Color Run draws 600 registrants

OTHELLO — Organizers don’t know yet how much money was raised through the annual Color Run sponsored by Columbia Basin Health Association, but about 600 people registered to run.

Normally, the race takes participants through the streets of Othello, but 2020 isn’t a normal year. The coronavirus outbreak prompted the organizers to turn the Color Run into a virtual race.

Event coordinator Courtney Martinez said virtual races are a trend among fundraisers. In a virtual race, people from anywhere in the world can register, run the designated distance and post pictures and a time. Color Run organizers added their own twist. “A hybrid of a virtual race,” Martinez said.

Because the colors are an important part of the race, organizers asked participants to run a course through Othello. Banners were placed at the spots where the color stations would have been, and participants were asked to take a picture at one of those stations, Martinez said.

The Color Run is on for 2021, whatever else is happening, she said. Whether it’s online or in person, “we will be prepared either way,” she said.