VIVA Bahrain holds second paint race

Telecommunications company VIVA Bahrain held a pair of Color Me Bahrain "paint races" Friday at the Amwaj Marina on the Amwaj Islands.

The Color Me Bahrain Run, a 1K children's race and 5K adult race, were sponsored by VIVA Jusoor and organized by the Bahrain Road Runners. Both events were spinoffs of an international fad of "color runs," in which a course is covered with colored powder that gets kicked up during the run to paint runners in a rainbow of colors. Also called "The Happiest 5K on the Planet," the runs have occurred more than 300 times in more than 50 counties since 2014.

Last year's Color Me Bahrain races attracted more than 800 participants, and event organizers for this year's VIVA Color Me Bahrain run were expecting that number to nearly double.    

Organizers in Bahrain said they hoped their event would mirror the spirit of health, happiness and individuality that characterizes paint races.

VIVA Jusoor is the charitable division of VIVA Bahrain, owned by the Saudi Telecommunications Company. Launched in 2010, VIVA Bahrain provides mobile, voice, and broadband services, and was the first to bring 4G/LTE service to Bahrain.