The Color Run Seattle…or…Playing Holi 7 years later

celebrating Mother’s Day with a colorful little 5k

7 years ago I was living in Delhi during their festival of Holi. It’s basically a holiday where you throw colored dye powder on your friends/family/strangers and use water balloons or water guns to spray colorful painted water on passerbys. It’s like dying Easter eggs, except without the eggs (and it’s a lot messier!). Because I was a single white woman in the city, it was advised that I stay indoors during Holi, since some rif raff target tourists and throw rocks in balloons or other such nonsense. So I stayed indoors and watched kids playing Holi from my balcony. I felt like I was missing all the fun and wanted to someday get my chance at it!

My good friend, and former (twice!) co-worker Tabbi and I (and her roomate) formed a Color Run team back in…I dunno…February (when I was still running consistently), becuase we thought it looked like a ton of fun. Who wouldn’t want to run through powdered dye and get all colorfully messy? Added that it was on Mother’s Day, I thought I’d GO FOR IT! As a celebration of spring and being a mother and taking some time for myself. Also, a good chance to redeem that Holi festival with a little bit…safer…of a celebration!

We started off with a few clean pics (haha, pun intended!!) of us hanging out, jumping off things, you know…the usual. And then the 5k started. I was disappointed that we had to run about 1/2 a mile to get to the first color burst station, but once we got there it was so much fun! The order was yellow, orange, pink and then blue! Blue was by far my favorite, because by that time we had become Color Runegades and weren’t playing by the rules…we just grabbed a handful of powdered dye from the barrels (instead of letting the color attendants spray us) and doused ourselves. We weren’t dinking around anymore, we wanted there to be COLOR EVERYWHERE!

My ankles are sore from jumping and running. I’m tired from getting up early, but am glad that I did it! While I’m not sure I would sign up again (is it a once in a lifetime event maybe?), I am really glad that I did it! It was a fun way to celebrate spring and Mother’s Day and fitness.

“My city, my city, childhood, that’s right:” how Macklemore’s lyrics are making me feel the love

I’ve been listening to a lot of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis lately. There’s just something about the lyrics of a hometown boy who’s gone platinum without the backing of any major record label. It feels so…Seattle. So Seattle. I know that everyone feels some sort of nostalgia for their hometown, but there’s something magical about this city…the rugged individualism of a pioneer spirit that still exists in this Emerald City. It’s really that Emerald City…elusive, magical, buildings that fade into trees and trees that fade into buildings.

Maybe it’s because we’re relatively the same age, but when Macklemore sings about the Mariners, in My Oh My, I get choked up. While not an overwhelming baseball fan, I remember that year. I remember later years when I sat with my grandma and chewed Double Bubble and watched the M’s play.

My oh My another victory yes, my city my city.
Childhood my life watchin’ Griffey right under those lights

In the sunshine months the city comes alive, with natives and transplants and visitors. The past few days I’ve been listening to Macklemore and driving around the city with Potamus looking for watering holes to splash in. The lyrics “My city, my city, childhood that’s right,” go through my head on repeat.

Beneath the Space Needle, in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, and a stone’s throw from the Puget Sound. I have summer memories of the Pacific Science Center and eating lunch by the fountain. Today we splashed in the fountain ourselves and I felt a part of something bigger. A connection to MY PEOPLE here. The quirky PacNwer’s who make their home in the city or carry it in their hearts when they’re far away. There’s something about this place that changes us.

Every time somebody steps out on the road
They bring a little Northwest soul with them, amen

My city.
My childhood.
Potamus’s city.
His childhood.

It’s Good Medicine that Chief Sealth would of been proud of
This is our city, town pride, heart, blood, sweat, tears, I-5, North, South side, vibe, live, ride down these city blocks
And never will be stopped