简体中文
The annual Color Run kicked off again in Vancouver Saturday, with thousands of people running five kilometers to finish the race among cheers and colorful powder.
The Color Run took place in hundreds of cities around the world on the same day. There were no stopwatches or winners but a sea of smiling faces and colored powder.
The Color Run, launched in 2012 with the aims of helping promote healthiness and happiness, has already won popularity in more than 30 countries.
Organizers said the events have helped to bring communities together for what they called the "happiest" five-kilometer run on the planet. For Vancouver, it has been the second time to witness the event.
It costed up to 60 Canadian dollars (66.5 U.S. dollars) to participate in the event here.
The runners will not be timed and no winners are to be crowned at the finish line. But on their way passing through the color stations, volunteers will shower them with colored powder in yellow, blue, orange and pink.
Brendan Talbot, one of the runners, said he was happy to join the run.
"I haven't seen myself in the mirror yet but I think that will be great.it's not a timed event so there is no time pressure. Everyone seems to be having fun," he told Xinhua.
"It's really cool that it's happening all over the world and not just here," said Katherine Reid, another runner.
She said it was exciting to imagine that a lot more people all around the world were enjoying the colorful moment.
The Color Run was first founded by an American event producer Travis Snyder in an effort to encourage professionals and novices to run together for fun.
The first event took place in January 2012 in Phoenix, the United States, with some 6,000 participants, and has quickly become one of the largest event series throughout the world.
Although a for-profit company, the Color Run LLC has partnered with more than 80 local and international charities and has so far raised more than one million U.S. dollars for various goodwill causes, according to the organizer.
Christian Dempster, a member of the organizer team, told Xinhua there were races going on this weekend around the world in China, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and the UAE.
Following the thought of "be happy, be healthy, be you," the Color Run was rather a "celebration and an opportunity to get in shape and do it in a way of fun," said Dempster.
Millions of runners have taken part in this event since the Color Run tour began. Once the run wraps up, the colors continue to fly as the participants enjoy a rainbow party just beyond the finish line.
