History
The Color Run was founded in March of 2011 as an event to promote healthiness and happiness by bringing the community together to participate in the “Happiest 5k on the Planet”. We are the original paint race and have created a completely new genre of running events that continues to grow exponentially. Now the single largest event series in the United States, The Color Run has exploded since our debut event. We have more than tripled our growth, hosting more than 170 events in 30+ countries in 2013. Click here to join the party!
In 2014, The Color Run debuts their first ever U.S. night run in Philadelphia!
2014 Kaleidoscope Tour
The Happiest 5k on the Planet is exploding into 2014 with a totally new tour! Click here to see all the colorful details!
The Color Run Night
The Color Run is now staying up late! Click here to find out how to get your glow on!
How the event works
Less about your 10-minute-mile and more about having the time of your life, The Color Run is a five-kilometer, un-timed race in which thousands of participants, or “Color Runners”, aredoused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. With only two rules, the idea is easy to follow:
- Wear white at the starting line
- Finish plastered in color!
The fun continues after Color Runners complete the race with an unforgettable Finish Festival. This larger than life party is equipped with music, dancing and massive color throws, which create millions of vivid color combinations. Trust us, this is the best post-5k party on the planet! The map below outlines The Color Run 5k at a glance:
Healthiness
While our 5k event is all about having fun, we also focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle. More than half of our participants are first-time 5k runners and the event is making headway on the national focus of improving health and wellness. We hope that The Color Run 5k event will be able to act as a catalyst for our participants to live an active, healthy lifestyle.
Happiness
Seeing how happy The Color Run has made people has been tremendously rewarding for us. It is an event for all fitness levels, ages and backgrounds. Our tag line, “The Happiest 5k on the planet”, was created after seeing the expressions of pure joy from participants. Want to add some happiness to your life? Click here to register.
Individuality
Color Runners vary in demographics and reasons for running. With no winners or official times, The Color Run caters to everyone –first time runners to seasoned athletes. Some Color Runners participate as a celebration and capstone of their healthy living accomplishments, while others participate for reasons unique to them. What are you running for? Tell us here.
Giving Back
As a for-profit event management company, we love the opportunity we have to partner with charities to help shine a light on their amazing work within society and highlight the causes they stand for. We have raised donations for more than 80 local and national charities since 2012. To date, The Color Run has donated more than $3 million to charity. For more information on how The Color Run works with charities, visit our Charity Page. Interested in nominating your charity for the event in your community? Click here.