The Graffiti Run – The Colorful 5K Run

Race was to begin at 9. I arrived at 8. Waited to check in for an hour in the wrong line, due to a lack of signs. Went to the correct line at 9:05. Checked-​in at 11:00, due to the fact only 2 people were at the packet pick up table, for all 6,000 people.
The check in process should not take 2 hours. That was ridiculous! It made the entire experience unenjoyable. I will not be participating in their future events. I will go to a competitor. i SUGGEST YOU DO THE SAME!

Ditto to all the things stated in the reviews regarding the most recent graffiti run in Pomona on March 15. A complete and total money making scam. Totally disorganized, nothing as advertised, 3 hour packet pick up line, no excitement on the actual race (boring asphalt with no cheering team), color stations were sparse and you had to make an effort to get color on you, no water stations, DJ and color cannons gone by the time we finished after waiting in the 3 hour long line. Not to mention, they weren’t even checking a list of registrants so really anyone could get in without paying. Like someone earlier mentioned, they made hundreds of thousands on this event and couldn’t even staff employees at the color stations, they were volunteers who left earlier than the race was finished so we had to pour color on ourselves at the stations. So whack.

I only signed up for this because it was marketed as «the color run»…didn’t find out it was a knock off until much too late. But I mean, running any 5k is still good for my health, right? Except I’m pretty sure it was NOT actually 5k. It seems pretty short. Maybe 2-​ish miles…
I got sunburnt waiting in line to pick up the packets the day BEFORE. Props to the ONE staffer trying to create some shade.
When we arrived early on the day of the race, it looked almost exactly the same as when I picked up the packets – except for a ballon arch and some cones. The music wasn’t terribly motivating, and most of the people were walking. In the color zones volunteers throw powder at you. There was one water station. No color canons or «party» at the end.
There was STILL a line of people picking up our packets WAY after we had finished the «race» and a volunteer was telling them to go run and just pick up the packets afterward. But then they wouldn’t have the color packets or anything they bought so…
Yeah, really disorganized.

The run itself seemed pretty short and there a lot of fat and slow people so i didn’t feel pressured to go fast, overall i had a fun time but I’m so glad my friend went a day earlier to pick up our stuff because the lines to check-​in were INSANE. The color stations were sort of crappy, nobody was that great at throwing the powder, i had to make an effort to try to get some color on me. plus there were only 4 stations when they had like 6 colors. shouldn’t there be 6 stations? the course itself was okay, running thru the stables wasn’t the best since we got to smell the horse’s poo the whole time, but like i said i had a fun time in the end

This was the most unorganized and scammy event I’ve ever been to.
1. To start off with, there were about 6 thousand people, and only 2 people manning the check-​in booths.
2. 8 portapotties for 6 thousand people
3. 3 hour check in line, before you could even start racing
4. Lines were horribly unorganized. They didnt tell you either, but there were 2 different check in lines. And the staff would move you from a short line to a long line for no reason.
5. There were NO color cannons. Only maybe 3 people tossing some powder at you per station. And the quality of the color powder was AWFUL. We bought color powder off amazon and we got 5 for the price of 1 «Graffiti Run» bag. And the Amazon color wasn’t a fine cheap powder like this one
6. Scenery for the run was not people cheering you on, it was an empty parking lot, a junk yard with dumpsters left and right, and a bunch of creepy looking barns
7. They said there would be a water station. By the time I reached it, they had no more water left, so they attached a nondrinking-​safe hose to a stable. Drink up, you horse.
8. Very sparse staff in between for emergencies (it was 90 – 95 degrees… pretty hot for that few of emergency staff)
9. By the time we reached the final color station, there wasn’t even any staff there… they all bailed. You had to throw color on yourself.
10. And the DJ left too. So when you finished the race, there was no one to cheer for you, no «party» like they claimed. Nothing. Maybe you’d get a little party shuffle if you made it in the first wave, but if you were like everyone else who arrived on time and waited 3 hours in the check in line, you have to congratulate yourselves.
11. We were so dissapointed, we went straight to our cars… where we found out our car was broken into. Along with at least 5 others. Great.
So here’s the thing… we each paid $ 20 or $ 50 w/​o groupon, which my friend had to pay, so I’m calculating at least $ 210,000 from this event. Now ALL the workers were volunteers so you guys aren’t having to pay for squat. Just the space, some shirts, and some really cheap powder. And looking at all the previous year’s reviews, it looks like you guys have done NOTHING to remedy issues, because it keeps having every year. All I’m left to believe is this is a money-​generating scam, piggybacking off the official Color Run idea.

The organization of his event is ridiculous. Arrived 2 hours before the race — already registered — still in line 1.5 hours later for our numbers. Not planning on ever doing this again.

The graffiti run… where should I begin? This was the most unorganized, most boring race I have ever participated in! First of all, because we were unable to do the packet pickup on the day before, we had to stand in a line for almost 2.5 hours to pick up our stuff!!! FML it was hot too! Second, the actual race was boring! The website made it seem as though they have color cannons shooting out color well, they don’t! No color cannons and barely any color at all. The start line begins with the runners opening up their color packets and dumping them out. Then there are 4 color stations where the volunteers throw color at you. We only got color from two. My sisters and I dumped color on each other so that we could look some kind of colorful. Third, they had water at the stations or at least they were supposed to. Most of them had run out of water (which was warm) and one station was filling cups with water from a hose! Let me tell ya, it’s not the best water I’ve had.
Afterwards, there was no «party». Music was being played somewhere, mostly as background noise and there were maybe 3 food trucks and a beer truck. There was no party! We literally finished our run and walked straight to the car and left! The run itself took us 30 minutes. But we were there for 3 hours!
Oh and by the way as far as the atmosphere went: we ran in and out of what looked like old horse stables! Ugly and slightly creepy!
Bottom line: WORST RUN EVER! NEVER AGAIN!

If I could give this review minus stars I would! This event was the worst event I’ve ever attended. It was completely disorganized. We waited over 2 hours to go and run an event that said it was a 5k and only did 2.6 miles. then they didn’t even have all of our stuff that we paid for for this run and didn’t tell us. So not only did we not get the things that we bought but they owe us money. I am definitely writing to the Better Business Bureau about this event. They should not be allowed to ever have this event ever again! If you are thinking about doing this event in the future please don’t save your money and go to something else.

Bought a deal on groupon to do this run for $ 25 per person. Having previously done the Color Run, we were expecting another positive experience.
We arrived around 9am and waited in line for 2 f*cking hours just to check in! Halfway through we realized there were 2 checkin lines, but we still moved at a snails pace. There was no organization whatsoever. You would think with a high volume of participants, there would be more effort in organizing to be efficient. This is definitely a greatest example of a company that creates a run to attract ppl to spend money, then leaves you high and dry on the actual event day. We just came to run, for gods sake… I shouldn’t need to wait in a Disneyland-​like line.
Skip this shit hole. Sign up for Color Run instead. Identical event, without the disorganization.

When I first stepped into the check-​line, I immediately became unsatisfied due to the length of the the line and how long it was taking to simply check in. As soon as I received my items, I went behind the crowd of people at the starting line. I went by myself so I was a bit feeling out of place, but these amazing group of volunteers called Key Clubbers went up to me making sure I was comfortable and that I was settled in. Overall my experience was amazing and I am definitely coming back when the time rolls back around.

This was my first run of this sort and based on the promo vid on this website, the run looked wayyy overhyped.
Some of the people checking runners in didn’t even bother looking at the registration list. Yes, if you have JUST a waiver, you can sneak in fairly easily.
They had people/​band blasting music and color to get people hyped up prior to races, which was really great. They got people pumped up and the beginning of the race was great.
Then the excitement level goes crashing downnn. They are a lot of downtime (delay) from station to station. Some of these running paths are just plain jane boring, nothing really special. There is a race track to run through and a barn to see, but nothing is really exciting. I’m sure with only a track covering 5k, the people running the event can make certain parts of the run more interesting.
Oh, yea, you should work at the finish. Only like 3 people greeting us at the finish line… or what we thought was the finish line. The end was pretty confusing. We weren’t sure if we were even done with the race. Yea, better ending to a race please. if you want us to come back.
Why do we have running bibs anyways? I know it’s to make sure people who are supposed to be running are racing but there are hardly anyone keeping track. I thought we had the bibs so we can ID ourselves when we find pictures… except there was no photography, which was also disappointing.
At least we had color packs so me and my friends had a blast chucking color at each other. Also, parking lot was next to the race, so we didn’t have to walk for ages to get to our car.
Overall, good idea and concept for the race, but LOTS of things to be improved on for runner experience. Luckily I used a discount code and paid only $ 30 to race, but paying a full $ 50? No way. Not worth it. Not with the lack of organization and things to keep me entertained.

Over-​hyped and over-​priced. Participating in this event is not worth $ 55 — get a LivingSocial deal or Groupon, which will usually sell at 50% less. You get a t-​shirt, head band, a bag of colored chalk, and some safety pins.
The run itself was fun and I had a great time with my friend, but the organization of this event could use some work. ID check was non-​existent, so there was no absolute way to verify who bought a legitimate ticket or who was claiming to be a person on the list with a common name.
One «water station» throughout the whole track… which really was a kiddie pool with 24-​pack water bottles. I guess I was too slow because the gazelles in front of me had ransacked them, leaving nothing for the thirsty slowpokes.
The end of the race was highly anticlimactic… passing the parking lot and back to the start, with cones all of a sudden disappearing to signal the «end» and people sauntering off to their cars after taking a few jump shots.
Would do again, but I am more willing to try the Color Run instead next time.

Was considering four stars because I had a fun time with my friends.
But as far as the actual event goes, it was a little dowdy, and I’d give it a solid 3 stars. If I’m going to pay $ 50 for a ticket, can you be a little more creative, please?
Essentially, they leased out a horse race track thing, weaves us around the facilities for the 5k.
Ways it could be improved:
1) Better ending. At the end of the 5k, just literally just stop running. No crowd, no fanfare. Blech.
2) Food trucks and more carnival-​like activity. You have tons of space in the area where the race starts/​ends. It’s a parking lot. Fill it with booths, food trucks, etc. One of the best parts of the event was a DJ located in the parking lot, and people were dancing and having a good time after the race. Make it a bigger ordeal, and more people will join in.
3) There was one water station. And by water station, I mean a crate of water bottles that you could veer off and grab.
All in all, my friends and I had a good time, but really it’s because we enjoyed some beers after the run and goofed off amongst ourselves. The run itself could be improved.

What, you mean this run is not timed? What kind of a run is not timed? A Graffiti run! This is the first run I’ve ever done that wasn’t timed. I guess the purpose of this event is to create a non-​threatening environment for people to get some exercise. I had a friend get my bib on Friday, thank goodness because I heard the lines were loooong and not the most organized. I guess that’s because this is the inaugural run. Perhaps, next year, they will be more organized and prepared.
I like the concept. What a creative idea to have people toss color chalk at you at different stations. At first, I tried to avoid them, but towards the end, there was no escaping the chalk. There were so many people there that I was constantly trying to snake my way around the walkers, which, most of them were. I didn’t care much for the course, as it was all flat except for one hill. In fact, it seems that the course was to run around the parking lot. What happened to the scenery to pass by time and to make us forget the pain?
Anyway, I did manage to run most of the course, despite the crowds of walkers. My time was very, very slow, but that’s expected here. Overall, this event was a very chilled one with no stress to get a PR. I doubt I’ll do this run again though.

The first time Graffiti Run is in LA and I think it’s a pretty success. This is a fun for all event and good for all ages. The color blasts are colored cornstarch and they were pretty easy to wash off!
Pro:
* Awesome DJs for pumped up music!
* Great scenery with some up and down hill runs. Good change in elevation!
* Awesome volunteers at each color blast station and handing out water! THANK YOU!
* Lots of fun! Super colorful and lots of encouragement from volunteers and runners alike.
* Several leaf blowers as «color removers» and blasting all the loose powder off.
* Water-​soluble and non-​toxic fun that was easy to wash off, thank goodness.
Con:
* Being the first year it was pretty disorganized. The check-​in line was free for all and ended up being SUPER LONG. I think could benefit from separating by alphabets like A-​H, I-​O, P-​Z or something so that the poor volunteers don’t have to go through the entire binder for day-​of check ins. Tabs would be helpful also. We were in line for 2 hours coz we couldn’t make it to pick up the day before.
* Mile or any distance marker would be helpful for those who are running and trying to figure out the time. But it would be good to encourage people, plus you can get people to sponsor for the mile markers for some more funding.
* Not very much vendors at the end of the race.
* Took more than 20minutes between each wave of runners.
All in all a great start! Can’t wait to do it again next year!