I just did a seazrch on this site for a color run and could not find anything about it. Anyways, an artist that I know did a show this week end at St Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts Holiday Art Exhibition. Evidently on Saturday there was a 5k Color Run. On the race are hoops that spray out dyed corn starch that the runners go through. In the photo that I saw of this it made like a low level pink fog.
Well what happened is that this pink corn starch went everywhere for blocks. It just blows in the breeze. Covering tents, cars, product and everything.. Then if there is any humidity or dew it sticks to everything.
At this time it is unknown if the show promotor had anything to do with the run or if this was something the Museum did and did not realize the mess it causes.
I do not think that these can be very popular at all. They have to be a disaster for the runners too. Imagine having to run through this and breathe it in.
Here is a photo take from next to the art show.
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I have been in Chicago in the past when the color run participants are getting on the subways and walking down the streets after the race. I saw "color run" on the bib numbers but had no idea what one was until Nels posted about it. I wondered how they got all colored up. Probably most of the color washes away with the rain but I can see that the color would ruin art work. That stuff shouldn't ever be run with an Art Show.
There are many ways to have a color run without using this stuff and involving others around the event. They could ask runners to dress in the most colorful costumes possible. They could use colorful balloons or streamers. They could have had a tent at the finish line where people were "dusted" with color, while limiting its affect on those around them. But, this? I would think that anyone with a respiratory problem could be very adversely affected. Have to wonder at people who come up with these ideas.
I used to be a VERY serious marathoner back in the day (a.k.a. "Pleistocene epoch") and I can tell you these events are all the rage these days in some parts of the running community. Getting splashed with color takes the idea of doing a trail run and coming to the finish line caked with mud, sweat, and blood and puts a more colorful twist on it. Judging from the FAQs on the colorun.com website, the stuff used to create the color is reasonably safe (although I'll bet the waiver that participants have to sign tells a different story).
Personally, I've got no issue with the events at all...as long as the stuff isn't toxic to people, not harmful to the environment, it's not damaging vehicles, art show tents, or personal property, if the organizers are communicating the event and attendant risks to participants and the public in the vicinity, and if the organizers are paying for the cleanup.
That's a lot of hoops to jump through. Stay tuned--should be a media story about this in the very near future.
Folks, the website for the Color Run organizers is www.thecolorrun.com. In particular, read its FAQ page, which discusses the impacts, short- and long-term, of the "colors" and a few tips on cleaning up after. Not that ANY of that looks like it will work on tents or artwork.
I shudder to think what would happen to a fabric artist in that situation.
If I were at a show where this color fog was getting all over my tent, displays and works, I would pack it all up and leave immediately. I wouldn't worry about breaking the rules either. This is the stupidest thing I have seen in years. A color run next to an art fair? What genius thought this up?
I did this show. It was a disaster. Not just the pink powder covering everything, but every aspect of the show. The promotor David Frutco did not advertise the show whatsoever. He basically took our $350 entry fee and put it in his pocket. They blocked off the streets for the Color Run, so we couldn't get to our parking lot. Set-up and take-down were a joke.
Words cannot convey how bad this show was.
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