Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013

Race Report ELB Engineering Services St Vincent Colour Run, 3 August With colour fun runs the latest fad in SA, I ?gured I’d see what all the fuss was about. My race day was spent with friends, getting drenched in rainbow colours, and all for a good cause! – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER A ny race that offers an easy, scenic route will catch my attention, but when I see the event includes ?ve colour stations dedicated to covering every runner with paint from giant water pistols, then I know this is my kind of race! Also, all funds raised for this one would be going to the St Vincent’s School for the Deaf, to pay for learning aids, audio equipment and educational resources to help pupils obtain the excellent education they deserve. With my mom Debi and friend Jenny alongside me, we lined up at Birdhaven in high spirits, surrounded by runners in their spotless white race T-shirts, many of them running in family or school groups. The course that awaited us was mostly ?at, but there were a few steady climbs to keep us on our toes, and those ?ve colour stations awaited, dotted around the course in public parks: Yellow, blue, orange, green and red. We soon learnt that the colour points are a great incentive to pick up the pace! Eventually you learn how to get through without coughing up paint powder: Close your eyes, close your mouth, hold your hands out and embrace the colour. The rule is to just accept the fact that you’re going to get covered in paint! Thanks to this event, ELB Engineering Services, together with their generous corporate sponsors ELB Equipment, Lorbrand, Nedbank and Standard Bank, managed to raise R200 000 for the school, while also promoting the Colour for a Cause initiative, which encourages children from a young age to adopt a healthy lifestyle. I think these colour runs are great fun, so if you have not done one yet, embrace your inner child and join me in getting covered in paint! Images: www.racephoto.co.za More colour runs to look out for: • The Color Run South Africa 5km: Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Pretor ia, www.thecolorrun.co.za • Colour me Crazy 5km: Johannesburg, 21 September & Cape Town, 26 October, www.colourmecrazy.co.za Also check out www.facebook.com/Colourfulruns 40 ISSUE 51 OCTOBER 2013 / www.modernathlete.co.za “ “ Close your eyes, close your mouth, hold your hands out and embrace the colour.

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013 | Page 42