To close out the dog days of September, Color Me Rowan Weekend often ends the first month of classes with a vibrant barrage of neon hues before the cool oranges of October take hold. This year’s Color Run held at the University Green was no different.

The approximate two-mile run hosted by the Chamberlain Student Center and Campus Activities (SCCA) took students on a jog around the southern half of campus, starting and ending at the University Green in front of Bunce Hall. The event featured 400 students jogging through clouds of powdered paint and human vapors to reach the finish line.

Several groups of runners were sent out separately to avoid too big a crowd in the dark.

This year, similar to the last, also included several minor obstacles for participants to run through such as a limbo, short hurdles and a “slow motion run,” where participants would pantomime a slow jog as the song “Chariots of Fire” played on a boom box nearby.

The run raised $2,500 from ticket sales, according to Student Center Director of charitable events Emily Ostroski, with all the proceeds going to Rise: A Community Service Partnership.

Rise is a Central N.J. based charity that helps families living in poverty in the state through events and partnerships with other local businesses and charities. They have numerous support areas including a summer camp, thrift store and also work with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), which all support local families.

“This was really fun,” said freshman law and justice major Taylor Jachts. “Like it was my first run like this and I would do it again…I got paint in my nose.”

For others, the run was tough.

“Breathing was a problem when you go through the [paint],” said engineering major Kyle Griffiths. “The feeling of [paint] hitting my body felt very weird but I liked it and now I have proof of doing the color run for my friends.”

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