5 Fun Races That Will Set You Off Running

It happens every year.  The consistent four, five and six-mile runs I work up to during the summer dwindle to short bursts on the treadmill.  By February and March even those are replaced with a half-hour here and there on the elliptical.

Now, as the weather warms and the days grow longer, my depleted endurance forces me to half walk, half jog outdoor routes I ran with ease in August.  Usually this is when my new spring motivation kicks in to work back up to my potential, but with graduation just a few weeks away, senioritis-induced laziness has crept beyond academics and into my exercise regime.

Every day seems to have a new excuse to skip my run, and to make matters worse, most include beverages that (on top of too many liquid calories) make it even harder to get going the next day.

Luckily for me, and anyone else looking to lace up their running shoes again, some races add enough fun into running to motivate me to start up again. Here are five of the coolest, yet short and manageable runs that will be traveling the country this summer.

1. The Color Run – This fun loving, untimed 5k run is a fitness-friendly version of a Dayglow concert. Runners and walkerare instructed to begin with white shirts, which serve as blank canvases for the different shades of “magical color dust” blasted during each kilometer. Upon reaching the finish line, after being doused in five different colors, runners race through a celebratory multi-colored bombardment, followed by an after party with food, bands, and of course, more color.  Runners can stop at stations to blow off the excess powder before heading home for those who don’t want to remain a walking work of art. Registration fees for this race, which will stop in 28 cities in 2012, begin at $40 for individual entrants and $35 per person for teams of four.