Twelve thousand joyous participants let their feet do the talking as they walked, jogged, ran and danced their way through the 2014 Color Run at Dubai Autodrome yesterday.
– VIDEO: Dubai runners turn out in full force for Color Run
It is the second year the event has been staged at the famous motorsport venue as instead of reverberating to the sounds of high-powered engines, the race track was a cauldron of cheers and laughter and the exhaust fumes replaced by a sea of pink, green and blue as the runners were drenched in color dust on their way around the five kilometre course.
The Color Run is entitled the ‘Happiest 5K on the Planet’ and the Autodrome track was awash with as many smiles as it was color dust, a special recipe of 100 per cent all natural, safe, food grade quality product, the main ingredient of which is corn starch.
One very excited participant this year was South African Henk van der Berg, who is a glowing tribute to just what the Color Run is all about.
Henk, 45, has spent much of 2014 fighting cancer, but having finished a course of chemotherapy, he was determined to take his place at the start line.
“I’m actually suffering from cancer at the moment, I was diagnosed a couple of months ago and we just decided that an active life is the way to do it,” he said.
“I just finished six months of treatment about three weeks ago.”
Wife Natasha added: “I just saw yesterday that Friends of Cancer Patients is one of the charities the event sponsors, so I’m going to see them and what they’re doing. I think it’s a great way to raise awareness.”
She added: “There’s something special about this man. I’m so proud of him, because today he’s doing 5K and he just went through chemo three weeks ago and doesn’t look like he’s sick.”
Dubai held the first Color Run in the UAE last December, which proved to be a success with over 8,000 participants, while Abu Dhabi followed suit with the first capital Color Run at Yas Marina Circuit earlier this year.
The event, presented by Daman’s ActiveLife, is a one-of-a-kind experience, open to participants of all speeds, ages, shapes and sizes.
Since it first launched in 2012, the Color Run has become the single largest event series in the United States and is gaining traction around the world, evidenced by the emergence of the event in the UAE’s two largest cities.
In keeping with the Color Run tenet of giving back to the community, $1 (Dh3.67) from every registration will be donated to charity through Just Giving.