I recently had the experience of participating in the Blacklight 5k run. I was excited; because, even though I hate running, I love the idea of getting random colors thrown at me and glowing under a blacklight. Sounds cool, right? I’m not athletic but I thought I could easily do a 5k. Unfortunately, this 5k was more of a flop than it was fun.
In the race email, I was informed that I needed to pick up my race packet prior to the race to avoid a $5 fee. Considering this race only cost me $25 ($20 registration and $5 fee), I thought this was reasonable. When I arrived at the pick-up destination, I was greeted by a man who promptly showed me where to check in. I gave them my confirmation number, they gave me my packet. The whole process took maybe five minutes so props to them for expediting the pick-up procedure.
According to the email, I needed to arrive at the race site a whole two hours prior to the start time. Their reason was because there were over 10,000 race participants, they wanted to ensure everyone had enough time to get in. Before I even arrived at the race location, traffic was terrible. A quarter mile drive took us over 30 minutes to drive. And of course, they charged for parking. At the time, I grumbled about paying the $10 parking fee, but after the race, I sure appreciated not having to walk too far to get back to the car. Once the drive was over, the waiting began. We could easily have arrived an hour later and still had plenty of time to enjoy the pre-party.
I was not too terribly impressed with the pre-party but it did keep us entertained while we waited. Unless you were towards the front, you were not getting a color packet but being in the back was perfect for taking selfies with friends and getting some awesome videos of everyone popping their color packets. There were food vendors and some were serving alcohol (for the mature 21+). A DJ played current pop music and pumped up the crowd with his witty remarks. Before we knew it, it was time to head to the starting line.
My group of friends and I were among the first group to head out of the pre-party to the starting line but there was already a good couple thousand waiting at the beginning. Since there were no start times, just groups released in waves, I thought for sure we would be waiting for another hour or more to start. One of my friend’s happened to be VIP, which allowed him to start first. Since the VIP group was so small, the race officials allowed all of our group to join him. An arch of blacklights stood at the start line, making the five minute wait a great time to get some really cool pictures. Soon the race started walkers on the right and runners on the left.
This particular course was impossible to run safely with the little amount of light provided. The only light on the course was glow-in-the-dark rope outlining the race path. The ground was very uneven, and several people took a tumble within the first few minutes. I eventually gave up running the sharp turns and instead chose to power-walk. There were only three color stations along the course and each time I coughed and choked as the powder went into my eyes, nose, and mouth. As far as for blacklights, the only ones available were at the starting line and after you crossed the finish line.
Overall, I would rate this face a 5/10. It was not a safe race to run at night, and if you have asthma or any sort of breathing problems, this is definitely not the race for you. If you are considering a fun 5k, I would suggest Color Me Rad over the Blacklight Run. Perhaps with time, the structure of the race will improve, but as of now, I would have to say it’s a no-go on my end.
