6 Tips for Surviving Your First 5k – The Color Run Kansas City!

I’m sore… I’m so sore! Saturday, my husband, friends and I, all went to Arrowhead stadium (GO CHIEFS!) to get happy at The Color Run. This was my 2nd 5k race and I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about The Color Run. Who wouldn’t want to join a crowd with thousands and thousands of the happiest people in the city?

We all dressed up, my husband and I wore tutus, my friends wore tie dye socks and The Color Run hooked us up with all kinds of happy swag. I’ve really become addicted to 5Ks, but The Color Run takes the cake!

We started out at the start line and they had today’s hottest music playing by some seriously HAPPY DJs, they were spraying bubbles everywhere, throwing swag into the crowd and everyone was pumped to go.

Check out this Instagram video that I made from the race

There were 4 color stops throughout the race, each stop had a line of volunteers to spray you down with color. Can I just say that the blue team rocked? They were all so happy and even took big sweeping brooms to help spray the color from the ground back up onto people. We stopped, danced to the fun music, got sprayed with color and even rolled around in it.

We had such a great time! At the end of The Color Run they had a big color festival set up. They handed us each a color packet and at every 15-20 minute interval there was a count down where everyone threw their color packets at once. Thousands of runners throwing a color packet into the air created a HUGE flume of color!

The Color Run color is made of colored corn starch, so while it did’t taste great in the mouth, it was non toxic for the safety of the runners.

Whether you are walking the race, running or just going for a great time, a 5K can be so much fun for everyone. Even the kids! 5Ks are my new addiction and I already have two more planned out for the Summer. We will be doing a 5K every month!

So now that I have my second 5K under my belt, there are a few tips to share..

6 Tips to Surviving Your First 5K

1. Eat a good breakfast! It’s hard to eat at 6:30 in the morning sometimes, but some protein will help give you the energy needed to make it through a 5K. 
2. Wear good shoes and socks! I learned the hard way with my first race and suffered from aching feet with huge blisters. Good running/walking shoes are a must! If you are prone to blisters, try doubling up your socks to help reduce the friction to your feet.
3. Bring water! They provide small cups of water at stations throughout the 5K but it can be a long walk in the middle of a hot day. If you are bringing the kidlets, they will need lots of water to stay hydrated too.
4. Fanny Packs! I seriously want to bring these back in style LOL They are great to hold your phone, water and keep your hands free during a long walk/run.
5. Stretching is essential to preventing cramps, stretch before and after the race to keep your muscles loose.
6. Find your motivator! My motivation is dressing up in a tutu, there is nothing more motivating to me then getting out there and looking like a goofball. Don’t worry! You won’t be alone. Hundreds of women and men (if you count my husband) will be dressed the same way. It’s really a lot of fun.BONUS TIP : Make sure your toe nails are trimmed! LOL I had a corner dig into my other toe and it turned into a blood fest in my sock.

The Color Run is all over the nation in tons of cities! Check here to see if there is one near you : http://thecolorrun.com/