For the fourth year in a row, the Color Run organized in partnership with Sephora is back in Paris. After a succession of coincidences, I ended up in its starting blocks this year for my first official race ; I was clearly not the only one, a good number of the color runners being visibly first timers. That is not surprising, as you will probably understand as you read my recount of the event. For those who prefer things to be visual, head towards the end of this article for a picture summary.

Signed up by chance
It all started a few months ago. After registering at the Mad Day race (only 5 weeks to go !) and starting a quite needed training plan, my friend Hélène offered me to by her Color Run ticket. She had bought it a months before for a discount, but plans had changed in the meantime and she was not available to attend anymore. Understanding the relevance of having a first, easier and closer goal to get motivated to progress, and curious to see what that crazy looking event was about, I did not hesitate long.

Two months later, the event is nearing ; only two more day before the start. 5K runs do not frighten me anymore, despite my previous, lifelong, aversion for running. I go to Hôtel de Ville to retrieve my bib at the race’s village, where a few booth have been put up for each of the Color Run’s sponsors, such as Terraillon or Innocent. More than the bib, we get a teeshirt, as well as a few branded goodies, such as samples (I scored a cleansing cream, yay !), a hairband, an eyeshade, as well as a Sephora branded pair of sunglasses. Those are very important for the run – as in mandatory-, as they protect from colored powder to get too much in your eye .

Once I had retrieved my bib, I concentrated mostly on preparing my outfit and deciding what to bring with me, no lockers being available during the race.

In the starting blocks
07:00AM, Sunday the 15th of April. There it is, the big day. Despite the night’s rain, the weather should be quite good today, fingers crossed. I plan to leave home at 09:00AM, but I know myself and did not leave anything to chance: I am planning to wear contacts for the 3rd time of my life, I know I will need time, a lot of it.

08:50AM. As expected, I had to use all the extra time I had for myself, but I managed to stay the course. I put my gear on – a compression tight with a running short for the bottom, a compression long-sleeved teeshirt and the Color Run teeshirt for the top, and my running shoes. I also took a light windbreaker to handle the morning’s cold breeze on my way to the meeting point. I took a few other things with me in the Color Run backpack, as well as my phone, credit cart and Navigo card, that I put in a running belt. I am ready to go!

09:40AM. I walk through the first arch toward the start of the race with Élisa, a friend with which I will run, as well as thousands of young people, almost all dressed with the same teeshirt and bag as I am. Some are more unique: here are some tutus, there a few people wearing costumes a bit more refined, or Pikachu/Totoro pajamas. This is no carnival though, these people being few and far between.

10:00AM. We are slowly progressing, and for good reason: 300 meters further down is a filter roadblock where bags are checked. Only 500 more meters to walk to get to the starting area, people are cheerful, shouting and dancing here and there. Most people came with friends or family, and they clearly are already having a good time ; the sun is starting to show itself and warms us up, the atmosphere is great. I take my windbreaker off and put it in my bag.

10:10AM. Here it is, we are in the starting block with about 200 anonymous people. A DJ and two entertainers are waiting for us and they take on themselves to warm us up, making us dance on catchy rythmes before launching the countdown… Here we go !

A colored race
Everyone seems motivated, people are running in a good spirited atmosphere right off the bat. I see a few people with strollers but mostly young people (as in students), and more women that men. That’s an observation that will keep on bearing out during the whole day, with runner being, from what I can say, an average of 20-25 years old. I can also hear many groups talking in various languages, which is kind of cool.

Most of the first kilometer happens in the Tuileries tunnel. This is a weird and uncommon moment of the race. Suddenly, there is less light and a lot more reverberation, runners using this opportunity to test their vocal cords. For a few minutes, we run in a constant hubbub, only sensing, right after a final turn, the light at the end of the tunnel: the first color zone, yellow. It is our baptism of fire, and I go through it slowly ; after all, we are here to end up as colored as possible!

Right after this first milestone, we catch sight of the Louvres building on the right and, on the left, on the other side of the Seine river, the second color zone, blue. 200 meters after the yellow zone, the route does a U-turn and makes us go back on our steps, back to the Royal bridge. The atmosphere is really unique, it is kind of aery to be running on the road, surrounded by monuments in the city of lights, without a car in sight. After taking a right at the end of bridge, we run down towards the riverbank on the Anatole France quay, ending up that second kilometer with some blue.

As the blue cloud clears, we already catch a glimpse at our next goal, green, a kilometer away. Here and there, some sets of friends are starting to struggle, some even stopping at riverbank bars, suggesting to their friends to get a beer before carrying on with the race. More and more people are walking, we run pass a girl, livid, surrounded by Red Cross first-aiders. Nearing the Concorde bridge, we finally reach the green zone.

Tiredness is starting to really show around us, as more and more runners turn into, temporarily, walkers. The way from the green zone to the last one is longer than other before, letting us enjoy the Seine and the sun as we zigzag between slower people. After a few long minutes, we final reach the last color zone, close to the Alma bridge: time to go pink.

Once that last zone behind us, we leave the cloud to reach the only uphill slop of the race, to get from the riverbank back to the street. As we proceed, everyone in front of us is now walking, despite the apparent closeness of the Eiffel Tower, informing us of the proximity of the race’s end. Indeed, a few minutes later, we can actually see the last arch that marks it. More interestingly though, we can see, on the Iéna bridge – which is between the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero -, all ex-runners gathering in front of a stage and jumping in synch with a music we are beginning to perceive ; the festival is around the corner.

After-race partying
10:50AM. In the end, crossing the finish line was only a formality, almost anticlimactic compared to the energy prevailing in the four colored zones. Already, all my attention was focused on the events to come: a snack – a cereal bar and a small bottle of water – but most importantly, the festival. Right as I was entering the bridge, I was delighted to meet two friends who also did the race along with other friends of theirs. How lucky to cross their path knowing that we were about 20.000 runners this year!

After leaving Élisa who had to go, I started a well deserved after-party. I was welcomed with a surprising amount of… lines. There were so many lines that it proved difficult not to line up in one of them, be it to buy food, goodies, take pictures at photobooths or try sponsors’ products. I decided to stand in line to take a memory picture, and used that time to look people around me, the party’s stage, the beautiful setting around us with the dominating Eiffel Tower on one side and the Trocadero on the other. Like many people around me, I was moving to the catchy music’s rhythm, now clearly audible. I was also quite intrigued by the huge countdown printed on the stage’s massive screen. As the last seconds are ticking, I hold my breath. A rainbow of colors emerges from the gathered crowd as it shouts “zero”, jumping as one. Splendid.

After taking the picture, I snake in the crowd of anonymous people and get closer and closer to the stage. I will finally spend two more hours there, dancing and launching colors five more times. The atmosphere was great and the DJ very good, in a word I had a great time. This was also marked by the giveaway of a 10.000€ cheque from Sephora and the Color Run team to UNSED, a charity that is fighting against Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, an orphan genetic disease not very well known. Yannick Agnel, French Swimming Olympic Gold Medalist, was on stage supporting them as a godparent.

01:15PM. Time is passing, there is still 2 more hours of music and color spreads, but I saw and heard enough already. I start going back home and suddenly move from norm to strange, standing out from the people surrounding me with my color covered face and clothes. People take a peek at me, some, having a nosier behaviour, are even staring at me. A woman, joined by her teenager child, asks me about my teeshirt, wondering how the race was. I reply to her that it was awesome, with a great atmosphere, and that I truly recommend to do it.

Fading colors
02:00PM. I leave the metro and emerge in the middle of my the farmers’ market’s stalls. It is time for them to gather and pack fruits and vegetables to leave the place, but I test my luck successfully and buy a few
comestibles on my way back home.

Time to assess the damages. I start by removing my teeshirt to plunge it in a mix of cold water and white vinegar, in order to fix the colors and keep a reminder of this day. I then take off the rest of my clothes and wash them in hot water and detergent ; it instantaneously blackens, and I will have to rinse my equipment a few times to clean water before it doesn’t change color anymore.

Then, here come my turn. I uncovered, despite two layers of clothes, that I had blue pigments all the way to my torso. Just as with my gear, as soon as I run the water on me, it turns back. No mater how much I rub my hairs, the stay sticky. Reluctantly, I get my shampoo and apply it on my hand: exceptional circumstances call for exceptional means.

After about ten minutes, soap, shampoo and some elbow grease, I manage to get back to my original sparkle. Despite the color being a bit pernicious, it can be removed quite easily in the end, be it on clothes or on the body. Quite reasuring.

You surly understand, by now, that I spent a wonderful Sunday. We were lucky enough to have an awesomely nice and fresh weather, with a soft breeze and a heating sun, the race letting the race unfold in perfect conditions. To sum up, Color Run, is fun, reachable, really great. I strongly recommend to try it to everyone – to the exception, probably, of people with an asthma condition because of the color clouds that can be difficult to breath through. It is an excellent start for anyone who want to start running without pressure, as well as a very good moment to spend with friends and family. One thing is for sure: I will be back next year, with more people!

Bonus: Pictures from Color Run Paris 2018

Also published on Medium.

This post is also available in: French