Abu Dhabi: Egyptian triathlete Omar Nour has hailed the UAE’s fifth edition of The Color Run, which was held on Saturday and which was presented by Daman’s ActiveLife, as “a fantastic fitness event” and “a festival of happiness”.
The Daman ActiveLife ambassador was in effervescent mood after 12,000 participants ran or danced their way around Dubai Autodrome alongside official mascot ‘Runicorn’ through a kaleidoscope of colour at the world’s so-called ‘Happiest 5k on The Planet’.
Runners were met with colour at every kilometre — Nissan’s yellow, Lipton Ice Tea’s Orange, Reebok’s blue and Daman’s ActiveLife pink — before concluding their adventure at the Daman’s ActiveLife ‘Rainbow Row’, the multi-colour station, which made its Middle Eastern debut in Dubai.
The 5K was celebrated in style, as runners were led toward the Finish Festival and wowed by the euphoric atmosphere of pumping music, festive dancing and colour.
In a telephone interview with Gulf News, Nour said: “This is what it’s all about, in my opinion. I’ve been an ambassador for Daman’s ActiveLife for three years now and my whole MO [modus operandi] has been to help promote a healthy lifestyle.
“This is a perfect example of a fantastic fitness event. It’s untimed, anyone can do it, it makes it suitable for the masses and it’s fun. It’ a festival of happiness.”
The 36-year-old has been a passionate health-and-fitness crusader for several years, having taken up triathlon at the age of 29 after being embarrassed by his trousers ripping when he weighted 100 kilos.
He added: “My advice to people who were in my position is to sign up for the next Color Run. It’s less intimidating than a normal workout and you can bring your friends, family and go out there walking.”
Dr Sven Rohte, Chief Commercial Officer of the National Health Insurance Company — Daman, the presenting sponsor of the event, said: “This is the fifth time we’ve presented The Color Run in the UAE and the third time in Dubai. It’s great to see how the event keeps growing in popularity.
“Through Daman’s ActiveLife, we aim to create communities whose members support one another in leading an active, healthy lifestyle. The Color Run, one of ActiveLife’s inaugural events launched in the UAE in 2013, is a key building block for the community to participate in Daman’s ActiveLife events.”
“For our Dubai community, we have the free weekly TrainDubai on Wednesday at Dubai Autodrome. Through these initiatives, we aim to create long-lasting communities, whose members support each other into leading an active, healthy lifestyle.” Dr Rohte added.
Since its January 2012 launch, the Color Run has become the largest event series in the United States and is gaining traction around the world.
In keeping with the event’s community focus, $1 (Dh3.67) from every entry at The Color Run presented by Daman’s ActiveLife was donated to Friends of Cancer Patients through the Just Giving platform.
Visit www.thecolorrun.com for more information.
