City’s craze for running in race to keep fit

Xia Lu , organizer of Rainbow Run

Xia Lu was downhearted when she failed to secure a place in the inaugural Shanghai Color Run on Saturday. She wasn't alone. The event at the Oriental Sports Center proved so popular that online registration closed eight minutes after it opened on August 13, leaving thousands frustrated and disappointed.

Shanghai is in the throes of a running craze. The 16,000 slots for the 2014 Shanghai International Marathon were filled in a matter of hours earlier this month. There are simply more people wanting to participate in organized runs than slots allocated.

Xia, however, wasn't about to be cheated out of a fun run. She and a few friends decided to organize their own version of the 5-kilometer Color Run, inviting those who missed out on registration to join them. They named their event the 8-Minute Rainbow Run. It will be held at Bailianjing Park near Expo Avenue starting at 10am on Saturday.

"We didn't set out to challenge the Color Run," Xia said. "We just wanted to extend the fun to allow more people to participate."

And fun is the whole point of these events. The Color Run was created and trademarked by US event producer Travis Snyder, who bills it as "the happiest 5 kilometers on the planet."

Runners start with clean, white T-shirts. After every kilometer and at the end of the run, they shower one another with colored flour, ending up looking like Monet paintings in motion. Professional and amateur runners are invited to participate.

About 5,000 people are expected to participate in the Color Run this year in Shanghai. Xia said 300 runners, including some foreign participants, have signed up for the same-day 4km Rainbow Run. Asked to comment on this parallel event, Wang Yang, a Shanghai Color Run organizer, said, "We have seen this happen in other cities where Color Run is held. We can't do much about it, so we just focus on our own event."

More slots

Xia, 25, is a law school graduate from Fudan University. She is also a sports lover, avid about running and fixed-gear cycling. She and her friends posted news of the Rainbow Run through WeChat accounts, and managed to attract some volunteers.

They ordered the same colored corn flour used in the Color Run from taobao.com.

Xia said they initially reserved 100 spots for the race. When their event proved more popular than expected, 200 more slots were added.

Those signing up were required to pay 80 yuan (US$13) to cover part of the organizing costs. Xia said the fee was to confirm their attendance so as not to waste running quotas. The entrance fee for the Shanghai Color Run ranged from 168 yuan to 208 yuan.

Shanghai police have approved the Rainbow Run and will help with safety monitoring and crowd maintenance.

The course will be run along a 4km loop around Expo Avenue and Xueye Road in the Pudong New Area, with runners circling unlimited times. It will be a scenic run, passing park views.

Like other commercial running events, Xia has received "sponsorship" mostly from her friends. Snacks and soft drinks will be provided by her friends' food service companies.

Photographers have also been recruited to lend the authentic air of an organized run.

"More people of my age are beginning to realize the importance of keeping fit and healthy," Xia said.

That's apparent from heightened interest in running in Shanghai. As well as the Shanghai International Marathon and the Shanghai Color Run, events such as the Jinqiao 8k Run have also had their quotas filled soon after online registration opens.

As demand grows, more running events are being added to the Shanghai calendar and amateur running clubs are growing in numbers.

New phenomenon

"The running craze is a new phenomenon," said Zhu Yi, an amateur runner and content provider for the Siben Running Club's WeChat account, which has 20,000 followers.

"People are paying more attention to health," he said. "And running is one of the commonest and cheapest ways to keep fit. A few years ago, Shanghai International Marathon organizers had to hold a series of promotions to get participants for the event. Now, people start to make inquiries months before. Quotas for running events have become as important as quotas for car license plates."