Get down and dirty at these Philly fun runs

Come in white, leave in technicolor at the Color Run.
Credit: Courtesy of the Color Run

Running can mean logging mile after mile with nothing to stare at but the bright red numbers glaring at you on the treadmill. Or it can mean lacing up your shoes and preparing for a party. You decide whether you want that party to include music-synced neon forests, mud pits and slides, or a tie-dye rainstorm of color.

Merrell Down & Dirty
Staying clean is not an option here. Plan on splashing through mud pits, hurdling like a track star and swgining like a monkey on rope courses.
Saturday, 7 a.m.
Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park
www.downanddirtymudrun.com

Color Run
Come dressed in all white, but expect to go home looking like a Jackson Pollack painting. Back for its second year, the Color Run was the largest national 5K event series of 2012 with over 600,000 people looking for some head-to-toe tie-dye action. Sunday, 7 a.m.
Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic in Fairmount Park
www.thecolorrun.com

Electric Run
This one is taking clubbing to the streets with a 5K route full of music and neon lights that move to the beats. While technically this is a running event, dancing is the only mandatory movement as you wander through glowing arches and rainbow0hued lasers.
July 20, 8:45 p.m.
2000 Belmont Mansion Dr. in Fairmount Park
www.electricrun.com/philadelphia

Fishtown Beer Runners
Usually, we’d say don’t drink and run. But these runners believe putting in a few miles and then grabbing a brew is the thing to do. Join them for a jog that ends at a different pub each week.
Every Thursday, 7 p.m.
2346 E. Susquehanna Ave.
www.fishtownbeerrunners.com