Castle Pines residents came out to get colorful during theCastle Pines second annual Run Wild event. The much-anticipated color run was the main event, with volunteers lining the route outfitted with paint powder to decorate the runners.

Article and photos by Julie Montoya

After what many called the five-hundred-year flood, Mother Nature didn’t stop more than 400 residents from coming out for the second annual Run Wild event at Elk Ridge Park. This fun fitness event put on by the City of Castle Pines included a four-mile and a nine-mile run, a four-mile furry run, and a family favorite – the much anticipated one-kilometer color run!

Runners of all ages, both two-legged and four-legged, converged on Elk Ridge Park on Sunday September 15 to take part in the festivities that included the races, as well as more than a dozen vendor/sponsor booths, a hot pancake breakfast provided by Mama Lisa’s Little Italy restaurant, a coffee bar by Dazbog Coffee, and a post-race beer garden party provided by the Tilted Kilt Eatery. Runners paid one entry fee for the race and all the event festivities and food they could consume.

Also as part of their entry fee, participants enjoyed dozens of door prize giveaways that included a $300 pair of sunglasses donated by Run Colorado, gift bags full of swag by the Douglas County Libraries, cycling gear donated by Elevation Cycles, and gift certificates from business partners like The Pet Stuff Place, Elements Theraputic Massage, and Colorado Athletic Club. Runners also received a custom Run Wild t-shirt to commemorate the event.

After the four- and nine-mile races were complete, people of all ages gathered wearing white t-shirts for the much-anticipated color run. The one-kilometer route was spattered with more than fifty volunteers, ready to soak runners with powder paints in a rainbow of colors. Runners were encouraged to run like wild to escape the volunteer painters, whose sole purpose was to create painted masterpieces on passers by.

Some of the brave color run participants included Dylan Wellman and fourteen of his Castle Pines friends, who came to the run to celebrate Dylan’s ninth birthday. Coming from a family of runners, Castle Pines residents A.J. and Johanna Wellman came up with the idea of throwing Dylan’s birthday party at the race and paid all of the party guests’ registration fees.

“We love our community, and love to support our community any way we can,” said Dylan’s mom Johanna. Dylan and one of his friends actually ran the four-mile race first, and then met the rest of the party guests for cupcakes and the crazy colorrRun race. Dylan’s words some it up best saying, “We had a great time, even though the weather was crazy!!”

And crazy the weather was. Coming on the heels of what many have called the five-hundred-year flood, The Run Wild event was almost cancelled several times due to the storm. On the day of the event, the clouds loomed and threatened rain all morning. That didn’t stop the fun, and Mother Nature was kind as it only started raining towards the end of the event. The rain didn’t stop Dylan and his friends though … they continued on with the festivities after the run, playing and getting soaked.

According to Councilwoman Tera Radloff, the event organizer, last year was their inaugural year and they had one hundred and forty people participate in Run Wild. This year that number almost tripled with more than four hundred participants. The color run was especially fun with two hundred and eighty runners of all ages. The entire event was a huge success and Radloff summed it up saying, “Based on the photos of smiling and laughing faces from the event, it is evident that a good time was had by all, regardless of age or level.  It’s events like these that make our community enjoy the spirit and camaraderie of the city.” Plans are already well underway for next September’s event.

As part of next year’s event, the City of Castle Pines is sponsoring an online design contest, where artists can create a t-shirt design for the 2014 race. Contestants may go to www.castlepinesgov.com and click on the entry tag under the Run Wild logo on the right side of the page. There they can print the t-shirt template, and once their design is complete it can be dropped off at either the City of Castle Pines office or Dazbog coffee. Entry deadline is October 31, 2013. For more information on the Run Wild event, visit the Run Wild in Castle Pines event page on facebook.

Some of the color run participants were at Elk Ridge Park to celebrate the 9th birthday of Dylan Wellman. Dylan’s parents organized the party to be a colorful experience for all of Dylan’s friends!