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On Sunday 24th August, Sydney’s Centennial Park was host to the Swisse Color Run.  

Vision Australia staff and volunteers wearing pristine white t-shirts and purple Vision Australia hats joined approximately 21,000 people to walk, run or skip along the “Happiest 5km on Earth”.  

The five colour zones along the course (pink, blue, orange, green and purple) meant that the white t-shirts didn’t stay white for long. 

In addition, a pretend snow machine and lots of bubbles led to a group of hyper-coloured, hyper-happy and highly-photographed participants. 

Vision Australia’s Natalie Kaine answered a few questions about the day:

Why did you do this?

Earlier this year, Vision Australia was selected as one of eight annual charitable partners for the national Color Run event series.  We are not quite sure how much money this will raise for Vision Australia, but in 2013 when we were the charity partner for Color Run Melbourne, we raised nearly $70,000.

What was that colour stuff and how did you get so colourful?

They used fine, food-grade, food-dyed corn starch and, as you moved through the colour zone, they threw it around.  There were puffs and clouds of colour in the air. There was also a blue tree.  

Could you dodge getting too colourful?

Yes, the colour throwers threw as much or as little as you wanted, and aimed low to avoid heads. If you wanted to avoid the colour throwing you could just walk around the zone.  If you wanted colour in your hair or on your face you had to ask friends or do it yourself.

Did the stuff come off?

Yes. Well, mostly. As long as you followed the pre and post event instructions the colour came off.  

Was it fun?

Yes, it was excellent.