The latest craze in 5K races is in the form of groups of people wanting to be plastered by the same types of powder used to celebrate Holi in the Hinduism religion.

People attend these races wearing as much white clothing as possible and they try to create crazy outfits to go with it, think roller derby outfits but without the witty pun-filled names on the t-shirts.  The fad was started a few years ago and now has at least two major event organizers backing it, “The Color Run” and “Color Me Rad.”

I have aptly named it a fad because a good majority of the people I witnessed at this event were just there for the sole purpose of having a cool “look what I am doing” photo to post on Facebook. I am sure there are plenty of people who go there because they want to have “fun” at a 5K race.  Colored powder or not, anyone who wants to put forth the effort to run a 5K should be commended.

I was there helping to photograph the runners at the finish line.  The day wasn’t like most other runs because this one took place during the rain. It was windy, cold and very wet. My feet were soaked to the core and since it’s really difficult to hold a camera and an umbrella, I chose to wear stylish drawstring garbage bags to help keep my torso dry.  Despite being a meat popsicle  all morning, I did enjoy myself, more so because I got to see the people at the finish line and how ecstatic they were to have been a part of the event.

This helped keep my frozen spirits high.