Everyone from infants to the elderly were dressed in running gear to neon tutus when they flooded the grounds of Onondaga Community College for the Run or Dye festivities, quickly brightening the gloomy Saturday morning.

Run or Dye is a 5K race that was founded in 2012. This year, OCC hosted the event on Oct. 5. With more than one million likes on Facebook, the organization is growing rapidly in population. The race’s mission isn’t to see who can finish the course in the shortest amount of time, but to make sure that participants have a good time.

Each city that hosts the race teams up with a local charity and donates part of the race’s fees to it. The registration fee for the Syracuse race was $45 for individuals and $40 for those who registered with a team, and the race partnered with Make-A-Wish Central New York, a nonprofit organization that works to grant wishes of children ages 2 to 18 who have life-threatening illnesses or conditions.

Colin Larsen, the event manager for Run or Dye, said the race has three goals: to allow its patrons to live life in full color, to tie-dye the sky and to spread love.

Participants such as Michael Hu, a senior biochemistry major and student circulation manager for The Daily Orange, thought that the race was chaotic and said that it was more of a “casual walk or run” as opposed to a race.

Hu also noted that there were no mile markers throughout the course and the amount of people made it difficult to actually run in the small space provided. He said this made it different from his experience at The Color Run, another color-filled, 5K race.

“[The Color Run] was much more spacious, and they had a lot more color going on,” Hu said.

The Run or Dye website made it seem as though there would be an abundant amount of color and people would be distributing it throughout the event, but Hu said there were only two areas in which volunteers threw powder at the participants on the course. Regardless, Hu said that the event was fun and that there was a “huge, pumped up crowd.”

Kaileen Spaulding, an undecided freshman in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, said she excitedly told all of her friends about the event. Spaulding said that one of her favorite parts about her Run or Dye experience was the atmosphere and that despite the weather, everyone seemed happy. Although it was Spaulding’s first race, she said it will definitely not be her last.

“I already pre-registered for another color run in Syracuse,” Spaulding said.

Run or Dye events are open to anyone, regardless of age. Spaulding noticed babies in strollers and senior citizens with walkers, all spattered with color and enjoying themselves. Children under the age of six can participate for free.

Once participants crossed the finish line, there was a “Finish Festival,” which included music, dancing and a collective countdown when participants threw color dust packets into the air and tie-dyed the sky. The event began in the early morning hours, but by noon, most had fled the scene, just in time for the anticipated rain to kick in.

Due to the Syracuse University homecoming game, there was a noticeably low turnout of SU students, and according to Larsen, most participants were from Onondaga Community College. However, volunteer Scott Dumencu said that the crowd was amazing and added that they even offered to help clean up after it ended.

Despite the event being categorized as a race, many who signed up did not physically run the 5K. Instead, it was more like a festival filled with color, fun and music.

Most, if not all, of the 5,000 registered participants left the run covered in color, in stark contrast to the dark, dreary morning. There wasn’t much actual running going on, but the event succeeded in its mission of not taking oneself too seriously.

The free-spirited goal of the Run or Dye race made an impression on those who participated. Larsen, the event manager, said he is looking forward to returning to the area for future events, hopefully in the next six to seven months — and he is also interested in bringing the colorful run to SU’s campus.

Published on October 7, 2013 at 12:06 am