**This post has been sponsored by Cricket Wireless to bring you this experience. All opinions are 100% our own!**
Thanks to Cricket Wireless, an offical sponsor of The Color Run, my family attended our first ever 5K, and as my daughter put it as she made her way through the finish line –[quote][typography font=”Bubblegum Sans” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]…it was an awesome adventure, can we do it again!?[/typography] [/quote]
In the past, I’ve thought 5K’s were for experienced runners and didn’t even think it was a place to bring your children. I recently started to focus on a healthier life journey for myself, so the timing of the run was impeccable. I’ve never enjoyed running as much as I did that day. It’s always a joyful time to be around family and exciting to have new experiences together. The Color Run was a fun party with music, energetic vibes, and massive amounts of color – which is a blast for any child or adult!
Here were my top 3 questions when taking my children (and myself) to The Color Run:
(The answers also double as my top reasons to bring the entire family!)
How long is a 5K?
Three miles! My 5-year-old ran/jogged most of it. The party started with lively music and giveaways and most of the runners were dressed up in their colorful best! We even spotted a few unicorns running the race which gave us more laughs and giggles.
Do we have to run?
Running is not a requirement. You can run, walk, jog, skip or do whatever your heart desires along the path. This was a no 
pressure run – which allowed me time to fully enjoy the run with my 5-year old. We also took our 2-year-old but she had a date with dad at the Cricket Wireless VIP area which included delicious snacks making it the perfect break-stop at The Color Run! They also spent time at the children’s trampoline area where they got some fun exercise while listening to great music! Wherever you are at The Color Run, you experience the “party” everywhere you go. They even have a pre-party the day before to pick up race packs and waives the $5 check-in fee the day of. There was a Finish Festival that kept the party going with activities, tons of photo-ops, awesome vendors and MORE COLOR throws!
What should I bring?
We brought our water bottles, a bandana to cover our mouths (for the color powder) and sunglasses. The sunglasses came in handy but we received these life-saving multi-use bandanas from The Color Run and Cricket Wireless that we used to hold our hair back and the other to make sure the color didn’t get in our mouths or noses. Also – as we crossed the start line I realized I left the water bottles in the car – yikes! I had a mini freak-out since I had my daughter with me but they had water break stops that kept us hydrated! After the run, we were also greeted with sample drinks and fresh apples. We made our way back to the Cricket Wireless VIP Area again to fuel up on more kid-friendly snacks and even snagged some great giveaways, including a portable charger that gave my phone some juice for taking MORE photos of my cute kids and exercise bands to keep me motivated to stay active!
RUNNING TOGETHER
During the run, I felt this overwhelming fulfillment holding my daughter’s hand when we walked, running beside her, and talking her through the importance of keeping our “temples” healthy and happy. Not to mention, we loved on each other with big hugs every time we made it through the colorful powder arches. We are excited about making 5K’s a new part of our healthy habit goals and The Color Run will be our new family tradition!
THE FINISH LINE
Here’s the BEST part…look at her face as we hit the big finale at the Cricket Wireless Inflatable Tunnel (photo to the right). Do you see, what I see? She felt accomplished. And when she received her colorful unicorn medal, well friends, I totally choked up! I know, call me over-the-top but I wish a million times I could go back and relive that hour of just her, me, and all the colorful mess we became. This event kept big smiles on our face throughout the day as my daughter shared with everyone we caught up with about her first 5K with mommy.
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