Written by Janet Chia

Close to 16,000 runners in Singapore showed up in Sentosa on 17-18 August for the inaugural The Color Run in South East Asia. Touted as the "happiest 5k on the planet" , the highly popular 5 kilometre untimed novelty run that was fully registered within 3 hours of its launch in Singapore, originated from United States of America had made its debut in more than 100 cities since its inauguration in 2012.

The Color Run turned a new page in Singapore run history with its unprecedentednovelty. The highlight of the run is a colour "ritual" which doused runners with non-toxic, food grade coloured corn starch powder from top to toe at the four designated stations along the route. For Singapore stop, the four colours, red, blue, yellow and pink, represented the four sponsors, CIMB Bank, New Balance, Mini Cooper and W Hotel Singapore respectively.

The catch of the event was that all runners must start the race with a pre-dominantly white top, where no inch was spared by the colour ritual eventually. With no age limit, the fun run encouraged mass participation and saw runners from all age groups and fitness levels took part in the two-day event. The safe event had kept medics at ease throughout the weekend with few reports for treatments, mainly for grazes and abrasions.

During the run, runners enjoyed the colour ritual and some were even seen rolling on the floor to get more of the coloured powder onto them. Unlike past run events in Singapore where operational roles were undertaken by organisers, The Color Run gave runners a go at dousing other runners after they finished their own run. Finishers were handed packets of coloured powder to take part in the colour throwing festival which happened at intervals at the centre stage, where the finishers were joined in the celebration by their friends and family.


Photo by Lawrence Ang

The colour throwing festival was a hit with the finishers and set the pace for the 4 hours non-stop after-run party which consisted of more colour throwing festivalsand Zumba workout. The end of the party was marked by a special fireworks display by Songs of the Sea, a main attraction of Sentosa.

As part of The Color Run's tradition of giving back to the society, there was also a tie up with local sponsor, CIMB Bank, to donate $1 per registered runner on behalf to a selected charity, Project Happy Feet. The cheque was presented to Project Happy Feet at the after-run party.

"Definitely the happiest run ever, I hope there are more colours next time!", Miss Hani, 22, relived her experience in The Color Run with her long-time friends as the most memorable and fun race which she will sign up for again.