Night Color Run Melbourne

Guess who did the happiest 5k marathon yesterday? Me!

I found out about The Color Run Night – Get Ready to Glow in Melbourne the day I landed here and quickly signed us up. I wanted to keep up the momentum of these happiest 5k events. Starting from last year’s Music Run in Jakarta and now with the unusual nighttime run, there was no way we were not attending the colour run event, even though I couldn’t run to save my life and it’s almost winter here in Melbourne.

I might be one of the laziest people you will ever meet on this planet, though even while saying that, I did train for the night colour run. I have been running for the past two weekends, around our neighbourhood and in the botanical garden to build my strength. By running I mean I ran for like 5 minutes before stopping to do duck watching or grab a coffee in the neighbourhood coffee shop for the next 10 minutes before continuing the same cycle five to six times. I also have been fast walking to the train station and later from the station to my office building.

On the colour run day, I had a very yummy breakfast and bought cheap running pants from Target, just in case they could be ruined by all the colours; I love Target btw. I even slept in the afternoon to preserve my energy. In short, I didn’t want to be completely unprepared for the colour run.

Apparently, I still came unprepared, at least if I compared myself with the other attendees who came with hardcore face paints and colourful tutus. One even came in her wedding dress.

We got there at 6 PM, close to the event starting time, and the queue for check-in was super long so we didn’t have time to roam around the field to get coffee nor buy the super cool hairband with the words Color Run written on it. Once we checked in, we had just enough time to grab our packages, change into a pink tutu (only me), and join another queue, the runners’ queue.

By that time, it started to rain, not heavily, but so damn windy and damn cold. I was practically shivering. At that moment, seeing the hashtag #Happiest5k on my number tag (I was #24321) felt like a cruel joke. Oh man, in any other circumstance I would have been in bed, curling up inside my blanket with hot milk but not this time. This time I had to be an adult. The I-have-already-paid-for-this-and-I-am-keeping-the-damn-momentum kind of adult.

And I did it. Well, by did I mean I ran for like 5 minutes before starting to walk, in my defence, it was a fast walk throughout the night in the rain, so gimme a break.

During the run, walk I mean, we passed by a few colour stops where they threw glow-in-the-dark colours on us and high-fived us for reaching this stage. There were blue, pink, yellow, and green sections. These were the best parts of the colour run. People got super excited when they got colour thrown on them, and some of them even laid down on the floor to bask in it.

My favourite part was the snow where they blew huge soap bubbles into the air with a cannon looking machine. People, no matter what their age was, went gaga here. Another fun part was the dancing with soap bubbles floating in the air everywhere with dance music blasting in the background. It was super fun to watch and experience.

Towards the end, people started to cheat by finding a shortcut to the exit. Surprisingly, I didn’t want to. I felt pumped from the run, okay fast walk, and was happy to do the full 5k. That time, it felt like a #Happiest5k indeed.

I was expecting a medal when we reached the finish line, but instead, they gave me a pack of colour powder. What was I supposed to do with it after the run? That was a little disappointing, and I seriously thought they should pump up with the music. Running in silence, on a cold, rainy night with a bunch of strangers seemed a little sad, especially when you couldn’t see the next stop of the colour run.

The best scenario would be mixing the music run, and the colour runs into one big event. There you go, one-day people will thank me for this brilliant idea.

Meanwhile, I have decided to participate in the Color Run Tropicolor in Sydney 125 days from now, based solely on the Tropi kit they are giving. It looks cool, and I will finally have the headband I wanted. Now, I just need to convince Jik to do it with me.

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