Guernsey Press

Vazon turns into Rainbow Beach for colour fun run

A RAINBOW of colour hit Vazon Bay at the weekend as nearly 500 fundraising runners were doused in a variety of colourful paints.

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Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. L-R Woody Amy and Leo Hervouet, both 9 years old. (28707308)

Some 260 kilos of environmentally-friendly powder paint made the event a bold and beautiful spectacle.

In the next best thing to a food fight, it was a good excuse to get very messy, and the emphasis was definitely on fun. The youngest runner was three-years-old, although the event appealed to all ages, and everyone won a medal after completing two circuits of low-tide Vazon.

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. (28707314)

Sponsored by Islands Insurance, the colour run was held to raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and on Saturday over £4,000 had already been collected.

Twelve-year-old Reece Knight, who won the Pride of Guernsey Young Achiever Award last year, did the countdown for the race.

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Eden Knowles Ahmed (8) and Caroline Knowles Ahmed through the finish line. (28707310)

‘I was up on the tannoy and I got smothered in an avalanche of paint and it was very loud.

‘I’m really happy that everyone participated today, they should rename this Rainbow Beach before the clean-up.’

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. (28707318)

Trainee helicopter pilot Suzanne Mather organised the event and was delighted with the big turnout.

‘It’s been fantastic, everyone I’ve overheard has said it was brilliant, and it’s been messy that’s for sure.

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. (28707320)

‘It’s the safest paint, you can actually eat it, it’s safe enough to have as food although I do not recommend that as it does not taste great, it’s corn starch, so basically it’s a corn starch food fight that’s coloured.’

The charity Guide Dogs for the Blind aims to help every person with sight loss to have the confidence and support they need to live their lives to the full, they currently help 200,000 people across the UK including several here in Guernsey.

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. (28707304)

It costs around £65,000 over the seven years to breed, train and support a guide dog from birth to retirement

Suzanne was inspired to raise money for the charity because she has seen first-hand how a guide dog contributes massively to quality of life.

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. L-R Logan Nelson (9), Ava Le Page (7), Brooke Nelson (9) and Sam Jones. (28707336)

‘I’ve got a friend in the UK who’s a single mum of two and she’s visually impaired and when she got a guide dog it completely changed her life. I was running the London Marathon for Guide Dogs, and from not even being able to get on a bus, having her dog meant that she had the confidence to get on a train and go around London with her two kids, and she was there when I crossed the line at the London Marathon.

Picture by Sophie Rabey. 19-09-20. Islands Insurance have sponsored a Colour Run on Vazon Beach to help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. (28707332)

‘So I’ve seen it change people’s lives and their confidence so much so it means the world to me to be able to raise money.’

After the race, some runners took a cooling dip before heading home.