The “party on the run” has come back bigger and better this year. Illumi Run, which took place on the 17th of December at Sentosa’s Palawan Beach, saw excited participants milling around the Illumi Village before the run even started.
The event attracted a young crowd—most of the runners were in their late teens. Illumi Run is essentially a non-competitive event that allows participants to dance their way through five different ultraviolet zones— Cosmic Land, Candy Pop, A Beach Life, Flower Dreams and Lazer Rainforest. Each zone had its own theme and offered participants glow water in different colours at each respective zone.
This year, Illumi Run introduced a 30-metre glow slide located at the heart of the Illumi Village where runners could choose to either lie or sit on their floats and slide across the glow water after the race.
Before the race even began, everyone was sprayed with non-toxic colorful glow water— I found spots of neon, vibrant orange on my T-shirt. DJ TINC mixed some very sick beats at the race’s start-off point, and the crowd raved and sang along to the music, which were mostly remixes of popular electronic dance music.
Though it is named Illumi Run, hardly anyone ran. Most of the participants took a leisurely stroll through the ultraviolet zones, striking fun, silly poses for the countless pictures they snapped along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed strolling along the beach and being treated to colourful, psychedelic light displays at the ultraviolet zones. The zones were also adequately staffed with friendly volunteers who would encourage runners with high-fives and would even offer to help runners take photos with their friends.
The fun didn’t end there. Upon completion of the run, runners gathered for the after-party. The massive crowd was treated to EDM remixes by the very talented DJs. DJ TINC got the party started, followed by the very bubbly Taipei Times No.1 Female DJ, DJ Cookie. DJ duo Rave Republic closed the event on a high note.
The youthful crowd raved to the beat enthusiastically, energetically waving their multi-coloured glow sticks in the air. You could tell that the DJs played tracks that really got the crowd hyped up, as the runners were jumping non-stop despite having just ran (or in most cases, walked) five kilometres.
Overall, Illumi Run 2016 was a fun experience. The event was well-organised and the music was remarkably good for a running event, allowing participants of younger ages to enjoy an outdoor party experience. Illumi Run is definitely an exciting event that allows one to bond with friends over a healthy five kilometre walk or run, and let loose at the thrilling after-party to reward yourself.
by Natalie Kwan
