For a non-runner, seeing the multitudes pounding the pavements along the seafront can be a little intimidating – let alone the numbers who take part in Brighton’s annual marathon.

But The Color Run is offering that rarest of things – a genuine fun run, with no time chips, no winners or losers and the chance to be part of a living explosion of colour.

Spread over 5km along Madeira Drive, the inaugural Brighton Color Run is the fourth and last to be held in the UK this year.

Participants are supplied with white T-shirts and headbands to wear at the start of the run, which are transformed into a riot of colour every time they hit a kilometre marker by volunteers throwing powdered paint.

“The Color Run was founded in Arizona in early 2012,” says event director Joe Rafferty.

“Its founder, Travis Snyder, was putting on triathlons but was thinking about how to get first-time participants interested in running and sport. There had been lots of talk about the general population not being very active. He thought people just wanted to have fun.”

Inspiration came from the Hindu Holi Festival – or Festival Of Colours – which celebrates the arrival of spring with participants throwing coloured powder at each other.

The powder used in The Color Run is a mix of corn starch and food dye, with pink, blue, yellow and orange paint being thrown at each kilometre marker.

The race will end with a big party at Black Rock – including colour throws every 15 minutes creating clouds of rainbow colours.

Snyder’s event has clearly touched a chord, with more than 130 US cities hosting a 5km Color Run this year.

“The running almost becomes secondary,” says Rafferty. “About 70% of the participants are first-time runners – so it is quite an achievement for them.

“A lot of seasoned runners end up going ten to 15 minutes slower because they’re waiting for their friends at the colour stations – we knock the competitive streak out of them!”

In total 6,000 runners are expected to take part in Brighton – equal to the numbers who ran in the Manchester and Belfast runs earlier this summer. The first UK Color Run in Wembley on Sunday, July 14, had space for 15,000 participants.

The event supports Cancer Research UK’s Stand Up To Cancer campaign, although other charities have block booked their places in Brighton.

With the runners taking over Madeira Drive, Rafferty says the best place for spectators is on the beach path by the Volks Railway – although prepare to get messy if you get too close.

“We haven’t had a rainy event yet,” says Rafferty. “Our colleagues from the States have said that the rain makes it lots more fun for the participants, but as a clean-up it’s a nightmare!

“The Manchester Color Run was the second biggest mass participation event in the North East this year and we were told that Belfast had become the biggest mass participation event in the history of Northern Ireland.

“Finishing the season in Brighton, running along Madeira Drive with the pier in the background, will be an absolute blast.

“And with all the feedback from London, Belfast and Manchester, we have the expertise to make it the best.

“For 2014 we want to expand to more venues – but Brighton is definitely still on the list.”

  • The Color Run takes place on Madeira Drive, Brighton, on Saturday, September 14. Starts 11am, spectators free. Visit www.thecolorrun.co.uk/brighton