2 bandanas.
Preparing to start the 5k
After checking in you can roam around and eventually you’ll be called to the stage where everything is explained and color packets are thrown out.
The organizer gets everyone hyped up for the run and covered in color.
Plus, most people use the time before the race to take photos.
Once it’s time for your wave you’ll join everyone at the start line and you’ll go out in groups.
What to expect during the race
During the race, you can walk, jog, or run. Just have fun getting active with your group.
In our case, we had a goal of finishing the race in 40 minutes or less as we’ve been running 3-6 miles every Sunday to improve our time as a group.
Honestly, the kids could have probably done it in 30 minutes, I’m the slowpoke lol.
During the race, you’ll come across different color stations where you’re blasted with more color.
I highly recommend having a bandana to cover your face and making sure it’s up when going through the color stations. I went through one with it down and it got all up my nose and down my throat (not a pleasant experience at all lol).
NOTE: Even if you’ve never done a 5K (this was my first one) I encourage you to give the Color Me Rad one a try. It’s a no-judgment zone race, with people of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels participating. My anxiety was through the roof about doing this as I didn’t know what to expect, however, it was very chill and not competitive at all.
What to expect after the race
Once you reach the finish line you’ll be handed a bottle of water and a medal.
There also is another hype gathering that’ll be taking place at the center stage and it appeared that they were giving away prizes and doing competitions on stage.
We didn’t participate in that as my partner had to go to work and there were other things on my to-do list for the day as well so we left after crossing the finish line.
Conclusion: Color Me Rad is a 5K race you should experience at least once
Many people at the race had done a prior Color Me Rad.
We loved it because it’s fun, challenging if you run it, and it’s a great way to get everyone active.
I’m glad we got to experience it at least once because the experience is something that we’ll all remember for a lifetime.
Have you ever participated in Color Me Rad? If so, share your experience in the comments below.
