The Color Run: the happiest 5k on the planet

The Color Run Chicago Party

Today I ran my first Color Run and it was AWESOME! This is the third 5k race I've completed and totally wins most fun. A couple months ago I was looking for a run that my boyfriend and I could do together. We signed up for The Color Run because it's in Chicago, 45 bucks wasn't too pricey and it looked like a good time.

I've been dancing my way through 2-4 Zumba classes for the past 6 months, and recently added running into the routine to prepare for this. 3.1 miles isn't much to my running friends, but seems like a lot for people who don't consider themselves runners. The Color Run is perfect for anyone running their first race. It's not timed, it's just for fun!

This morning started out at a chilly 57 degrees. Our outfits: the "official" Color Run white t-shirts, white shorts, running shoes, sweet headband and wrist band and fanny packs. I don't know how many people participated, but there were A LOT of runners! Everyone wears white because you get sprayed with a different color paint at each kilometer. The paint is actually powder which volunteers throw at people as they run by. At the end of the race you're covered head to toe in pink, orange, purple and blue.

Each of these checkpoints go kind of slow. You definitely want to wait and make sure you get some paint, so you usually have to come to a complete stop. So, if you're timing this thing, you'll be annoyed and won't enjoy it. Just get your paint and have fun! People bring their strollers and the paint throwers gingerly sprinkle paint on the little kids. The people in charge of blue looked just like Smurfs. It was great. A lot of people end up grabbing powder from the ground and tossing it in the air and on themselves.

My goal was to run the whole time without stopping to walk. Well I ended up walking a little. But at the finish line, I wasn't dead, and realized I could have been running a bit faster. Next time I'll try to go faster! At the end everyone went through a big finish line in Grant Park and got blasted with confetti. Then we got a paint powder packet for the party. They had a few sponsor tents where we picked up granola bars, bath sponges from Body Image and tried Honest Tea's new fizzy drink (not bad). There's a stage with a band, a giant bubble machine, and they throw freebies into the crowd. Every 15 minutes they have everyone open up their individual paint packets and throw them in the air. This is super fun to watch and be a part of.

The paint wasn't too hard to scrub off. My neck is still a little blue...but that's OK! I would TOTALLY recommend this race to anyone who think it looks like fun. Trust me, it's a blast!

Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation in the Digital Age is a must-read book

Smart fish

If you work in Public Relations or Marketing, you’ve likely heard of Gini Dietrich or read her blog, Spin Sucks. Gini is the founder and CEO of PR and marketing firm Arment Dietrich. She just published her second book, Spin Sucks.

A little over a month ago she announced on her blog that she was looking for brand ambassadors to help promote her new book Spin Sucks. It sounded like an amazing opportunity and I signed up right away. I was super excited when I got the email saying I was chosen! This meant I got to read the galley (advance copy)! Well the book officially launched and is available now on Amazon for just 15 bucks.

I really, really enjoyed Spin Sucks. It’s written in an easy to understand way, and provides tons of real world examples. Halfway through the book, I’d already found three specific items that I wanted to share with my boss. I wanted to tell him what I’d learned about keyword stuffing, how the purpose of press releases has changed in the digital era, and about Talkwalker Alerts, an alternative to Google Alerts. (Which by the way, I’ve since set up and can attest to how much more helpful they are than Google Alerts.)

Another thing I was excited to take back with me to work was that according to Gini, one new blog post each week is sufficient enough to keep your website or blog up to date, and search engines satisfied with your updated content. She says it’s important to be consistent when updating content, so if you want to write a new blog post every day, you have to write one every day, if you don’t have time for that, try once per week, but publish at the same time every week. The book dives much deeper into SEO and links, and I appreciate how easy it is to understand and put this info to use.

With Spin Sucks being a business book, I think it’s important to note that I was never bored reading it. I didn’t find myself wanting to skip ahead, or thinking that the chapter I was reading didn’t seem applicable to me.

I think everyone who reads this book will come away with learning at least a few things that they can put to use right away. And, the glossary at the end will really come in handy for reference. I ordered the paperback since my advance copy was an e-version. It just came in the mail today and I can’t wait to go back to re-read and highlight the heck out of it!