Get colorful for a cause with Saturday’s color run

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2019/09/color-run-IMG_1466-200x300.jpg Photo courtesy Rise Above Violence
Rise Above Violence will host its annual ColorFest Color Run this Saturday, Sept. 21. Participants can walk, skip, hop or roll their way around the downtown, through color stations and back to the finish line.

By Ashley Wilson

Special to The PREVIEW

The annual ColorFest Color Run to benefit Rise Above Violence, is set for Sept. 21. Come out for this family-friendly fun run. You can walk, skip, hop or roll your way to the finish line. This untimed, noncompetitive event is for everyone; from the young to the young at heart, you’re going to love it. Add some color to your life and come out for a colorful good time.

As the balloons rise over the beautiful San Juan River, you will be running/walking your way around the town/Riverwalk through five color stations. The race starts in Town Park by the gazebo — racers take off across the walking bridge and hit San Juan Street. Head across to the springs and down Hot Springs Boulevard to the Ross Aragon Community Center.

At your first color station, you will be splashed with green. Head down and around Yamaguchi Park, where you’ll be met with orange. Wrap around the high school sports complex and come back through our sheriff’s deputies with their squad cars to get your blue on. Back to the Community Center, where you will merge onto the gorgeous Riverwalk trail back toward the balloon landing spot. Along the way, you’ll be splashed with red and then it is the home stretch along the Riverwalk back to Town Park. You’ll be greeted at the finish line with purple. Once you are done, stick around for the color toss at the finish line.

The event begins at 8 a.m. at Pagosa Springs Town Park on Saturday, Sept. 19. Registration opens at 7 a.m., but to guarantee your event T-shirt, we recommend you register early at https://www.riseaboveviolence.org/color-run.html#/. You can also visit this site for more event details and a map of the course. The route is mostly flat with all paved roads or sidewalks and very few slopes and small inclines. The event is open to all ages and abilities.

All proceeds from the color run are used to support survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in our community. Rise believes everyone has the right to live free from violence and works to end it in our homes and our community. Come support such an amazing and “colorful” cause at this year’s Colorfest 5K Color Run/Walk. Call 264-1129 for more information.

Don’t forget to wear white. The more white you wear, the more we can color you — white shirts, tutus, headbands, bandannas, whatever. And remember, after you’ve been colored, plan to attend the Bands and Brews Festival (tickets sold separately) to hear live music and plenty of brews to tantalize your thirsty after-run taste buds. There will be fantastic food and family activities for all, too.