An eighteen-city, 5K run sucks you into a kaleidoscope of color madness.

Didn’t get your spot in the New York City Marathon? Fear not, intrepid runner, the 2012 Color Run promises to be a far more phantasmagoric marathon event, particularly for the Pantone obsessed.

The series kicked off in Arizona and ends in Florida, dusting the metropolises in between in pink, yellow, blue and purple. It’s an all-inclusive event aimed at raising money for local community charities and boosting spirits.

The color outing requires two things: white shirts and a sense of humor. By the finish line, that white runner and walker attire will go from “brand new pristine coloring book” to something that looks like it was manufactured in a “Willy Wonka…vat of colored goodness.”

Each kilometer gets its own designated blitz of color: the 1k marker is yellow, 2k is blue, 3k is green, 4k is pink. The 5k finish is a “Color Extravaganza.”

The color is concocted from 100% natural and safe ingredients (food grade cornstarch) and tossed by a team of volunteers and Color Run staffers.

Runners can dash solo or as part of a Color Team. Past teams have included “The Roy G Biv All-stars” and “Color Me Rad.” Cartwheeling and crawling welcome, as are children.

The next Color Run event will be held this Sunday in Seattle, Washington. For additional cities and dates (along with info on the local charities the runs will be supporting), please visit the Color Run’s official site.

In the meantime, an aspirational video.

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