When I scroll through my feed on either Facebook or Instagram I encounter many ads from online clothing stores to local events. A popular photo that kept popping up was the color run. I had never run any marathons or any three or five-mile runs at a time. I do like to jog but I do one mile at a time. When I would see pictures of the color runs I always wondered what the color dust felt like and how the people in the photos managed to keep it from getting in their eyes or mouth. Then I would continue scrolling.

It was not until a friend of mine, who used to be on a track team, invited me to the Blacklight Run in Irvine . I was a bit hesitant because it was a little out of my comfort zone. Sure I love jogging but at my own pace and on my own. Also, I knew color was involved even though it was at night; as cool as it looked in the photos I did not want it getting in my eyes or mouth. But, I had not seen her in a long time and I figured it would not hurt to try. I thought that if I was uncomfortable or became tired then I could walk it all.

We had bought the tickets two months before and then time flew and I woke up on a Saturday completely lazy to go. I almost canceled too but I decided to go either way.

My friend picked me up and we drove to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. We put on our white t-shirt that read Blacklight Run in all-capital neon purple and green letters. As we walked towards the entrance, we saw a large blacktop where people walked around or sat down to wait for the run to start.

There were many registration and merchandise booths along the blacktop. Also, there were selling nachos, tacos, hot dogs and other sweets. We arrived about an hour before the run began and there was a small stage in the corner of the blacktop were the pre-party and post-party were to take place. We had an hour left before the run, we heard music so we decided to walk over. A crowd gathered around and the host was a guy named Tino Cochino. He was jumping around the stage and pumping the crowd while Dj Automatic remixed popular songs.

Every five minutes he would throw glow sticks to the crowd. Then he began to throw glow powder packs. He instructed us to open the packs but to hold onto them until every side had a chance to catch one. Then everyone’s’ hands were raised with one glow pack in one hand and a smartphone opened to Snapchat in the other. There was a five-second countdown followed by colorful dust in the air and a jumping crowd.

I looked down and saw paint on my phone, (I still don’t know where it came from) and my friend covered in mostly green dust too. We had to take a selfie! The pre-party definitely pumped us up that we danced to the start of the line.

By then it was already dark and the only visible items were glow sticks, glow glasses and paint. Tino Cochino was letting a crowd leave every five minutes. When it was our turn we took off jogging into the darkness. If you have never been to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater it consists of many hills, a lot of trees and a few ponds. Therefore, it was exceptionally dark that we were not able to see where we stepped on so we jogged carefully.

There were a few stations that contained black lights, that once we passed we looked like highlighters. There were a few color stations where people threw more colorful dust at us. We jogged through the hills I once walked when I attended 106.7 KROQ’s Weenie Roast a few years ago. However, almost half of the run took place in the parking lot. There were about five or so endless lanes aligned by a few cones and/or ropes.

Although I would have liked to have ran or walked through another path besides the parking lot towards the end, I still had fun! My friend and I would alternate between jogging and power walking so we managed. It was refreshing to try something new; I can officially say I have participated in a Blacklight Run and I might just do it again!