Riverside Park came to life with a plethora of colour and good cheer on Sunday when Swan Hill held its third annual Colour You Run event.
Despite a cool and windy day, participants still turned out in droves to show their support for the event which raises funds for local support services.
Olympic basketballer Tessa Lavey was this year’s official ambassador and said the run was a great community event.
“It’s really good to see so many people out here enjoying themselves and supporting a good cause,” she said.
“I am very excited to be a part of it and will take part in the three kilometre run and hopefully throw some colour,” she said.
Funds raised from the event will go towards the Swan Hill Hospice and youth and mental health services, according to organiser Yvonne Jennings.
“We have around 500 entrants this year which is down on previous years but we don’t think the weather is a huge factor in that,” Ms Jennings said.
“We changed the date to a little later in the year to avoid the hot weather we experienced last year to counteract any heat related problems.
“We also adopted an online registration process, which many people took advantage of, that helped streamline things and we have also had about 100 registrations on the day.”
Ms Jennings noted the event had drawn some new faces from multicultural community members and she attributed this in part to the Colour Your Run’s involvement in Harmony Day activities last month.
“It’s really great to see a mix of people here and getting involved in the community,” she said.
“Sunrise Rotary have done an amazing job in organising the event and taking a lead in hosting it today.”
Rachael Pumpa was part of the original suniTAFE student body who developed the first Swan Hill Colour Your Run three years ago.
She attended with her family and said the event remained a great community asset.
“I’ve been to all three events and still get a kick out of the colour and everyone just seems to be in really good spirits,” she said.
“It’s great to see the funds raised go to a good cause but it really is just a great all round family day.”
To read more about this story, grab a copy of Monday’s Guardian (April 10).
