October 12, 2023 | SPORTS | By Thomas Nielsen
If you happened to reside or walk near East Campus last Friday, you may have been disoriented. The sight of dozens of students decked out in flaïr running around the neighborhood all participating in the Fun Run event was certainly a spectacle.
The question for some may be: what is Fun Run?
One could argue that at its core, Fun Run is described by its name, an enjoyable running race.
The description of a cross between a darty, a scavenger hunt and a 5K, could be an even more valid definition, although that combination still doesn’t do the race full justice.
Essentially, Fun Run is an event that is strictly unaffiliated with Colorado College and happens once a semester. Students are able to sign up by paying a fee ($17 this event) accompanied by the completion of an online form.
This year around 150 people competed. They were split into 12 teams who each competed to be the first to finish the gauntlet of challenges held at off-campus houses, with the final destination being the finish line of Yampa Field. To make the event livelier, it is customary for many to complete the Fun Run dressed in Colorado College’s traditional flaïr – crazy, colorful, goofy outfits.
Fun Run kicks off with a Mad Dog 20/20 leapfrog chug. Teams must complete both bottles of Mad Dog while playing leapfrog before earning the location of their first house and challenge.
Each team is also given a wine bag which they must complete before the end of the run.
Each of the 12 houses that participated in Fun Run this year hosted challenges which teams must complete before getting the location of the next house. The challenges this year included: “floor-is-lava” obstacle course, a dance battle, a three-legged-race, a spelling bee and a beerio kart race among others. On top of the challenges, many of the houses provide food and water for teams.
Most of these challenges incorporate drinking in some form or fashion, as part of the difficulty of this event is to be able to quickly move from house to house after downing a lot of liquid.
Fun Run ends on Yampa Field, where teams recover and debrief until roughly 5:30 p.m., when participants typically make their way to Rastall Dining Hall, still in flaïr, for a post-run dinner.
Fun Run has been an ongoing CC tradition since at least 2011, although the official start date is unclear.
The creator of a 2011 YouTube video featuring the event, an alum from the class of 2015 who asked not to be mentioned by name, told The Catalyst that Fun Run certainly predated 2011.
According to this alum, in 2011 Fun Run was a smaller event. Founded by the Club Ultimate Frisbee teams on campus at the time, only members of the team and a few friends participated. This meant about half the amount of houses, teams and people; a far cry from the 150 participants today.
If you missed your chance at Fun Run glory this fall, fret not. The event will return in the spring semester where you can help carry on this “fun” tradition.