As you may know, I'm on a huge fitness kick lately, and my goal is to run Bloomsday for the first time in my life this May. Now it looks like I have another race that month to prepare for. And to be honest, this looks far more exciting!

Missoula runners are gearing up for color, and a whole lot of radness, as they take on Color Me Rad 5K on May 4, 2013. As white-clad participants run around Flying H Stables they’ll be bombarded with color that tie-dyes their t-shirts at the same time it brightens their outlook on life. In this untimed event, the focus is purely on fun, and the fitness is an added bonus. Even better, each race benefits a local charity. After completing the 3.1-mile course, runners will declare themselves rad as they toss their own bags of color into the air; creating a display so colorful it makes the Fourth of July jealous.

“Like your fifth birthday party, we want this event to be memorable, fun, and colorful,” said race organizer Scott Crandall. “This is all about fun, and unlike your birthday party, there are no scary clowns here, just lots of color.” The color is FDA approved colored cornstarch, and almost 5,000 lbs. of it is used for each race.

The Missoula race is the twenty-fourth stop on this year’s nation wide tour. Inspired by the Holi Festival of India, Color Me Rad is in its second year of turning runners into color revelers. This is the first year Color Me Rad comes to Missoula. Last year more than 200,000 runners were turned rad in 36 cities across the U.S. and Canada. “We love to get people involved in fitness who may not come out to your typical 5K,” Crandall said.

A portion of the proceeds of the race goes to Zootown Arts Community Center. “We have worked with great charities across the country, and there is nothing more rad than knowing all of this colorful mayhem is also for a good cause,” Crandall said.

Waves of 1,000 people will take off every five minutes beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2013.  Participants of all ages are welcome to run or walk. Registration is available at colormerad.com.

In 2013 Color Me Rad™ will hold races across the US and Canada in more than 90 cities. For more information and to see additional race locations, visit www.colormerad.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/colormerad5k.

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