Red, yellow, pink and phew at Oswestry Colour Run - with pictures
They looked like they had had a wonderful time, but as may of the participants in this year's Oswestry Colour Run made their way back to their cars, there was only one question on their minds, how were they not going to transfer the rainbow colours on to their seats.
Doused from head to foot in paint of every colour, the hundreds of visitor's to the British Ironwork Centre on the outskirts of Oswestry were raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Organised by Clive Knowles, owner of the centre, the race had taken the place of the Oswestry Half Marathon which was held last year.
Staged in the grounds of the Ironwork's centre, runners on the 3K course made their way past a giant gorilla made of spoons, giraffes, zebras and birds before heading out to the neighbouring fields, where they were liberally doused with paint by a gaggle of Girl Guides.
Kate Thomas, fundraising manager for Macmillan Shropshire, said she was over the moon at the number of people taking part.
"We have got around 1,250 people running today," she said. "I'm really pleased with how it has gone. We came to see Clive last year to ask if he would be interested in holding a colour run and he was delighted. We were overwhelmed with how quickly it sold out. It has been great."
One planning her journey home was Jill Pickup, 66 from Gobowen. A regular runner with Mere Runners, she wanted to complete the course not only because 'running is good for you' but also to raise money for charity.
"It is lovely seeing everyone have such a good time," she said. "I just am not sure how my car will look after I get in it, I am absolutely covered in paint."
Stephanie Bircher, 32, from West Felton had called on her 58-year-old mother in-law Karen to come along and take part. The two women were multicoloured but had a wonderful time. "I will definitely do it again next year," said Stephanie. "It was something different and something fun."
Clive Knowles, who had a recently battled cancer, said that he was determined that everyone would have a good time. "Macmillan need a huge amount of help, so I was more than happy to do my bit. I know the value of the work they do."
Clare Shinton had been on site since 6.30am with her Girl Guides, making sure that everything was in place.
The county commissioner for Girl Guiding Shropshire said: "We have 40 leaders at the paint stations and another 150 taking part. They have loved it. It has been fantastic. When I suggested that we do this, they jumped at the chance. Everyone is exhausted but very happy."
