At last year’s inappropriately named Cambridge Colour Dash—it was actually held in Ely—I ran my very first 5k.
This year it’s called Ely Colour Dash.
Little did I know then that running would become such a big part of my life. That I would find myself enjoying it as much as I do.
This year I knew better.
I knew what to expect.
I told Ben—who was running his first colour dash—to take a deep breath and keep his mouth closed whenever we would come up to paint stations.
Because people were going to be throwing paint at us with gleeful enthusiasm.
Did we keep our mouths closed?
No.
Because we’re idiots.
Figure 2. “We’re open, we’re open!”
Studio 24 also sponsored a paint station which meant Lucien got to join the wonderful Ellie, Alex and Claire as Ben and I ran through station after station, collecting as much paint as we could, with your open mouths.
Because we’re idiots.
And whilst I was eager to see how fast I could run 5k last year, this year I didn’t want to worry about my time.
Which, in hindsight was probably for the best anyway.
I could lie and say that Ben slowed me down but the truth was the complete opposite as Ben—fulled by pre-workout—ran like an enthusiastic jackrabbit whilst I struggled to keep up.
In the end though, even the Paint Pirates themselves couldn’t escape the flurry of bright colours flying through the air.
But not for lack of trying as we found out from the organisers afterwards.
The Blue team was brutal! Everyone came away covered in blue more than any other colour. EACH Colour Dash organiser
As they said that, everyone pointed at Lucien who had taken his Pirate duties with the seriousness it required and covered everyone in a shade of Smurf.
Let’s not forget why we ran though. Last year, at the inaugural Colour Dash they raised an amazing £150,000. This year they were back, bigger and better than ever.
All donations go to EACH, a charity devoted to supporting families and caring for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
So, in the spirit of making this year count.
We’re running, bringing awareness to their cause and donating to help EACH continue their great work.
You can also help EACH.
Make it count.
Whilst Ben and I wash our rainbow coloured mouths.