The Color Run Is Coming to Boston After All

The Color Run photo via Paolo Bona / Shutterstock.com

Since its debut in 2012, the Color Run has visited dozens of cities across the country. Boston, however, has not been one of them—until now.

Last year, the Color Run canceled its Boston-area race and inexplicably blamed it on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. They sent an email to Boston saying that the City of Boston was not allowing permits for any new races due to the tragedy. At the time, when we contacted city reps, they denied those accusations. Turns out, the Color Run administration made an assumption and an ill-advised decision to publicize that assumption, even though it was completely inaccurate. Color Run reps later apologized for their misleading information.

Since this fiasco, there have been some competitors that have made it to the Boston area, but this will be the original Color Run’s first Boston-area race. It starts at 8 a.m. on October 12 at Gillette Stadium at Patriot Place.

Color Run events are undoubtedly fun and seem like a good way to get people running who may not regularly lace up their sneakers. (Even if cities like Atlanta and Lawrence, Kansas, are finding out that the food-grade corn starch that “mostly” comes out of your clothes also “mostly” comes off the pavement.) At the MLB 2014 All-Star Game, the Color Run held a race that had approximately 28,000 participants, which was one of the largest Color Run events in the world.

“We call the Color Run the ‘happiest 5K on the planet’ because our events bring together friends and family in a unique, healthy, and fun environment,” said Travis Snyder, founder of The Color Run. “Our only rules are that people wear white and prepare to be covered in color at the finish!”

According to company reps:

With no winners or official times, The Color Run celebrates healthiness, happiness, and individuality, bringing the community together to create a five-kilometer canvas of colorful fun in which thousands of participants are doused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer.

“Color Runners,” vary in demographics and reasons for running. With no winners or official times, The Color Run caters to anyone – first time runners to professional athletes. Close to 50 percent of Color Runners are first-time 5k runners and participate as a celebration and capstone of their healthy living accomplishments.

Here’s the 5K route:

Route map.

 October 12; Registration starts at $35; thecolorrun/boston.com