We’ve all been envious of the Instagram and Facebook snaps, but for those who have not competed before, ‘What is The Color Run?’ Forte spoke with Tim Wiche, the event’s National Marketing Manager, about what the event includes and who can get involved.
Hi Tim, thanks so much for chatting with Forte. Where and what are you up to?
I’m currently sitting in transit between Sydney and Melbourne, getting ready for about seven meetings across two days … We are always on the go here at The Color Run.
How long now has The Color Run been running and how did it originally come about?
The Color Run has come out of the United States. It started in Arizona in January 2012 and has now expanded to over 45 countries (amazing right), with Australia being the biggest behind the US. The Color Run was started by Travis Snyder and it quickly grew across the entire world with Travis still at the helm and making the day-to-day decisions within the global offices.
Here in Australia, The Color Run started in November 2012 with a young Sydney-based event entrepreneur by the name of Luke Hannan obtaining the licence on behalf of X-Tri Australia. Our first event took place at the world famous Flemington Racecourse with a sell-out crowd of 12,000 participants finishing on the Melbourne Cup Winning Post. Since then, we have been around the country twice and are embarking on a third tour. So far we have done 20 epic events with over 300,000 Australians experiencing the magic that is The Color Run.
Since its inception in January 2012 The Color Run has held over 500 events and over four-million runners globally, making it arguably the biggest running series in the world.
What exactly does the run entail? What are participants required to do?
The Color Run is all about health and happiness, having a great morning out with friends and family, young and old alike standing side by side on the start line ready to simply have a great time. They party at the start with our MCs, then every km they hit a Color Zone where they are showered with bright coloured corn starch (completely safe), leaving them looking like a rainbow at the finish line … but that is only the start of it.
Color Runners are then given a packet of Color to come and join in with the Color Throws that happen from the stage. Then they can dance with friends and family in our epically cool finish festival which has to be experienced, young and old!
What sort of fitness level do runners need to be in to participate?
One of the most fantastic things about The Color Run is absolutely anyone can compete The Color Run; small or big, fast or slow, everyone is out there not to do their personal best times, rather they are there to just have a lot of fun in a healthy way. Our Color runners are very inspirational people!
What is the ‘Color’ made from and are there any tips you would give regarding its use?
The Color is completely safe. It is food-grade corn starch with food colouring to give it the fantastic colour. It is safe to eat, however we would not recommend it as it does not taste the best!
Who would you recommend getting involved?
The Color Run is aimed at everyone. We love seeing groups of young friends, old friends and families, from the kids in the prams to the grandparents running (or walking) next to them.
What are some of the other activities and facilities present at the event?
At each of the events are cool sponsors with activations to keep Color runners entertained. There is also a village area where you can get something to eat or drink and chill out after dancing so much at the stage.
Any other news for us?
We have some huge news coming up! One of them will ‘involve the sun going down’ … The other, well, I need to stay tight-lipped about that one. However, I can say it will leave you ‘sparkling for days’…
When&Where: Albert Park – March 1