True Colors of Love

My husband, Riku, is not a runner. He's not really into any sports to be honest. When he was a little boy he danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and then later he did gymnastics with the University of Washington. He loves hiking and camping and being outdoors, but running? Eh, not so much. That's kind of my thing.

The other day I was pointing out to him that when we walk into the YMCA side by side or when we arrive at racing events together, that folks probably assume HE is the runner. He's thin and fit looking and carries himself with a certain air of confidence that comes from years of intensive ballet training. I, on the other hand, am on the heavy side and tend to walk self-consciously, especially in workout clothes, because I often feel worried that someone might ask me to leave because I'm not fit enough. I know, I know, that's crazy talk, but when you spend much of your life not liking the skin you're in, that's what it's like in your brain. The more I remind myself I'm a runner, the better I feel, and the more comfortable I am with my body, even if I don't look anything like the runners on the covers of running magazines.

Anyway, I decided that I wanted my husband to share in the excitement of running a race. I wanted him to see what it is I love so much about running and I was also hoping that if he saw what all the fuss was about he could better support me in this running adventure. I found one of those color races, the un-timed ones where it's just about having fun, being healthy, getting covered in color, and finishing.

Run or Dye 5K in Tacoma, Washington

We got up bright and early on a drizzly summer Saturday morning, ate my typical running breakfast (peanut butter and banana bagel), took our coffee to go, and headed south to Tacoma. Traffic was humming along nicely and the rain had tapered off...that is until we got to the exit for the Tacoma Dome where the race was starting. Thankfully, I had picked up our packets with bibs and white shirts the day before, so all we needed to do was park and get in line for the start. We had plenty of time and enjoyed seeing all the cool tutus and other neat colorful outfits folks had on while we waited for them to release waves of runners. There were SO MANY people and it was a little hectic, but we were here to have fun, even if it was a bit chilly and drizzling off and on.

After a little bit of a wait, our wave was released and we took off through the port area of  Tacoma. Everyone was in such a good mood, having fun, laughing, taking photos, and enjoying the morning. The race itself was pretty uneventful. We got doused with lots of bright colors, watched folks get covered from head to toe in rainbow powder, and ran pretty steadily for the entire 5K. Close to the end of the course there was a very steep hill that we were supposed to run down, but it was raining pretty hard and the hill was covered with wet cornstarch powder, so even the most dye-hard (get it?) runners were slowly walking and picking their way down the hill so as not to slip. I must admit I was worried someone might get hurt, but thankfully, people were smart about it and no injuries were reported.

One of the neatest things about the race, aside from all the people representing different ages and stages of life (including the crazy folks who were awesome enough to run with strollers filled with children!), was probably all of the police officers keeping the course safe. Even though a 5K is only 3.1 miles (did I really just say that?!), the race course weaved around busy streets and crossed train tracks several times. Those police officers were AMAZING. They kept cars away, warned us when trains were coming, got covered in dye powder because of their close proximity to the stations, stood out in the pouring rain and chilly air, and happily posed for photos with runners. I'm pretty sure they got a kick out of all the rainbow colored folks running around Tacoma. One officer even allowed folks to put rainbow hand prints on his tires!






The best part of all though, was running a race with my husband. We laughed, we cheered, we took goofy photos, and most importantly - we ran! It was so much fun and it made me love him all the more for being willing to not just run, but get covered with a rainbow of colored cornstarch.

We celebrated our finish by going out to IHOP for brunch...covered in colored dye (which, by the way, REALLY sticks to your skin and stains it when you get rained on first). We made sure to get some photos with Flat Jesus, the "mascot" from my church, too. I treated, of course, since this was Riku's very first 5K! 

True love comes in all sorts of colors...in our case, it comes in a rainbow.