...and yellow, orange, purple, green, blue, pink.
More than 10,000 runners of all ages, shapes and sizes took part in The Color Run presented by Dulux on Saturday 5th July as the event returned to cover the Etihad campus in colour.
The Color Run went bigger, bolder and brighter than last year with runners taking to the streets to jog, walk and dance their way around the 5k course. At each kilometre, participants were covered in powder explosions before DJs and MCs entertained the crowd at the Colour Festival in an incredible party atmosphere of music and colour bursts. Known as the happiest 5k on the planet, The Color Run has no official times or winners. The focus is on healthiness, friendship and community spirit.
Joining the party atmosphere at the Etihad campus were players from the Manchester City Women's Football squad who swapped their football boots for running shoes to tackle a colour filled 5k training run. The Women’s Super League players ran shoulder-to-shoulder with four up-and-coming young footballers, who train at the player development centre with City in the Community (CITC), to help inspire their growth in the sport.
Jill Scott, England and Manchester City midfielder, said: “What better way to inspire these talented young players than to run with them at the happiest 5k on the planet.
“It really is a true Manchester celebration of colour and gave the squad a new twist on a 5k training run. I’m not sure many teams in the Women’s Super League come back into the locker room looking quite so colourful!”
Event organiser Joe Rafferty said: “After last year’s success we knew we were in for another great party this time around. It was great to see some of the same happy faces from last year as well as thousands of new Color Runners making their debut with us."
He added: “We’d like to thank everyone who took part and look forward to seeing them at The Color Run next time we’re in Manchester!”
HISTORY
The Color Run was founded by Travis Snyder, who was inspired by the Indian Holi Festival, and decided to combine the idea with a 5km running experience. From the first event in the Unites States in January 2012 The Color Run has since spread across the globe leaving a trail of colour and happy runners. Given its American heritage, its name is spelt accordingly - ‘Color’ - throughout all territories.
Sponsors Dulux, are the world's leading premium quality paint brand. 'Let's Colour' is is the Dulux rallying call to motivate people around the world to use colour to make a change to their own lives and communities.
Through the 'Let's Colour' project, Dulux is transforming grey spaces right across the UK, from village halls, schools, nurseries, to community areas, aiming to colour 1 million people’s lives by 2020. Participants are encouraged to continue the colour theme by nominating a Let’s Colour Project – Visit www.letscolour.co.uk
Ann Marie O’Riordan, Head of Marketing, UK & Ireland for presenting sponsor Dulux said: “The energy and enthusiasm on show at The Color Run has really shown us just how much colour can uplift and inspire the runners. That’s what we’re really passionate about – seeing colour have a positive impact on peoples’ lives and the places we live in.
“We’re proud to be presenting The Color Run in the UK for a third time this year and we look forward to a summer of colour with more runs happening across the UK.”
Following the success of the Manchester event, The Color Run will soon visit Sunderland (July 20th), Birmingham (August 16th), Belfast (August 23rd) and Brighton (September 20th).
If you missed out on The Color Run in Manchester this year, there are a limited number of places still available for future events or you can join our VIP list at www.TheColorRun.co.uk/vip-list to be the first to find out when the Happiest 5k on the Planet will return.
supported the run! More official pictures of the run can be found HERE.
Manchester City Women’s next fixture is away to Durham in the Continental Cup and will be played on Sunday 13th July, followed by Notts County at home at the Regional Arena on the Thursday 17th July. A full list of fixtures can be found here: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/
