Who knew cornstarch could be so rad?

This past Saturday marked the 2nd running of Colour Me Rad in Vancouver but probably (hopefully!) not the last.  Here are the top 5 reasons you should be either sad and full of regret for missing it or counting your lucky stars for being able to take part in this sold out event:

5) The organizers have very good karma and don't mind sharing with you:  How else can you explain the weather on Saturday?  The weather this past week has been very typical of October in Vancouver-rainy, cold and blah.  But somehow, when that coloured cornstarch started flying, the sun came out!  No rain and warm temperatures, love it.

4) Great swag:  The typical race has that typical t-shirt that you will never wear and/or you will send directly to the thrift shop.  Not so with Colour Me Rad.   Not only did I score a sweet, soft cotton tshirt that I plan to wear over and over again but I came home with a pretty sweet pair of shades!  The merch tent had many options including but limited to shirts, knee socks, stickers for reasonable prices too.

3) Fun for everyone: There were runners, walkers, kids, people with canes, people in costumes you name it, they were there.  Every participant seemed to have a perm-grin too!   Three generations of my family (ages 5-50 something) and everyone, even my non-athlete husband said it was a lot of fun and are already looking forward to next year.  Can't say I've seen that at most events!

2) Behaviour that is generally frowned upon is encouraged:  Ever wanted to throw cornstarch at a fellow runner?  Or lay down in the street and make powder angels?  Break into a random dance?   I saw all of this and more on Saturday and it only fed the atmosphere of joy.  Definitely a nice break from the every-race!

1) Good bye PR anxiety:  A lot of runners (myself included) worry about not hitting that personal record and it's ruined many a run.  Contributing to the fun atmosphere is the fact that Colour Me Rad is not a timed event.  That's right: no timing chip.  No clocks.  Awesome.  And according to the guy with the mic, if you ask about your time, expect a punch in the esophagus.  How's that for incentive?


Yup, Colour Me Rad is rad.  The merch tent is rad.  The course is rad.  So is the after party.  Do yourself a favour and make sure you add this one to your list of "must do" races.  For those of you who were there, would you do it again?