The dark side of ILLUMI RUN 2016

ILLUMI RUN 2016 didn't shine as bright as it could have.

Audrey Leong

Published: 19 December 2016, 2:12 PM

I spent the week before the ILLUMI RUN getting really excited about my very first party run.

By the end of the 5km fun run, however, I left feeling slightly underwhelmed.

The 5km run, held last Saturday at Sentosa’s Palawan Green, left about 6,000 runners soaked in glowing paint throughout the trail.

This year’s race featured two new additions: the race was moved to a new venue at Sentosa, and featured a brand new a 30-metre long inflatable glow slide.

Frankly, I was more afraid of falling in the dark than anything else.

Plus point: The SWAG BAG was really full of swag.

When I first set foot at the ILLUMI Village, I was greeted with ground-shaking bass from the music blasting from the speakers. I struggled to keep my expectations reasonable.

I changed my Christmas carols from ‘Let It Snow’ to ‘Let It Glow’, and started singing ‘Frosty The Glowman’, determined to get into the spirit of getting glowed up.

We spotted some guys decked in pink skirts.

As the sun continued to set, we were ushered into the start zone, where we were doused with bucketfuls of paint by the ILLUMINATORS. After the flag off, we sprinted immediately – for about 10 metres, actually – before we settled into a brisk walk towards the tents in the trail.

There was paint everywhere (some ended up in our mouths), but no one was complaining.

To coincide with this year’s Neon Paradise theme, each of the five tents featured different worlds: Cosmic Land, Candy Pop, A Beach Life, Flower Dreams, and the Laser Rainforest.

As we went entered Cosmic Land, the ILLUMINATORS, armed with glow water guns, made sure that no one left unscathed. We took a few photos and moved along swiftly, feeling high on the music that was pumping from the speakers placed in front of the tent.

After leaving the tent, however, our energy levels dropped drastically. Silence consumed us and the batteries in our light sticks and glasses started to power down, mirroring our adrenaline levels as well.

This cycle repeated for another four times, with almost the same décor.

As parts of the trail also extended to the beach, any attempt to walk properly was futile. I stumbled and fell, while the other runners laughed at me.

By the end of the race, a Goliath-sized crowd was already partying, but our own energy levels had stooped too low. I found it hard to get the hype going. I had no idea how the other runners managed to stay upbeat after the run.

So, I chose to sit behind the crowd and chill out. Am I getting to old for this?

Thankfully, feeding off the energy of my group kept us going.

These girls were completely covered and were still screaming for more.

The canons managed to reach the runners at the back of the crowd.

Instead of joining the crowd of prepubescent teenagers trying to party to ‘PPAP’ (what a #MajorTurnOff), I headed to the Glow Slide, which I had been looking forward to all week.

No amount of capitalised words would be able to encompass my love for inflatable slides, and my love for all things that glow.

The first of its kind, the slide promised to get runners soaking wet in glow water. However, it was more of a belly slide rather than a playground slide. You had to run and slide along, which required some effort.

It definitely got me soaking wet, but I was laughing more at the fact that I kept falling.

I was so excited, I fell twice on the slide. Photo Credits: Youth.sg/Ronney Poh

Overall, the race ended on a somewhat low note, with us feeling like we were too old for the event, even though I spotted a few ladies who looked at least 20 years older.

Well, I would definitely return next year – only if I was highly intoxicated.

Check out our Facebook page for more photos of ILLUMI RUN 2016!