Team ELLE love to run (well, most of us do) as witnessed in our tweets during ELLE's Wednesday Run Club. Our readers enjoy running too, so when we heard ELLE reader Nic Chan was taking part in The Color Run, we asked her to join us and review the race. Here's her account of the day...

Trainers: check. Pristine white t-shirt: check. Inexplicable amounts of coloured powder paint...um...check?

The Color Run UK is no ordinary run. Its popularity has taken the nation by storm since debuting on the running scene in 2013. Marketed as, ‘the happiest 5K on the planet’, it’s a great opportunity to dip your toe into the world of running. Having upped my running game during the last year, much thanks to ELLE Associate Health and Beauty Editor, Amy Lawrenson’s, epic #runstreak, what better way and what better location (Stratford’s, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) to reignite my childhood fun-run habit and test out my ever-increasing desire to lace up?

Whether you are new to running or a veteran competitor, The Color Run UK, provides a happy, spectrum-fuelled environment to get your race on. Taking place at various locations across the country and set over a 5K course, the basic concept is to get as covered in colour as possible.

Incredibly enthusiastic volunteers are positioned every kilometre or so along the route, dousing runners in a series of multi-coloured powder paints. Spectacular clouds of colour-pops (brighter than a Meadham Kirchhoff show) punctuate the 5K route leaving runners looking like human-sized hundreds and thousands.

There is no doubt, The Color Run UK, has channelled a festival vibe. This was used to great affect in getting runners energised before the race and for getting them in the mood for partying, post-run. Unfortunately, the festival atmosphere was somewhat lacking along the course; it would have been great to have live music positioned at different points on the route to provide that extra boost (this was, after all, a 5K run and with a few unexpected inclines and the temperature reaching a sunny 24°, I, for one, was beginning to feel it).

That said, I couldn’t praise the ‘fun’ element enough. Wherever I looked, runners young and old were smiling and laughing their way along the course. And perhaps more importantly, they were outside, in the open air, having fun and getting fit.

If you are tempted to tie up those laces and take to the asphalt, The Color Run UK, is a great race to work towards. The beauty of it is, you don’t have to take yourself too seriously, because, The Color Run UK, doesn’t. Whether you run, skip or walk, it’s a fab way to have some fitness fun. For those of you who have taken running to the next level, put the PB’s to one side and treat yourself to a multi-coloured workout. Go jump to it...

For information on next year’s color runs, go to: www.thecolorrun.co.uk