So You Want To Do A Fun Run: After @TheColorRun Race

**** This post is not sponsored. Our team, The Color Jungle, paid for admission to the following event. All photos contained below are copyright Momma Told Me Blog 2013.

Momma Told Me: Sometimes life get's messy, and that's what truly makes it beautiful.

So you've conquered your first fun run, The Color Run, and come out looking like you survived an explosion in a Gummy Bear factory. You round the corner, and your heart drops as you realize there are no more color stations to run through, just one final arch, the Finish Line.

As acurate as you may want your chronicling of the occasion to be, I suggest you hold your triumphant photos for the other side. 'Finish Line' with be written on either side of that colorful arch, and the remaining participants will appreciate you taking your goofy photos in the holding bay on the other side; rather than in the middle of an active race. And, while you have those gorgeous, 'official' participant bibs on, you will have no way of ever knowing what place you actually finished- after all, it's not a 'race,' it's an experience.

As you cough up those last specks of colored corn starch, and reach for the tissues stashed in your teammates backpack (expect plenty of colorful surprises there), a sort of high washes over you. I expected to be more proud that I had participated in a 5k (my second in a month, the first being a charity walk); I was more excited about soaking in the surroundings. The atmosphere was electric, our event filling an entire fairgrounds- a stage just behind us blasting energetic music, a DJ screaming notes of encouragement. Take time to stop here and snap plenty of photos of you and your team. Take silly photos, carry one-another, flash peace signs, whatever you do- it's all smiles. If there's ever a time in life when you can simply go wild and act like a kid again, it's standing there on that color drenched pavement, a human canvas.

Before I'd participated in my first Color Run I was very unsure of how things would play out. As part of the newbies in our start section, we bespeckled each other with our colored corn starch packets long before the race even started. Somewhere along the line we'd heard an announcer tell us those packets were for the 'after party'- I still stand by my belief it was more fun to 'pre-color' our team at the Start Line. And I still wish that I'd had the opportunity to buy an additional packet or two when registering.

In any case, once you've crossed the finish line, and taken your photos, there is a mosh pit before a giant stage, considered the 'after party'. Little kids will be sitting on parents heads, and the entire crowd will be pulsing up and down to the beat of the electric music. At various intervals a countdown will be heard, and that's when you should grab your camera- the entire crowd will throw up their color and a beautiful scene of color clouds will erupt over the rainbow participants. Once you've snapped your pics make your way into the heart of the crowd and prepare for the next countdown; after all, you should experience this from inside the group too, right?

By the time you tote yourself back to the car you'll be staring at the towels you responsibly brought, a little crestfallen at the notion of wiping that war paint off. I couldn't bring myself to do so just yet, so we covered the upholstery and caravan-ed  our group back to our hometown (the next town over, and away from the crowds and street blocks), where we walked into a family diner, packed on a late Saturday afternoon. We'd thought for sure we'd be kicked out on first sight, but we were welcomed as more of curiosities. Every employee had to stop by our wide faced booth and ask us about the event, and tell us how much fun it must have been. Note: Us ladies had made a beeline for the restroom to clean out hands- while the preliminary color will come off, expect your palms to be dyed dark green to black even after a good rinse.

When Jay and I got home we snapped a few more photos, for posterity's sake. I already knew I wanted to take one and make it into a photo canvas (you'll see how that came out later). The top photo is our photos in complete race gear, the bottom, with our top layer of clothing removed. I'm sharing this particular set of photos to illustrate the aftermath of the event. Note, any and all clothes below are subject to coloring, especially if you sweat. The color seeped right through my official t-shirt and even through the two layers beneath. If you're wearing headbands, goggles, glasses, wristbands, etc, expect some deviation int he form of 'clear patches'. If you'd like to preserve the color on your clothing articles, the event suggests you spray them in vinegar and iron them. And, from personal experience, if you're looking to remove the color from your skin in one wash, grab a cheap bar of 'Lava' (comes in a red package, 2 bar packs with bar soap at your local grocer) soap. This green pumice like soap is oddly soothing as you scrub the color off with no trouble at all!

What Daughter Says: There are a lot of ways in life to get messy- relive the childhood joy of finger painting with a fun run!