Happy runners at the Color People Run in Sète

Winter is officially over, so time to get out of hibernation mode! Luckily, my eye fell upon a most interesting event: a Color People Run organised in Sète. Chéri and the kids joined me, as this 5 kilometre ‘happiest run in the world’ is suitable for the whole family. An early start on Sunday morning didn’t stop us, nor did the changing of the clocks. Kind of fresh-faced and in a surprisingly good mood we were ready for some action!

Dress up

And the action had already started at 09h00. Because of the time change, it felt like an ordinary school day… I bought the tickets for oldest, Chéri and I online, the twins joined in for free. With these tickets, we collected our starter kit, which included a t-shirt, sunglasses, a bracelet and a temporary tattoo. After dressing up, we were drawn into the beats of the warm-up.

Party

Quite a large crowd was already dancing to the tunes from the DJ. Unbelievable to see all of these runners cutting loose. To remind you, it was 10h00 on a Sunday morning. About a half an hour before starting time, the actual warm-up started. We couldn’t sit still, and everybody was jumping and moving. Big bursts of glitter and colour dropped onto the crowd kept the party going.

Not about winning

The Color People Run started at 11h00. The cool thing about this run is that everybody can join in, regardless of age, fitness levels or background. I even saw a dressed up dog! And it is not about winning, as the run is not timed. Chéri and I split up. He ran with our girl, who needed a bit more time to run. And I ran with our two boys. Who didn’t quite get the “it’s-not-about-winning-part”… They flew off, and I had difficulties keeping up with them!

Colour stations

The 5k run was very manageable, especially because of the fun colour stations at each kilometre marker. We started with orange, followed by yellow, green and blue. The blue colour station was like a smurf warzone. Everything was covered in a haze of blue powder, and I couldn’t see where I was going. Luckily the colour powder used is non-toxic and made of cornstarch coloured with food dyes. So no harm if you inhale some of it. I was feeling blue inside and out!

Smile

Everybody had to be done by 12h30. We all finished well before time. I was very proud of our kids! After a drink, the post-race party continued. In case we didn’t feel colourful enough, more powder packages were distributed, to be tossed into the air to get the best rainbow explosion. Lots of balloons and, why not, more glitter, all added to the party feeling. Leaving us with a smile from ear to ear all day long.