The colorful Run or Dye 5K is hitting locations all over the country this summer. The playful fitness event, featuring dashes of colored dye, is open to all—athletes and loungers, old and young. Children aged 6 and under can even participate for free.

The 5 km race is non-competitive and not timed. Participants are welcome to run, walk, or even skip and dance the route at their own paces. There are no winners or prizes—other than the celebration of fitness and community.

“It’s about people coming together, celebrating and sharing an experience with people they care about,” said Run or Dye spokesperson Katie Langston.

The Hindi festival, Holi, a springtime festival of colors in India inspired the Run or Dye event. A Holi festival typically features people playfully chasing and color each other while moving from place to place, singing and dancing.

“People throw colors on each other as a symbol to welcome the arrival of spring and celebrate new beginnings with family and friends,” said Langston. It is a time to cast away bad feelings, move past negative experiences and let worries go.

 

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Mirroring that theme, there are five dye stations along the Run or Dye route, where volunteers throw eco-friendly, plant-based color on 5K participants as they pass through. Many participants prefer to wear white for full dye exposure.

“It can get really colorful,” Langston said. “The stations help mark the passage and progress through the course.”

The Dye Festival follows, where this is an MC, music and dancing. Participants also Tie-Dye the Sky—each person receives a color packet, and they can throw dye up in the air. “It creates an awesome visual,” said Langston.

Additionally, participants receive a special swag bag, with a race bib, Run or Dye t-shirt, colored bracelets, and temporary tattoos.  So grab your Rainbow Brite-socks, leg warmers and leopard-print hat and get ready for this fun, fitness event!

For a list of Run or Dye event in locations across the United States, visit Run or Dye online http://www.runordye.com/locations/

The for-profit Run or Dye company has put on 200 Run or Dye 5K events around the country since 2013. Run or Dye will also be holding a 5k in the United Kingdom soon, and France and Germany will hopefully follow, said Langston.

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Celebrate with the Color Festival

Run or Dye partners with non-profit companies in every city the event is held. She said that this year, Run or Dye will also be partnering with the Color Festival, considered the largest Holi Festival in the western hemisphere. Caru Das held the first Festival of Colors at his Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah 15 years ago. The attendance to this event has rocketed from 17 people the inaugural year to more than 80,000 people from around the world.

This year, the festival hits the road for the first time, traveling to more than 10 major cities this summer, including New York City; Philadelphia, Charlotte, NC, and Washington, D.C.

In addition to thrown splashes of color, the festival features yoga, dancing, live music (including Kirtan), and fresh vegetarian food. Color Festival encourages you to “[j]oin the throngs of people laughing, playing, dancing, eating, and filling the sky with clouds of bright color.”

Register at www.colorfestival.com