Electric Run Prepares to Light Up Memorial Day Weekend in Los Angeles with Host Vanessa Hudgens and Other Special Guests

LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Run, the country's brightest and most outrageous 5K run/walk, is coming to Los Angeles on Friday, May 24th with actress Vanessa Hudgens leading the pack through a technicolor wonderland weaving throughout Home Depot Center in Carson. Electric Run LA will partner with Smile Train, donating a portion of proceeds to the nonprofit that brings smiles to children's faces by providing a child born with a cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without a cleft.

Electric Run is like no other run: the original spectacular of its kind has attracted over 100,000 Day-Glo clad participants, including Carmen Electra and Seth Rogan, to its events. The all-ages, nighttime event features premier musical acts, an energized crowd and over 1 million watts of mesmerizing light art installations, such as glowing neon trees, rainbow-hued tunnels and lit-up lakes.

"With Electric Run, our goal is to bring more to the table than your traditional 5K — the run becomes a performance in itself," said Dan Hill, founder of Electric Run. "We've hand picked talented artists from Coachella, Dreamworks, Disney and the hottest shows in Vegas and beyond who've come on board to specifically design our electric wonderland."

Electric Run LA promises to be a star-studded event from start to finish. Hudgens will be kicking off the race and Charissa Saverio, aka DJ Rap, the undisputed queen of the turntables, will be pumping up the runners at the finish line. Electric Run has also partnered with leading active lifestyle brand Neff Headwear, creating Neffmau5 Land, an EDM wonderland dedicated solely to the Deadmau5 x Neff collaboration. Neffmau5 Land is a special section of the 5K course with Deadmau5 music pumping and special Neffmau5 lights and visuals mixed into the race track.

At its core, Electric Run is founded upon giving back to the community. With each event, Electric Run donates proceeds to a philanthropy in which it firmly believes. Partnering with Smile Train for the second time now was an easy decision.

"To partner with an organization such as Electric Run that focuses on celebration and smiling is particularly special to Smile Train and brings much needed awareness to our mission to help children suffering from cleft. We are so grateful to be the beneficiary of the LA race and hope to continue doing so in many years to come," said Troy Reinhart, Director of Donor Engagement for Smile Train.

Online registration for Electric Run LA is between $45 and $60 depending on registration dates and volunteers are also encouraged to sign up at www.electricrun.com/losangeles. 

Over 10,000 people are expected to participate in Electric Run LA. Electric Run has expanded to over 70 cities nationwide, including San Francisco, Austin, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Portland, Madison and Seattle.

For more information about this or any Electric Run events visit: www.electricrun.com

About Electric Run

Developed by Ragnar Relay founder Dan Hill, the Electric Run is taking the world by storm with it's one-of-a-kind nighttime race series. Over a million watts of light and sound transform the 5k courses into incredible electric wonderlands. A team of the industry's best set designers expertly crafts each of the course light shows—unique to each city. The Electric Run has recruited talented designers behind some of the nation's most popular music festivals including Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, and more. Participants are encouraged to join in by lighting up with glow sticks, LEDs and anything else their imagination can conjure up. For more information visit www.electricrun.com.

About Smile Train

Smile Train's mission is to provide a child born with a cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without a cleft. We provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive care to hundreds of thousands of poor children in developing countries and train doctors and medical professionals in over 80 countries.

Unlike many charities that do many different things, Smile Train's mission is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate. Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where more than a million children are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly and aren't allowed to attend school or hold a job. They face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. Their clefts usually go untreated because they are poor - too poor to pay for a simple surgery that has been around for decades. We want our mission to be yours. http://www.smiletrain.org/

SOURCE Electric Run