Under bright blue skies, 750 runners and 80 tiny “Bubble Toddlers” turned Taunton Racecourse into a kaleidoscope of powdered paint and foam bubbles on Saturday 17 May at the St Margaret’s Hospice Colour Run & Bubble Toddle. Thanks to their energy and the incredible generosity of family, friends and local businesses—an outstanding £35k was raised to fund hospice care across Somerset.
From the first blast of colour to the foam-filled sprint, the atmosphere was electric. Event comperes “The Two Steves” from Banging Floor Fillers kept feet moving and spirits high, spinning crowd-pleasing tunes while sharing the powerful stories of how every pound raised supports patients like Rob, a keen runner cared for by St Margaret’s, and his partner Alison. Their story reminded everyone that behind every colour splash lies comfort, dignity and moments together for local families facing life-limiting illness.
Highlights of the day included the main event – the 4 km Colour Run with waves of runners in bright white t-shirts who powered through four colour stations, emerging rainbow-bright and grinning ear to ear, the Bubble Toddle – toddlers aged 18 months – 5 years, who skipped through a cloud of bubbles to claim their well-earned certificates and prizes and the Family Fun Day Event Village – stalls, inflatables, games and mouth-watering local food kept the celebration going long after the finish-line confetti settled.
The event formed part of St Margaret’s 45th-anniversary year, and the community rose to the challenge of supporting this milestone. St Margaret’s is still tallying up sponsorship and donations, but the total is close to £35k with more expected still to come in.
St Margaret’s Event Manager, Merle Harrison-Croft said: “Seeing hundreds of colourful smiles and knowing that every one of them is helping another family receive expert hospice care is overwhelming. We couldn’t have asked for a better day—or better supporters.”
The hospice extends heartfelt thanks to paint station sponsors Avalon Plastics, Amicus Law, Koller Engineering, Nuffield Hospital and Clarke Willmott, local businesses such as Mademoiselle Desserts and Everyone Active Gym, and the army of volunteers, marshals and staff who made the magic happen.
Missed out? The Colour Run will be back next spring—ready to paint the county once more. Until then, donations can still be made at www.st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/donate. There are plenty of other ways to support the hospice before then though. St Margaret’s is launching an appeal to raise £100,000 in 36 hours. Called Every Moment Counts, the hospice is recruiting Champions to raise awareness of the appeal among their networks and encourage friends, family, colleagues and others in their community to donate during the 36 hours. Donations up to £50,000 will be doubled, thanks to matched funding pledged upfront. If you could be a Champion to support this appeal to help the hospice to continue providing care and moments of joy for patients and their families, visit st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/every-moment-counts to find out more and pledge your support.