Run or Dye

I’ve never liked running. I’ve always wondered why people would actually pay money to register for a race, when you could run in your neighborhood (if you’re so inclined) for free. I preface my review with this because I was honestly surprised at how much fun I had participating in this event!
A few months ago, my friend (who lives in Orlando) asked me to do Run or Dye with her, and I agreed… on the condition we could walk. The day before, we went to Sports Authority to pick up our packets, and expected a long line, especially since we arrived at 5:30 (pick-​up closed at 6), on a Friday no less. So we were rather surprised to find no line at all. There were several people checking everyone in with tablets, and once we got our bibs, we could proceed to pick up our shirts. Everyone was very friendly and let us see the different sizes, giving us the option (if we wanted) to choose a different size than the one we selected when we signed up.
The next morning, we made it to Osceola Heritage Park, where parking was easy (even if we had to pay $ 7… which was a bit silly considering how much space there was… not to mention how much we’d already paid for the registration). The start line was packed with people, where they let large groups go in waves every 5 minutes. I photobombed a few people during the wait, and then we were off. As you crossed the starting line, you were immediately hit with color (this particular station had pink). Everyone was excited to start, so my friend and I ran for a little bit before slowing to a brisk walk. We were definitely not the only ones walking! Since it’s not a timed race anyway, it was nice to enjoy the beautiful weather and talk with my friend while getting some colored powder thrown at us. Approximately every kilometer or so, we came across a different color station, where enthusiastic volunteers would hit you with a fresh coat of color. At about the halfway point, they handed out bottles of water, which was nice since my friend and I completely forgot to bring some with us.
At the finish line, a stage was set up where everyone congregated while they blasted some fun music and threw out more dye packets to the crowd. Toward the end, the announcer kept telling everyone to not throw their dye until he finished his countdown. When that moment came, the sky exploded in a rainbow of color, which was pretty neat (at that point, it had gotten rather stiflingly hot in the crowd, so we watched from the back), where I got a cool shot of all of the dye in the air.
Tips if you’re going to do Run or Dye, or the Color Run, or Neon Vibe, or any other race where they throw this stuff at you:
1. The powder WILL go through cotton shirts. We found this out the hard way. Our lycra capris, meanwhile, did not have any color bleed through.
2. They tell you to wear white to show off the color, but we found that the dye actually stood out more on our black pants than it did on the white shirts. If I do it again, I would wear a black shirt instead.
3. The color doesn’t really stay. After a few hours, it fades and just makes you look dirty rather than colorful. We went right from the race to Disney, and my shirt just looked dingy and gray after a few hours.
4. Even if you’re not sweaty, go home and shower before you do anything else the rest of the day. Since we’d never done this before, and weren’t sweaty at all since we had just walked most of the time, we thought we’d have no problem going right to Disney, and would just look colorful in the parks. By the end of the day, we were dying to shower. Thankfully with a fair amount of vigorous scrubbing, the dye washes away from your skin.
5. Have fun :)