On Saturday my Dad and I, with the boys, went to the Run or Dye 5k event I posted about a few weeks ago. We took part in the colour run at Cholmondeley Castle, in Cheshire, which was a beautiful setting for a run, walk, or, in James’ case, a toddle! The event took us past some gorgeous scenery, rare breeds of animals, and acres of farmland.
My planning for this event was lacking, to say the least. To begin with I left the wrong pushchair in the car. Instead of swapping to The Beast, which has chunky inflatable tyres and three wheels, I didn’t think it through properly and ended up taking our Nuna Pepp, which is only really suited to pavements. No matter, I thought, as I talked about this fact before we set out to Cholmondeley Castle in the morning. I knew the ground would be undulating and most likely grass, so I dismissed getting the pushchair out of the car, and felt grateful I’d two slings – one for Noah and a back-up for James when he gave up running. Alas, my packing skills are horrendous, and it turned out I’d only actually taken one sling, and that was the back-up one, so I was pretty lucky to have anything to transport children in at all!
So, Noah went in the sling, and James spent most of the course wandering slowly backwards or else on my dad’s shoulders!
After registering and picking up our goody bags, we went over to the start line. Already people were covered in colour! 
MC Sam was pepping the runners up as we waited for squads of runners to get started. He threw freebies into the crowd. Here’s the winner of some very cool sunglasses!
As the race began (it’s not really a race; you’re not timed, and you can walk the whole way if you want to), we were all covered in green coloured cornflour. It’s totally safe and Eco-friendly, though I was careful not to get any in Noah’s face just in case.
You go through a colour station every kilometre as well as at the start. You also get bags of dye in your goody bag, so you can be really bright and colourful!
As it turned out, we totally could have taken the pushchair! Most of the course was road, and one little preschooler actually did the whole event being pushed along in a rather dapper car.
At the colour blasting stations, they were really careful not to throw colour on Noah, so I finished the event relatively clean. It was a lovely day, and we spent some time admiring the view, checking out some bees doing their thing, and looking at cows. All in all, we were pretty slow. Remember, it’s not a race unless you want it to be! But at each colour station the volunteers were REALLY enthusiastic, the music was pumping, and it was so much fun we felt driven to dance through the colour and continue to the next kilometre.
By the 4th kilometre, though, we kind of ran out of puff. By this point, my dad had carried James for hours and hours (it felt like it, at least), and James was excitedly running in the wrong direction whenever he was put down, so we followed the ‘route split’ directions and skipped the final colour station. We missed out on a brilliant purple.
But just around the corner was the finish! We made it!
There was a really fun party atmosphere at the finish area, with a stage where MC Sam and the Help for Heroes mascot were dancing to fantastic, uplifting music. Of course lots of colour was blasted into the air all over the partying crowd!
My Dad’s FitBit showed that we’d actually walked 4.2miles, even though we skipped the final kilometre, so running around looking at things and chasing a toddler really does add up!
The Run or Dye event was absolutely brilliant, and made all the better knowing that you’re supporting great charity work like Help for Heroes while you’re being blasted with colour! You can definitely do it with children; even babies! I’d recommend taking a pushchair or sling you can wash or don’t mind too much about, since the cornflour is VERY colourful! I was worried about James’ blonde hair taking the colour, but it washed straight out without any problems.
There are still loads of events to come all around the country. Check out my previous post for a discount code!
This looks like so much fun, I wanted to do similar with the kids last yet but worries it was too much for them, I’ll definitely do it this year
Looks fun. I’ll have to come next time.
What a crazy event! Looks like tons of fun though (especially for the kids). I have to go to one of these events. There are a few that take place close to my house. I think it will be better than one where people get wet.
What an amazing idea and such fun with all the colour. I love the idea of the colour stations and despite the confussion over packing pushchairs and slings it looks like you all managed a great finish. Thank you for sharing on Country Kids.
This sounds like great fun. I’ve heard of Run or Dye before but never thought of doing it with kids. It sounds really family friendly #countrykids
This looks amazing! I’d love to do it next year.
It’s lots of fun, though messy!! I am reminded of this day every time I put my trainers on, or carry Noah in the Ergo! They are covered in colour 🙂
Wow! That looks so much fun and fabulous photos! I didn’t realise you could do it with kids too, maybe I’ll do it next year with the boys. Well done for you all making it through! Thanks for linking up to #whatevertheweather linky! Could you please add our badge to the bottom of the post so others can see it and link up their posts too please? Thank you. 🙂 xx
Sorry Jenny! I copied it but didn’t get round to posting it because nap time came to an abrupt end!
THIS IS AMAZING! I FEEL THE NEED TO WRITE IN CAPITALS BECAUSE I AM SO JEALOUS AND NEED TO SHOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS! Haha. I have ALWAYS wanted to take part in a colour fight/fun run. I think it’s incredible that you went so far with little ones too. My hat goes off to you. I struggle to navigate walking around the supermarket with my daughter, let alone 4.2km! This looks like so much fun. I didn’t realise they did things like this in the UK, I thought it was just abroad. I’m off to google it now so I can cross it off my bucket list.
Thank you so much for linking up to the new #whatevertheweather linky 😀 xx
Haha, I nearly pressed ‘spam’ when I saw all those capitals! Hey, we walked 4.2miles which is 6.7km – longer than the course 🙂 But, yes, we do usually struggle to negotiate a supermarket. What’s up with that?!
Check out my previous post for a discount code, there are still 8 events this year in the UK.
This looks amazing! I must see if there’s one near me. The colours are so vivid! #whatevertheweather
Yes, it was surprising how bright the colours are. Do have a look at my other Run or Dye post for a discount code if there is an event near you.
I’ve just looked- there’s one in Dundee on Sat- wonder if I can persuade my hubby!
It’s for charity and it’s such good fun — do it!!