I don’t know what possessed me to sign up to a 5km fun run the day of BFX, but I knew if I didn’t do it then I would regret it.

The Blacklight Run is like the Color Run in which you get covered in coloured powder, except this powder glows under UV light. I got to the Texas Motor Speedway at around 8pm and as I waited in line to get my race packet the guy behind me started talking to me about my Battlefrog shirt. I started chatting to him and his two friends about the race and why I was in Dallas. They explained that they were all doctors and had flown in that day from Detroit for a conference. Within a few minutes I’d forgotten two of their names, but remembered that one guy was named Chris.

The official start time was 8:30pm, with people being let off in waves of 500 every 10 minutes. The lady who gave us our registration packets was panicking as she thought we would miss the 8:30 start time but she needn’t have worried as we didn’t get close to the start line until 9pm.

The four of us chatted about random things whilst trying to avoid getting dirt in our eyes from the strong winds. As we crept closer to the start line two drunk ladies started talking to us. All I remember about the conversation was that I was almost in tears from laughter after one of the guys convinced the ladies that I was a kangaroo trainer and I was in Dallas to help train kangaroos.

Finally we got to the start line and as we headed out the guys took off running. I trotted behind for about 500m before giving up as my legs were just so sore. I walked along and stopped to take selfies in the UV light along the course. I got through the first colour zone before deciding that the novelty had worn off so I turned around and headed back to the finish line.

Some people were out there in full running gear and headphones which I couldn’t understand. There was music along the course and the whole point was to dance your way along, not try and get a PB on your 5k.

Just as I got to the finish line the guys caught up to me so we headed to the after party dance area with our colour packets and proceeded to cover each other in colour and dance. I lasted about 30 minutes before I decided to head off home due to exhaustion. I danced to one last song and then said goodbye and headed back for a good night’s sleep. It was a great night and I’m definitely glad I went.

Event: Blacklight Run

Type: Fun Run

Distance: 5km

Location: Dallas Motorplex, Texas (USA)

Date: 16 April 2016