RUNNERS will be splattered in luminous paint as they take on a fun running course for Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.

Around 1,100 runners will take on the 2.5 mile run around Lodmoor Country Park on Saturday morning to raise money for the charity.

The idea of colour running came over from the United States, and sees runners start off wearing white t-shirts before running the course.

There will be four colour stations along the route, manned by staff from the events sponsors. They will then throw paint over the runners- twice at each station, once on the way out and then on the way back.

All those finishing the race will be a riot of luminous colour. There will then be a mass colour throw.

The run starts at 11am and the mass colour throw will be at 11.55am.

But the fun doesn’t stop there, there will be an entire afternoon of fun and entertainment.

There will be a stage with local bands Hustle, Vanilla Radio and Shooter all performing, as well as food outlets and a bar.

Everyone is invited to join the party- whether you are a runner or not.

Event Organiser Matt Smith said they were looking forward to a fun day and encouraged everyone to come along and join them for the afternoon party.

He said the event was the first of its kind in Dorset. He said: “We have the brightest colours we could possibly find – luminous paint. It should be a great atmosphere and a great event.”

He added: “This event is open to everyone. It’s great that the whole family can get involved. We have a massive age range of people taking part. We have people travelling from Gloucestershire and Essex - people are travelling down a far way to take part in our run which is fantastic.”

Mr Smith said that although the event had sold out, they had received interest from thousands of people and that next year they hoped to make the event even bigger and better.

He added that although the hospice cared for those that were unwell, the services and hospice itself was full of fun and laughter.

He said: “It should be a fantastic day. With our events we want them to be fun and people to come back time and time again. It links so well with what we do.”

Mr Smith added that they would like to thank their sponsors Meyers Estate Agents, Blondz hairdressers, Ayya Bars and Brewers Paint Company, staging company Evolution Scaffolding for putting up the stage for free and all the bands for donating their time for free as well.