Color Run sprays Brussels with return to daytime event

It is billed as the happiest race on the planet, and this Sunday, the 5km Color Run is set to splatter chattering crowds with powder as they run, walk and dance around Brussels’ canal zone.

Some 15,000 people are expected at Tour & Taxis for the event, all in clean white t-shirts, to be sprayed with brightly coloured powder as they pass through the run’s different stages. Celebrations then culminate in a mass throw of colour packets to create a rainbow cloud during a music festival-type atmosphere.

The Color Run is inspired by the Hindu festival Holi where followers spray natural coloured powders as the seasons change from winter to spring. Launched in Arizona in January 2012, it has proved wildly popular: more than 300 Color Runs are now held each year around the globe.

There are no winners or prizes. Punters depart when they want in a 90-minute window, and many of them walk anyway. The only directive is that participants wear white.

Organisers emphasise fun over competition, connecting with friends and family, being active and enjoying oneself. For many, it is their first race and furthest distance. DJs entertain the crowd along the route, and participants are as often seen dancing as running, while rolling around in the (non-stain) powder.

The Color Run also supports a good cause: the Think-Pink breast cancer charity. This is particularly relevant for Belgium, where more than 10,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.

Last year, there was a change in format as the Color Run was switched to night-time, with participants guided by headlamps, neon and ultraviolet around the canal zone. This year, the fifth edition in Brussels, is back to daylight hours: it can be run at any time between 15.00 and 20.00.

The Color Run tickets are priced €35, and include a t-shirt, snacks and drinks.