Stretch it: The participants limbering up for the LED night run in i-City.

LEDs, the acronym for light-emitting diodes, are synonymous with i-City because a million of them transform the mixed-use development in Shah Alam into a sea of digital lights at night.

In the quest to create awareness on the qualities that energy-saving light bulbs possess, i-City on Saturday teamed up with the The Earth Runners to stage the inaugural LED Night Run.

As the premier LED tourism site in the heart of the Selangor state capital, i-City is doing its bit to encourage the Malaysian society to switch to LED lights from the energy-guzzling conventional incandescent light bulbs.

And what could be a better way to instil such awareness than to do it in a fun manner, given the LED Night Run was very much an outing to foster family bonding.

“Incandescent bulbs are gradually being replaced in many applications by various types of electric lights such as fluorescent lamps and more recently, by LED lighting,” said i-City information manager Tang Soke Cheng.

“Both developed and emerging economies such as the European Union, Canada, the US and even China, are in the process of phasing out the use of incandescent light bulbs.”

Truly mesmerised by the beauty of having been to a LED-lit fairyland can inspire participants of all ages to switch to the environmentally friendly LED lighting, said Tang.

The LED Night Run event which kicked off at 6.45pm attracted an estimated 6,000 participants.

The participants who were divided into three categories – with the shortest route covering a distance of 2.9km while the longest was 5.5km – were flagged off at 8.15pm from i-City.

Besides the run, particitpants were treated to music and performances by deejays and singers.

The Marathon Shop also organised a workshop on the technical aspects of the LED Night Run as well as manning the water stands and the route.

“Following the overwhelming support that we received from this inaugural LED Night Run, we are now considering making the event an annual affair in our event calendar.

“Given the space, infrastructure and facilities that i-City has to offer, i-City is getting noticed as a suitable venue for hosting events and activities such as corporate family days, team building, concerts and various other group functions,” said Tang

He added that the availability of rooms at the Best Western i-City hotel as well as a wide range of hospitality services were well-received by the participants and guests, especially those from other states or overseas.

“In the long-term, the hotel which has been operational since last December is poised to enhance the attractiveness of i-City as a businessand leisure destination with a weekly visitor count in excess of 90,000,” Tang said.

The Best Western i-City hotel will soon be joined by another four-star establishment managed by Hilton Worldwide which is expected to be ready in 2018.