Completing The Color Run with a Corn Allergy

Note: This is a sponsored post. The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write this.  I only recommend products or services I use personally and/or believe will be good fit for my readers.

I did it! I finished The Color Run!

I didn't really doubt I could do it, but I'm happy to cross another item off my Life List.  I also had my reservations about doing The Color Run, since the colored power is actually corn starch - and I'm allergic to corn!

I found out a couple years ago that a corn allergy may be causing my sinus problems - chronic sinus infections, daily headaches, and "brain fog."  I've eliminated corn (and some other allergens) from my diet and I feel much better.

I was hesitant to do The Color Run, scared of the reaction to the corn starch, but the opportunity presented itself to cross "Do a 5K" off my life list and I couldn't pass it up.  My allergies "just" result in headaches, fatigue, and fogginess.  I don't recommend completing The Color Run if you have a corn allergy that results in   anaphylaxis shock.

So my game plan for The Color Run was to wear my sunglasses to protect my eyes and a bandana to protect my nose and mouth.  Hopefully this would minimize the corn getting into my system.

I was so excited to run this race with my friend Wendy.  Her mom sewed white skirts for us!  And I busted out my Team Sparkle race legs, which were perfect for the occasion.  I also purchased the official Color Run bandana to shield my face from the corn.

The race started at 9am.  My goal was to get to Dodger Stadium and be parked at 8am.  The parking situation was completely unorganized.  I got off the freeway at 8am and didn't park until a few minutes before 9am.  From the freeway, five lanes were merged into three.  Then three lanes were merged into one.  Then we were all left to navigate the parking lot on our own.  It was chaotic and frustrating.  The few parking attendants I did see were wearing Dodger jackets so I assume they weren't Color Run people.

Once parked I rushed to find Wendy and her mom as we heard the start command for the first wave of runners.  After we connected we got into the corral.  It seemed they released waves of runners every 10 minutes, and we got started about 9:40am.

(All photos in this post are my personal photos.  I protected my phone in a plastic bag so some photos look like my lens is covered in Vaseline.)

After a short run, we made it to our first color station - blue.

I took a picture of myself after every station to document my coloring process.

I got a little bit of blue.  My fanny pack and my shoes seemed to be a magnet for color.

Next was orange.

I got BLASTED with orange.  The problem with orange, though?  It basically just looked like I was tan. Orange doesn't seem like the best color for The Color Run, in my opinion.

Next was yellow.

Not much action in the yellow station.

Our final station was pink.  Yay pink!

People were lined up to get blasted with pink and we didn't want to wait in line.  So we didn't really get any thrown directly on us.

Soon the finish line was in sight!  We made a run for it and finished the 5K in under 40 minutes, which was our goal time.

The race was fun but the end result was kind of disappointing - we barely got any color!

In my personal opinion - Yellow and orange are bad colors.  I would have loved to have seen purple and green instead.  Also, more volunteers at each color station, so you don't have to wait in long lines just to get some color on you.

After the end we stuck around to watch the color bomb.  At packet pickup, everyone is given their own packet of color to throw up in the air after the race.  As much as I would have loved to be in the middle of it, we stayed out of the crowd due to my allergies.   But it made for some pretty pictures.

 
After the color bomb, I said my goodbyes to Wendy and her mom, and met up with my friend Natalie!  Love her tribal war paint look.

There were several food trucks, including my favorite - The Grilled Cheese Truck!

Here are my tips for successful color running:

• Wear all white, if you can.  A lot of color ended up on my pants but you can't see it because I wore black!
• If you have a corn allergy that's not super serious, you can still do The Color Run.  A few hours after the race I started to feel lethargic and developed a headache.  I think it would have been a lot worse if I hadn't taken precautions to protect my nose and mouth during the color stations.  
• If you don't have allergies, my advice is to fully use your personal packets of color!  Getting lots of color at the color stations during the race seem to be hit or miss.  So have a blast with your own personal color packets after the race.
• There was only ONE water station, at the halfway point during the race.  So hydrate well prior to the start.
• Protect your phone in a ziplock bag.  The bag containing our fake tattoos that we got at packet pick-up was the perfect size for my phone.  Otherwise a regular sandwich bag works fine.  
• Bring a change of clothes for the drive home.  I wore pants under my skirt and a tank top under my top, so before I got in the car I shed the first layer and I was good to go.
• Also bring towels to protect your car seats.
• This is not the race to take your time seriously, so leave the pedometers and fitbits at home and just enjoy yourself!

I had so much fun doing The Color Run, I highly recommend it, even if you're not a runner!  Check TheColorRun.com to look for dates in your area.

I was compensated with an entry to The Color Run in exchange for promotion, but all opinions are 100% my own.