Does the Color Run mislead participants?

I noticed that the Canberra Times sent a photographer along, and this time round they didn’t get too close to the powder-bursting, colour-smoke action.

That stuff is murder on cameras and lenses. So fine that it blows right past any seals. You have to disassemble the lens to get the dust off the optics. Not to mention the cost of a sensor scrub.

Alexandra Craig said :

I’m pretty sure the way it works is that they “work with a local charity” meaning that if a local charity sends some volunteers to help on the day, then that charity gets some money.

That’s pretty much exactly what their FAQ says:

CHARITY
Is The Color Run a Charity Event?
No, we are a commercial fun run event, but we do work with local charites in each city we visit. We provide a vehicle for runners to raise funds, should they choose to do so, for our Official Charity. Additionally we give a donation to the local charity in return for providing volunteers to assist with the event.

Bajar said :

The Darwin Colour Run (called Candy Jam) was criticised in 2013 for over-inflating the amount of money they gave to Camp Quality NT. Can’t vouch for the ACT one, but Candy Jam flopped last year and probably won’t happen again for a while.

Candy Jam is not related to ‘Color Run’, other than that it’s a fun run with colour.
Completely separate entities running them (otherwise they’d have the rights to use the Color Run name).
For Candy Jam, 10% of registration fees were donated to either Camp Quality or RSPCA, and participants can fundraise more.

For Color Run, it’s zero%, however fundraising activities are encouraged, and in 2015 if you were successful in fundraising $200+ for the MS Society you could apply to have your registration fee reimbursed (however, it’s likely that reimbursement comes from the MS Society, not the Color Run). http://www.mscolourdash.org.au/

(Last year, the MS Society ran their own event, the MS Colour Dash).

I don’t think they do, they’ve always made clear they’re a for profit operation who make a token donation to a local charity in exchange for the charity’s support.

Personally I think the people who participate in it a shallow fools. Much better ways around to support charities, and cheaper ways to meet people and have fun.

I’m pretty sure the way it works is that they “work with a local charity” meaning that if a local charity sends some volunteers to help on the day, then that charity gets some money.

I entered last year and had fun in the rain. Would of loved to do it again this year, but it would have cost well over $200 to pay for myself, my sister and my 2 nieces. Just not something I can work into the budget at the moment.

I can’t confirm the amount but it’s only about $5 of the $65 entry fee that is donated to charity. A little disappointing in my opinion. Yes you get a t-shirt, and dyed cornflour to throw at people. But YIKES just too expensive to consider running again. Especially since I’m getting muddy at the Blackhawk Challenge at the end of March and I paid a discounted price of $35.

Although on the charity side I can honestly say I’m a regular Mother’s Day Classic “walker” and I have no idea how much of my entry fee is donated to charity.

30 000 participants would be impressive.

The number being tossed around is approx 7000

I wanted to participate in the colour run last year because it looked like fun, but once I looked into it decided not to because they were not upfront about where the money was going and what proportion of it was going to end up going to charity/vs the organisers pockets. Many of the other fun runs and challenges (mud runs and such) have the same dubious ‘fundraising’ cover to entice people to enter. Should they not be required to provide detailed information about the funding distribution after the event?

Seems every event includes the option to raise funds for charity these days. The Canberra Times Fun Run (and linked events such as City to Surf) all include online options to choose a cause – although they’re not marketed as charity events. Whereas I agree the Colour Run does play more to this angle.

Also – correct me if I’m wrong – but I believe the “Kids for Cancer” cars raffled off in shopping centres is also a for-profit enterprise.

The thought of breathing in the coloured dust would put me off. Someone else questioning it.
http://younghygienist.com/2014/05/08/is-the-colorrun-hazardous-to-your-health/