“It’s basically an opportunity to work up a bit of a sweat and plaster your friends and family in paint” – Salford residents are being encouraged to sign up to a national virtual colour run

Salfordians are being urged to run and get covered in paint in the Virtual Colour Runner for the Caudwell Children Charity.

Caudwell Children is a national Staffordshire-based charity supporting children and families by providing access to services, equipment, therapies and treatment.

Run by philanthropist and entrepreneur John Caudwell, fundraising profits will all go towards the charity, with Caudwell covering the administration costs himself.

Jacob Cotterill, the Associate Director of Communications for Caudwell Children said: “we regularly host events of this nature, obviously we haven’t been able to do them with the same regularity over the last 12 months or so but typically we would host these kinds of events to raise money and raise awareness of the difficulties that families face on an individual level.

“It would run the same way as any colour runner … it’s basically an opportunity to work up a bit of a sweat and plaster your friends and family in powdered paint.”

The charity will provide a pack of items, including powdered paint, with adults receiving t-shirts and sunglasses for children. Runners are encouraged to share their progress on social media and raise awareness for the charity. Once their route has been shared with the charity, participants will receive a medal and digital certificate.

Jacob added “I think something that’s really stood out for us and for the families that we support is that everybody’s on this path back to normality which everybody, myself included, can’t wait to see that continue but there are still families with disabled children that are having to take significant precautions and the roadmap doesn’t really include them and that’s not me pointing the finger at the government or being overly critical, it’s just the reality.”

Runners can sign up on the website, where they will receive the link to a Just Giving site, after paying the £15 sign up fee. Groups of four can run for £40.

The Virtual Colour Runner, 2k or 5k can be run, walked, cycled or scooted by anyone, in any location throughout the month of May.

As part of it, people can take on a 5k route as part of the #5kMay challenge.

Fundraisers are asked to aim to raise a minimum of £50 each.

To sign up for the virtual colour runner, visit: https://www.caudwellchildren.com/virtual-colour-runner/