Colour Run raises £38,000 for St Margaret’s Hospice

In a burst of colour and joy, families from across Somerset took on the challenge of running two laps of the Taunton Racecourse on May 18 – all while being covered in vibrant powdered paint, thanks to an army of paint-throwing volunteers.

Participants rocked an array of colourful outfits, tutus, and fancy dress, with glitter face paint and bright accessories, with some younger participants choosing to tackle the course twice in honour of their loved ones. 

Jon Witney, a regular Colour Run participant who has seen firsthand the care St Margaret’s provides said: “An absolutely amazing day and so much fun! Even bigger and better than previous years. Thank you for everything you guys do, keep being amazing and helping people like us it’s so incredibly appreciated”.

This year The Bubble Toddle, a new mini-run, was added to the event. It saw over 110 youngsters toddling and crawling 120m to the finish line through a cloud of bubbles.

The Bubble Toddle, a new mini-run (Image: St Margaret's Hospice)

The event village extended the festivities with inflatables, Formula 1 simulators, food, drinks, face painting, and stalls filled with goodies. The afternoon was capped off with a lively performance by the Somerset Red Arrow Majorettes.

Tributes were seen throughout the day as family and friends gathered to raise money and celebrate lives.

Merle Harrison-Croft, Events Manager for St Margaret’s Hospice said, “It was a fantastic day. We’re delighted to have raised such an incredible amount of money for our hospice care. 

Over £38,000 was raised for the charity. (Image: St Margaret's Hospice)

“Sponsorship is still coming in but, the money we’ve raised so far could pay for 535 community nurses visits to patients in their own homes.”

Merle added: “We’d like to extend a massive thank you to our event sponsors Mogers Drewett, and paint station sponsors Amicus Law and Clarke Wilmot as well as Apple FM for keeping the party atmosphere alive all day.

“To have raised almost double the amount of last year is incredible – it would not have been possible without the support of local businesses and our incredible volunteers, as well as everyone who took part."

If you missed out on this year’s Colour Run, don’t worry! You can scoop early bird tickets for 2025 already, visit st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/colourrun.