Color Runs are a great way to take your regular Jog-Athon/ Run-Athon / Walk-Athon to the next level! Even in the midst of a quarantine and the need to maintain social distance, your school can host a VIRTUAL Color Run. All you need is great communication, simple instructions for parents, some fun DIY, and a way for families to show off their participation.
Color Runs are popular enough now that most people recognize them and are more than excited to be a part of one. You can turn your Color Run into a fundraiser and accept online donations to support your school, or it can just be an event that brings your students together (virtually, of course).
How to Host a Virtual Color Run
1. Straightforward Communication to Parents
- Time & Place: Even if you aren't hosting a traditional event, where everyone physically comes together and participates in the run, you can still host your event on a specific day and time. Families can participate on their own (more info on that below) and record their kids running to then share with your Parent Group.
- Participation: Be very clear on how families can participate. Maybe you have a zoom meeting for people to check-in with their teachers beforehand. Maybe you do a FB live of your principal participating in a few laps with colored powder. Maybe you collect everyone's videos and pictures to create a video that you share with the entire school on your social media feeds.
- Donations, if applicable: If you are collecting donations as part of your event, make sure you make it easy for people to give online. FundHub, our donation platform, allows parents to also share your fundraiser on their personal social media feeds, as well as through text and email.
The music, the color, the running, the dancing and jumping and fun all work to make your event a memorable experience that everyone will want to be a part of – and families can easily take part in your event in their own neighborhoods.
2. DIY Instructions for Color Powder
The main staple of a Color Run is... you guessed it: COLOR. Obviously you can't ship colored powder to every family, but you can give them some easy instructions to make it on their own.
All parents need is corn starch, water, food dye, oven, baking tray, blender, and tin foil. Stuff they should already have in their kitchen.
The above video is a simple guide, or you can make or find your own video to share. This is a very simple process and the kids will even love to be a part of it!
3. Easy Instructions to Create a Color Run @ Home
- Color Run Outfits: Inform parents that their kids should wear an all white outfit - as well as sunglasses, a hat, or bandana to keep eyesight clear (powder is non-toxic and won't cause harm to eyes, but it will help to have eyewear when running through the clouds of color).
- Incorporating "color stations": Have parents figure out a running track for their kids. This can be around the cul-de-sac, through the neighborhood, or even just laps in their backyard. Once they have their track, have parents pinpoint where their color stations will be - this is where they will wait for their kids to run by and douse them in colored powder!
- Document the Fun! Let parents know they should video their kids running through the powder or take a messy group pic at the end of their run.
- Don't sweat the clean-up: The powder can be hosed away from your track, easily removed from clothes with a quick run in the washer, and removed from skin by a good scrub in the shower.
Want to keep the color? Maybe your school wants to always remember this fun day. If so, instruct parents to take the colored t-shirts, spray them with vinegar, then throw them in the dryer to retain all that colorful goodness. After quarantine is over, take a group pic at the school to commemorate coming together during this difficult time!
School Example from St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church & School
2020 Bobcat Virtual Color Run
The Bobcats weren’t going to be defeated by quarantine. This year, they took their Color Run online and had amazing participation from students all throughout their community. Check out their video!
Credits:
Created with images by Camille Couvez - "Electro Parade from Montreal, August 2017" • ketan rajput - "I was at an event in Milpitas, CA celebrating the Indian festival of Colors - Holi. This is the time when adults become children again. They splash colors, dance freely and forget themselves for a while. This photo makes me realize no matter how old we get, the child within us is always present. We try to subdue it under social pressure and miss that freeness and innocence we once had."