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Submitted by dh
November 26, 2013
Review
As with all races it seems there are always an extra fee. So you do these types of runs on a regular basis, you are already used to it. I actually don’t mind the extra $5 fee to be able to pick up the race packet the day of versus not having that option at all. Saves gas money for me and hours of being stuck on the freeway to spend 5 minutes to pick up a race packet.
Race day pick up was very easy. Lots of people to help check you in. Merchandise was easy to go through. Volunteers were as helpful as they could be. Remember people, volunteers are there for a few hours, they don’t know everything there is to know about the run, but they do their best and they were very nice.
Getting to the start line was easy. They tossed out many give away items before each wave left. It was very family friendly, which was great! This was the first time I have taken my young children to a night run and they are hooked. They can’t wait to do another Electric Run.
I was very impressed there were so many areas you could stop and take pictures. The amount of themed areas were awesome.
The route was easy and even in the dark areas, you could here music and see the illumination from the next area.
At the finish line volunteers handed out granola bars. It was nice to have vendors selling food and drinks at the post party.
The post party was lively and looked as if everyone was having a good time and again they tossed out countless amounts of goodies to the crowd.
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Submitted by Blush
November 8, 2013
Review
Packet pick up was very easy. There were lots of people ready to help you. There are lots of incidental fees with this race. $7 processing fee, $5 to pick up packet on race day, $10 for parking at the OC fairgrounds. That’s $22 that’s not included in registration fee! So boohoo for that.
The run was so fun! THe DJ was giving out a lot of giveaways before the run. It was very upbeat. All the lights were so pretty.
The actual run was so fun with all the lights. There were lots of places for picture opportunities.
Post race was great with a upbeat party with lots of people dancing. There were granola bars, water and rockstar drinks for post race food. If you brought money, there were a lot of vendors. It did feel like a party post race and I had a wonderful time.
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Submitted by jyamastoker
May 21, 2013
Review
Electric run looked better on video promo than the actual race itself. Didn’t like that the race start was delayed for the arrival of Carmen Electra. It had rained that afternoon at the OC fairgrounds so part of the course was all muddy. The music was just so-so before and during the race. What made it fun was seeing all the race participants all lit up. Race course was very loopy and narrow. I did like some of the lit umbrella displays and the lit rainbow arches. But the worse part was the very long wave start. We were fortunate that we had lined up near the start line. Some of the participants near the back of the start chute didn’t start until about an hour after the 1st wave started. Since the OC location was the inaugural, we got a break on the race entry fees. Don’t think we will be back. It’s just too expensive for a 5K.
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Submitted by perks
December 2, 2012
Review
I had a great time. I run for the fun of it and theme runs make it fun. I don’t aim to be first and know I won’t be last so just kick back run and enjoy the sites. Thought the delay up front was a bummer but had fun seeing all the lights people wore. Nothing can be done about rain and mud so just not an issue for people to complain about. I had a great evening with fun memories. Can’t wait for the run at Del Mar. Favorite part was the rainbow arches. They were cool to run thru.
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Submitted by Stephanie Phonsiri
December 1, 2012
Review
Definitely a fun run!! Nicely decorated with LED lighting. Parking and pre-race need some more organization. All in all definitely worth the run.
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Submitted by runboy
December 1, 2012
Review
I had some apprehension about running at night along side a bunch of crazies with LEDs and glow sticks, but overall I’d say it was a pretty darn good time. The old statement that you can’t be something for everybody is true. Fun runs are all the craze now and the mix of a run with extras is always risky. If you are a serious runner, you should probably steer clear of any run that involves LEDs, water-parks, colored powder, or mud. You already know that your time will be impeded and there is probably going to be a bunch of ladies trying to run with double-wide strollers.
There wasn’t a bunch of pictures on the website to go by so I used my brain and read the text. Their statement is quite clear “The Electric Run is a 5k run, a show, participation art, and celebration of life. ” and “Participants will join in the show by lighting up with glow sticks”. Anyone with a brain who as ever used a glow stick should know that glow-sticks are thin disposable sticks of plastic and the put together by tiny crappy connectors. It’s not a hard stretch to the imagination that these little sticks would break loose when running and be all over the ground. It’s not hard to think that trying to run in the dark with little pieces of plastic might pose a running risk. The run was held at night, so no surprise that they weren’t able to light the entire way. The FAQ page was pretty clear that “There will be only a few sections that do not have any lighting elements and these sections will be very short.”
Nobody has control over the weather, so you really shouldn’t belly ache about a puddle or two or four or nine.
The race started late and that was a bummer. I think due to the organizers trying to get extra photo shots of Carmen Electra. May she arrived late, I don’t know, but that was dumb and could have been avoided.
The course was good but someone should have thought of a way to avoid the areas of the fairgrounds that had mud. (One area smelled like horse doodie)
The biggest disappointment was the last 500 feet which I had expected would have been bathed in colors and projections like the ones I saw on the walls of the first two or three turns. Where was the “Tunnels with dancing patterns and figures on the walls, ceilings, and floors” and “Entire buildings lit so brightly that they can be seen from space” ? The finish was a bit of a let down.
The Southern Comfort drinks at the end was a nice treat and the free goodies and dancing was fun as well.
I think the majority of the crowd was happy to be out in the night for some good fun.
Overall it gets a B. It was dubbed a “Fun Run” and it was fun.
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Submitted by JJG10101
December 1, 2012
Review
Well, I was thinking there would be more.. LIGHT! There were a few places that had *zero* lights, just a bunch of traffic cones. C’mon, we should have run through a building or two, there are plenty on the fairgrounds. I also didn’t see *any* black-light type of effects, although I’m not sure they would even work outdoors. As for running through a muddy stadium, eh.. I could’ve done without that. Finally, I could have sworn the web site mentioned a finisher’s medal.. which didn’t happen. Looks like that text was recently removed. Medals are almost a given these days, at EVERY race. Oh well..
Long story short: I had fun, but there were a number of glitches.
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Submitted by jess2310
December 1, 2012
Review
This is will be my first and last Electric Run, given the price ($55) and the great looking pictures online I was expecting to have my mind blown. This event was a let-down for my group and I, but kudos to the people who got creative and went all out with their costumes!
PRE-RACE: Packet Pick-Up SUCKED! The email that was sent out stated that we pickup our packets on either Wednesday or Thursday before the race OR pay $5 to pick it up at the race, coming from a big group, I just decided to pick it up for everyone instead of having everyone pay the additional $5. After picking up the packets, they sent out another email saying that we can pick up our packets at the race for free. Make up your mind people! waste of my time! People work during the weekdays, LA traffic sucks, especially during the rain! I live in Pasadena, and took about 2 hours just to get to Torrance.
COURSE: When I first got to the Fairgrounds, I was pretty ecstatic seeing everyone in some of the coolest costumes, we got to the starting line and the MC was good, he got us hyped up. Once we went past that starting line, it went all down hill from there. The course was hard to run because there were glowsticks everywhere, mud, puddles of water, and I felt like I was dodging giant air balloon balls the whole time from people kicking them around. The lighting and the decorations were so bad! A tree with hanging upside down umbrellas??? what a joke. The water station with neon plastic cups looked cool at first but became hazardous when people threw them on the ground, and others stepping on them causing shards of plastic to fly everywhere. This was not a serious race, actually not even a race at all, this event is not timed nor do you receive a medal at the end. it’s something more for the family to enjoy, there were a lot of kids and strollers.
Overall Electric Run was a waste of time, money, and effort. There were 10,000 people,and all that money that they had received did not go to any good causes, so I expected them to dish out something spectacular!
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Submitted by GardenPedal
December 1, 2012
Review
I am thankful that I won the entry to the Electric Run OC through RaceGrader. My friend had to pay $55 for her entry and I don’t think she was too happy at the end of the evening. Besides the entry fee, all the participants put down some extra cash for all the light-ups they were wearing.
The race is held at night and was set to start at 7 p.m. We got there early enough that we were in the first few hundred to enter the starting chute. It was interesting to see all the different ways people had decorated themselves with glo-sticks. At 7:10 p.m. we were still standing in the starting chute and some people around us started to yell. A few people wearing black hoodies outlined in glo-sticks came out on the raised dias and danced around. I guess that was suppose to take our minds off the fact that the run had not started and it was cold and it was drizzling. Then they threw a lot of huge balls out into the waiting crowd which entertained some for another several minutes. Finally, Carmen Electra (why didn’t we see that coming?) came out and counted down to start the run.
I keep typing in race, and then have to go back and change it to RUN because there was NO race. Everyone was wearing a bib, but it was just token. No one was chipped and nothing was timed. There were no winners, no awards, no real finish line.
We ran up and down through the parking lot at the Orange County Fair Grounds. We ran through the muddy arena. We ran through Centennial Farms on the grounds, though you really couldn’t see anything because it was dark. We walked through some places where the water had gathered in BIG puddles and we walked on lots of slippery pavement. My friend and I decided that since this RUN wasn’t timed and no one was keeping track, it definitely was not worth trying to hurry through the course and slip and fall and hurt ourselves – something I did see several people do.
I do give kudos to the way the Electric Run used lighting to psychadelically light our way. My favorite was the swirling images on the trees.
This RUN is not for the serious minded, but it is a nice, fun way for families with children to get involved in a physical activity. I saw lots of families with small children running – children as young as 3 and 4, which made it a little dangerous when college-aged runners came plowing through. There were lots of parents pushing strollers. There were lots of younger people walking and jogging through the course.
For the cost of the entry and the cost of all the glow-stick paraphernalia, I recommend one just buy themselves a good reflective running vest and some lights, grab some friends and run around your neighborhood, hopefully, for more than just one night.
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