A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Instagram and came upon a post advertising a “Color Run” on Villanova’s campus sponsored by Relay for Life. Being a runner myself, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to have a ton of fun while also giving back to a great cause that helps fight cancer, the American Cancer Society.

I immediately texted some friends, and with a little persuasion, I got them on board too. Running a 5K at nine o’clock in the morning sounded fun to me, but the fact that it was a Color Run and for a good cause had me fully sold. I had never done a color run before, but I had seen the cool pictures people had post-run, totally covered in colorful powder, and I knew I had to give it a try.

The race was held on Saturday, Apr. 10. It took place around Main Campus, and it consisted of three big laps. The race started at the Riley Ellipse (the Oreo). It then went around the front of the church, through Mendel Field, behind the Connelly Center. After Connelly Center, the path cut back in front of Bartley Hall and then in front of the Dougherty Hall dining hall, before leading back to the church. Basically, picture a giant lap around Main Campus.

When runners arrived at the race, they were given white t-shirts to really make the color that was about to be thrown on them stand out. At the starting line, we anxiously awaited the sign to begin, and after a few minutes, we were off. Of course, my friends and I were super excited, wondering when we would be hit with the color.

Then, we saw it. At Mendel Field, volunteers stood ready with cups of every color of powder imaginable. We embraced every second of it, and everyone had a fantastic time as we were dusted with different colors of powder. We were hit again at Sheehan Beach. I even told a volunteer to aim for my head so I could get a cool photo after. It was loads of fun, and all in attendance were socially distanced and masked up, so everyone felt safe at the race.

Once we completed the three laps around campus, the Relay for Life volunteers thanked us for coming out and offered water and food from Wawa. Everyone was so kind, and it felt great coming out and supporting a great cause as a campus community. So many of us know someone who has been negatively impacted by cancer, so events like these are crucial in helping fund research to fight against the disease.

Overall, everyone got a ton of rainbow-filled pictures, burned some calories and was able to have fun while doing something good. Afterwards, we were all so glad that we participated, because safe, in-person events like these make this semester in a pandemic seem fairly normal. Next year, I know I will be signing up for the Relay for Life Color Run again.