Well, it rained the night before and so we were partially expecting it to be cancelled again but it wasn't. Instead they said that the parking at the site of the run was all muddy and so instead we needed to park in a parking lot and would be shuttled to the site of the run. They recommended coming early since everyone would be shuttling in.
When we got to the parking spot, there were HUNDREDS of people in line and only 2 shuttles running. It was HOT, HUMID, and awful. There was no shade and we all just sat there. Waiting. Barely moving. We grabbed a couple umbrellas from the car for shade for the kids but unfortunately didn't have enough water. I had brought some snacks that we rationed for the kids. The poor kids were just so bored and tired of standing. We did everything we could to keep them entertained but it was just so HOT!!!
Seriously, it was miserable and we waited for hours in the peak heat of the day. The parking lot had no water or restrooms. It was horribly planned and there was no staff there.
At one point, I started feeling nausea and I think it's because I was starting to get heat or sun stroke (I'd been trying not to drink any water so that there was some for the kids).
So after hours we finally are about to get on the bus and rumors start circulating around us that they have opened up parking at the run site. So the boys decide to not get on the bus and instead drive the cars to the site so that when we are done with the run we don't have to wait to get back on the shuttle to come home.
Getting on the bus was great because it wasn't as hot as waiting in line but the buses stunk from all those sweaty people!!
At the color run unfortunately things didn't turn around dramatically. The set up was small... there wasn't a ton of vendors there. They had bounce houses but you had to pay to use them and there were supposed to be food truckS but instead there was just one.
They were trying to have people start in waves but we were so OVER IT that we wanted nothing to do with waiting any longer. So we started off without a big burst of color. The site of the color run was just a big field. There was no paved path. Instead we were running in hay fields that had been recently cut. The path was sort of marked with cones. It was extremely uneven and so trying to push the stroller on the dirt was awful. I ended just cutting across the field with Emmalyn but it was a serious work out because it was so uneven and I was trying to avoid ant hills.
The older kids had taken off running and Maxwell followed them out of site which had me freaked out so Peter took off after them.
There were no refreshing water stations. At one point we happened upon a barrel filled with cold Dr. Pepper so we grabbed some just to put against our hot faces. (Eventually there was *1* water station that served warm water. Awful!)
We did have a little fun throwing the color from our packets at each other and got messy. We stopped for some pictures and to get the group back together at about halfway through the run. (Really it was only a quarter of the way through because to do the full length of the run you would do the course twice.)
Maxwell and Natalie
Landen, Natalie, Maxwell, Makenna, Hayden
Natalie tried to pick up Emmalyn and she wasn't having it
Covered from head to toe
After we took pictures, some of them took off to finish the route. Michelle and I and a couple kids had no interest in walking through the hay/weeds any longer and took a short cut for the finish line. Well, Maxwell who was super excited about the run didn't want to take a short cut so Peter went with him. He stayed interest for just a short while and then was tired but unfortunately they were too far out at that point to really do a short cut anymore so poor Peter who was already hot and drained had to carry him.
We survived!!!
There was live music and other things going on after the run but you couldn't pay us to stay any longer. When we got to the cars we worked on brushing off as much of the color dust as possible but it was incredibly messy. I was irritated because right at the finish line some punk kid took a handful of the color and threw it right at my chest - - well, I had PILES of it down my bra. SO GROSS.
We didn't bring clothes to change into so instead we changed the kids into their swimsuits from the splash park earlier today.
Seriously, this was the worst planned event ever. I got onto their Facebook page and roasted them. I complained about all of the horrible parts of this event and recommended that no one ever give them money to participate in this thing ever.
Want to know the icing on the cake? The next day we realized that some of us had chiggers from being in the field. (So glad none of my family had chiggers.) So the pain and irritation of this "FUN" event stayed for days. I think Richard will be probably be complaining for years.
To try and turn the day around, we stopped for snow cones on the way home. That was delicious. We were so tired and ready for showers that we made dinner at home which was a bummer.
