<\/p>\n
To call Durango\u2019s inaugural Color Dash 5K Fun Run held at Three Springs colorful is putting it mildly. The run, a fundraiser for the Powerhouse Science Center in Durango by Winter Sports Entertainment, is something a little different.<\/p>\n
On this untimed run, at every kilometer, you get doused with a burst of color. By the time you cross the finish line after 3.1 miles, you are a tie-dye \u2013 a walking, talking, out-of-breath kaleidoscope.<\/p>\n
The events began in Minnesota in 2012, and Jon Bunt, race director for the Southwest region of Color Dash, said they are gaining strides.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach region does about 48 to 60 runs a year,\u201d Bunt said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019re all stoked about, and we\u2019re only growing from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Color Dash, he said, is really just about local charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat sets us apart is that we\u2019re based on a business model that allows us to be very transparent,\u201d he said, \u201coffering 50 percent of all registration proceeds to go directly to charity partners; and we partner exclusively and specifically with local charities within a community, county, region or state.<\/p>\n
Color Dash has written checks as large as $47,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year was our first full-blown year, and we donated about $250,000,\u201d Bunt said.<\/p>\n
Among the 250 runners who turned out Sunday, families looked like cotton candy swirl. Fathers with pink and blue hair made their children laugh. Polychrome mothers pushed children in strollers. Sidewalks looked like a painter\u2019s studio.<\/p>\n
Tobia Green and her daughters, Madelayne and Jessey \u2013 collectively Team Green \u2013 weren\u2019t just green, but purple, blue, pink and yellow. Swaths of colors, 100 percent nontoxic dyed food starch, covered them head to toe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to support the science center,\u201d Green said. \u201cThis color explosion \u2013 it adds smiles to everyone\u2019s faces. It makes everybody happy, which is why we are really here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team Get Her Run jumped at the chance to get outside and run for a cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love running,\u201d Savanah Gotz said. \u201cIt clears my mind and puts me in a better mood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gotz, an avid runner since junior high school, said she was with friends to make good memories.<\/p>\n
After the run, participants gathered on grass for a rainbow explosion \u2013 a grand finally \u2013 poofs of flying colors that hazed out the sky.<\/p>\n
Powerhouse Events Manager Ashley Hein, who was almost entirely solid pink, said she was grateful for the prismatic event. At the end, Bunt presented the Powerhouse Science Center with a check for nearly $4,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a perfect fit for our community,\u201d Hein said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun, it\u2019s a little silly, and it\u2019s healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n