Students Get Some Color on the Run

Written by Breana Noble

Suddenly enveloped by rainbow fog, I forgot about the chilly morning air as I briefly closed my eyes against the sprays of colored powder that dusted my formerly-pristine white t-shirt.

I turned out with other Hillsdale students on Saturday to enjoy Hillsdale’s Color Run, a brisk morning 5K hosted by the Student Activities Board.

Before the race, each runner was given two pouches of colored powder, and everyone shook their bags all at once, creating a massive cloud at the starting line and covering the runners in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple colors.

Throughout the race, there were five checkpoints where student helpers threw more colored powder on the runners as they passed by.

“The goal is for you to finish without any white showing,” said Rachael Hille, `16, who helped to plan the event.

This colorful twist adds an upbeat element to the traditional 5K run.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Steven Johnson, ’18, who finished first in the race. “It changes it up from the normal, boring, plain-old running. It was a good time.”

The addition of color also attracts students new to long distance running.

“It was my first 5K,” Sarah Schutte, ’18, said. “The color made it really fun. I would think to myself, ‘Okay, there’s a color coming up, so I’m going to run this part.’ It really motivated me onward.”

Student Activities Board hosts the Color Run as part of their efforts to enhance the physical and mental wellness of Hillsdale students.

Breana Noble is a freshman at Hillsdale College and plans to study Politics and Journalism.  She writes for “The Collegian” newspaper at Hillsdale and works as an assistant in the Hillsdale College Athletics office.  Breana is also involved in Swing Club, Young Americans for Freedom, College Republicans, and “The Nest” Bible Study.