More than 9,500 covered Yas Marina Circuit in a cloud of colour and energised the nation’s capital at the ‘Happiest 5k on the Planet’ over the weekend.
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The Color Run, presented by Daman’s ActiveLife, brought together people from all over the UAE for the five-kilometre event, with participants starting the run in clean white attire and finishing smattered in yellow, orange, green, blue and pink powders.
For many, such as Iustina Alban, it was a long-awaited first time taking part in the popular run. “I was hunting The Color Run to see where it is.
It was in Dubai when I moved here, but I couldn’t make it there. Now, I finally made it and it’s been really great. The after-party is amazing with awesome music. It is what I expected and I’m really happy. It’s now checked off the bucket list,” said the 25-year-old Alban, who moved to the UAE from Denmark.
“I’m a sporty type of person, so I thought it was going to be a more marathon type of thing. I joined with a friend and she’s not as fit, so we did more walking and selfie mode and a little bit of running. But in the end, it’s not about the run, it’s about doing the whole thing and living each moment of the race. It’s quite an experience. Everyone should experience it at least once.”
For others, it was an opportunity to let loose and have fun again. South African Neville Alberts came prepared and got into the spirit in his second Color Run in Abu Dhabi, wearing a colourful polka dot tie and an Afro wig.
“Every year it’s about colour, so I try and make sure there’s enough colour on me so everyone can actually see me. There’s a little bit of fame that comes with it,” said the 50-year-old, who didn’t let his age slow him down.
“I’m still very, very young at heart,” Alberts added. “I still go to the gym every day, I’m quite fit and like I said, I’m young at heart and I enjoy it.”
Keeping in tune with the familyfriendly atmosphere, several ran in large groups, especially those at the younger end of the spectrum. At 15 years of age, Sami Oueis hit the track with 30 of his friends in his first – but not last – Color Run.
“It was nice. It’s a new experience and it’s energetic,” Oueis said. “I’ll do it again.”
Daman chief executive officer Michael Blitzer, who took part in the run for the first time himself, was pleased with the increase in turnout and believes The Color Run is helping to promote a healthy and active lifestyle in the UAE.
“If we compare the participation from the first event to now, it’s a little bit more,” Blitzer said. “We have a much higher representation, for example, of UAE nationals. It’s very difficult to activate them, but today we had almost 2,000 UAE nationals.
“It grows every year. Simply, you feel the community talks about it. Of course we will not change the world overnight, but these events all together can lead to change.”
