It certainly wasn't my idea to do a Color Run. Of course the most colorful one of the family, the one who loves cartwheels and backflips and singing loudly in the shower, the one who adores neon pink and purple and bold colored socks that often don't match: Aubrey June. She was right. It was fun. It was a lot of fun, and the picture only captures a small piece of the fun. We woke up early on a Saturday morning, dressed in as much white clothing as we could muster, and headed out to Everbank Field where the Jaguars play. We got there early and because it was a little chilly decided to hang out in the car. The atmosphere was pretty electric as people started rolling in. There were lots of families and groups of people who had an obvious affection for one another. People were smiling and it was the kind of atmosphere that had a way of raising one's spirits. We got our numbers and our loot (run shirts and an eco friendly bag and a bag of colored powder for later and some snacks).
We did the race, and that is where the fun really took off. Each kilometer we passed through was marked by a different color, but it wasn't just a color it was one of those run through arches manned by droves of cheery volunteers who doused us in colored corn starch. Blue, pink, orange, yellow--we were literally covered from head to toe by the end of the 5K.
Although our family got separated during the run, we linked back up at the end. There was a stage and a DJ and dancing Jags cheerleaders. There were lots of giveaways, and at the appointed time we all gathered together in one big mosh pit of rainbowed optimism and counted down "5---4---3---2---1---!" and then everyone tore open his/her own bags of colored corn starch and threw them wildly in the air. The colors rained down all over us, and we laughed like little preschooler playing in the yard with a garden hose and water guns on a hot summer's day.
What an event. What a race. As races go, Aubs picked it well. There were no winners based on time, on finishing first, or on age divisions. In a sense, all of us were winners and there was more than a small measure of grace in that. We all felt free to go at the event at our own pace, waiting for the little ones if we needed to, and stopping along the way to tighten a shoe lace, or to sip some water, or to wipe the color blue from one's eyes. Scripture speaks of faith as running a race (Hebrews 12), and as I think about what that means, I am inclined to conclude (after doing a Color Run) that the Color Run event might be more akin to running the race of faith than, say, a competitive marathon. Who knows.
What I do know is that the race was a good time. We left the event feeling very colorful and hungry. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant, kind of an upscale burger place (Ted's Montana Grill, St. John's Town Center). They had some of the best home made lemonade out there, and the burgers were really special. They feature bison, and what a treat that was. The waitress looked at us rather strangely at first and was a Aside from the colors placed on me that day, I have been "covered" in a way by the colors around me, the colors of Sarah, Will, and Aubs whose enthusiasm and joy and love have a way of getting me out on a Saturday morning, turning an ordinary day into an extraordinary memory. May their colors around me and within me never fade, for they not only inspire me to keep running the race but to smile with every stride.
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