Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week will get a bit more colorful this year. The Color Run, the largest 5K event series in the world, is returning to DC on Saturday, July 14 as the “All-Star 5K,” part of the 2018 MLB All-Star Week. More than 5,000 runners are expected to participate in the event and throw colored powder at each other in celebration of health, happiness, and individuality.
“This isn’t really about running your best PR in a 5K,” says event director Louis Wills. “This is about coming out with all of your friends to dance, dress up, have a crazy time, and throw color at your friends and family. It’s honestly the happiest 5K on the planet.”
The theme of this year’s Nike-sponsored event is to “celebrate the hero in you,” which explains the superhero-inspired course elements like foam blasters, lightning bolt socks (available on the online store), and a festival at the finish line. Runners will rock their favorite superhero costumes, but the race highlights heroes of all kinds, Wills says, including policemen, firefighters, parents, and teachers.
Runners shouldn’t be surprised if a few MLB players and mascots show up on race day. “I can’t officially say who will be there, but in years past we’ve always had a few MLB legends, and current players stop by on event day,” Wills says.
The course will start at 8 AM outside Nationals Park on Potomac Avenue, SE, then cross over the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge to Anacostia Park (which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year), cross back over on the 11th Street Bridge, and end on First Street, SE. The run also benefits the National Cherry Blossom Festival, a charity that highlights the friendship between the US and Japan. Registration is open now until the start of the run.
Tickets can be bought at thecolorrun.com.
Elliot joined Washingtonian in January 2018. An alum of Villanova University, he grew up in the Philadelphia area before earning a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University. His work has also appeared in the Washington Post, TheAtlantic.com, and DCist.com, among others. He lives in Bloomingdale.
