We packed our intrepid reporter Luke Bowes off in his best Daz whites to cover the Run or Dye event in north London. Here’s his review of this most colourful of events…
There’s been a huge rise in the popularity of colour-based events recently – from festivals to runs – and the latest one to catch my eye is Run or Dye, so I was excited to be invited to take part on behalf of The Student Blogger.
The event is inspired by the ancient Hindu festival of Holi, known as the festival of colours and it basically involves running 5K whilst getting covered in colourful dye! Sounds fun, right? Obviously this isn’t your traditional running event – not only do you end up looking extremely colourful, the race isn’t timed, so it’s much more about having fun.
Race day
After arriving at the venue you go along to registration (which opens at 8am) and pick up your race kit which includes a Run or Dye t-shirt, your running number and pack of dye to get you started. Once you have attached your number you’re free to roam until you want to go into the race pen (the race started at 10am). I wasn’t too fussed about being first to start so I waited around a little before joining the pen.
Around the race area there are several things to keep you nourished/entertained whilst you wait for the start: tea/coffee/snack bars, several brands and a Run or Dye shop where you can purchase official merchandise and additional packets of dye (priced at £2.50 for 1 or £10 for 5). This isn’t compulsory as you get covered in dye running around the course, but it’s a great way to start, either covering yourself or your friends in multiple colours!
Once the warm up was completed, the runners started setting off in waves to avoid traffic around the course – nobody wants a traffic jam, right? Particularly for a dye station where you want to get covered in colour as you pass through it!
The course crossed multiple terrain through the park – from grass to mud and concrete to dirt trail – which made the event a lot more interesting than my normal road-based races (cue dodging big puddles and mud that looked a little like quicksand!).
Going through the dye stations, I was particularly glad I had a pair of sunglasses to protect my eyes – as it was a little windy, dye was flying everywhere. Not only did my clothes get covered, my face did also and I even got some in my mouth (word of advice… it doesn’t taste particularly nice!). Around the course I saw a lot of people with multi-coloured teeth, faces and clothing, a testament to how much the Run or Dye staff wanted us to get colourful! A different coloured dye station was positioned roughly each 1K around the course, which not only gave you a range of colours but also a good perspective of your distance travelled.
It’s great that an event like this may encourage more people to participate in a form of exercise – it’s not compulsory to run, many people walked the course and the participants were made up of old and young, from a young child in a pram to an elderly gentleman.
After I’d finished I was greeted with a bottle of Zeo – a natural low-sugar fizzy drink, which was nice and refreshing after the run. After the majority of people had finished the run, the after-party started! There was an on-stage DJ, lots of music and plenty more dye! Two leaf-blowers were pulled out and dye thrown into the audience to make sure everyone truly got covered! It pretty much summed the whole event up – a celebration of energy, colour and lots of fun.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Run or Dye, it was well organised and a lot of fun. It’s started a little bit of a craze for me, as I’m already arranging my next event!
Preparation tips
- Remember whatever you wear is going to be your canvas for the day, white shows colour the best!
- Although the dye is made from corn starch and designed to easily wash out, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so leave the £100 jeans at home! (You do get a Run or Dye T-shirt in your race kit which you can wear.)
- If you have sensitive skin or you are worried about the dye being difficult to get off, use an all-over body moisturiser as it will add an additional layer to protect your skin. Similarly with your hair, use a leave-in conditioner or some coconut oil to create an additional layer of protection for your hair.
- Plan ahead! Remember if you are travelling by car the dye is likely to come off everywhere, so bring wipes, bin bags to sit on, etc.
- Unfortunately there isn’t a secure bag drop, so it’s worthwhile travelling as light as possible or bringing a family member/friend who can look after your stuff!
Interested in finding out more? Take a look at the Run or Dye website – tickets start at £25 and as a Student Blogger reader you can get a £3 discount by using the Run or Dye discount code BLOGDYE32 when prompted during the online registration process.
Find a 2015 Run or Dye event near you:
16 May – Bath, Bath Racecourse
30 May – Exeter, Great Fulford
6 June – Liverpool, Aintree Racecourse
27 June – Cheshire, Cholmondeley Castle
5 July – Kent, Penshurst Place
11 July – Bournemouth, Kings Park
18 July – Perth, Scone Palace
25 July – Ipswich, Chantry Park
1 August – North Yorkshire, Castle Howard
5 September – Paris, l’Hippodrome de Chantilly
12 September – Galway, Ireland, Lough Cutra Castle
26 September – Oxford, Cornbury Park
3 October – South London, Hever Castle
10 October – Derbyshire, Chatsworth House
18 October – Edinburgh, Hopetoun House
Have you taken part in a Run or Dye event?
If so, we’d love to see some of your pictures and hear your stories – get in touch or tweet us @unilifeblog!
This Run or Dye review was written by Student Blogger Selection member Luke Bowes.