Las Vegas Motor Speedway is inviting the community to lace up and bundle up for the PJ 5K Run and 1-Mile Walk through Glittering Lights, a holiday charity event that turns the speedway's drive-thru light display into a course for runners, walkers, stroller-pushers and leashed dogs on Sunday, November 15 at 4:30 p.m.
The event, presented by Coyote Springs Golf Club, gives participants a chance to move through the display on foot, according to KTNV Las Vegas. Glittering Lights itself spans 2.5 miles and features more than 5 million LED lights, according to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, while KTNV's own report on the event puts the display's bulb count at six million lights. Every dollar raised through the race benefits children in need across Southern Nevada, per the station's report.
Runners who want to lock in a spot ahead of time can pick up their packets on Friday, November 13, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Velocity Vegas in Town Square, according to Speedway Children's Charities. Same-day registration opens at the track at 3 p.m., giving latecomers an hour and a half before the 4:30 p.m. start.
What Runners Get for Lacing Up
Every registered participant walks away with a race bib, a finisher medal, light snacks and beverages, plus a $5 discount voucher toward drive-thru admission to Glittering Lights later in the season, per the same account from Speedway Children's Charities. KTNV adds that finishers are treated to cookies and milk at the finish line, and awards go out to the top overall male and female finishers.
There's an extra incentive for runners willing to donate: anyone who brings a new pair of children's pajamas to the event is entered into a raffle for two tickets to the March 2027 NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the organization notes. The pajama donation drive adds a community-giving element to the race's festive theme.
A Long-Running Local Fundraising Machine
The PJ 5K is one piece of a much larger fundraising operation. Speedway Children's Charities Las Vegas has distributed more than $7 million to local children's organizations since launching its Southern Nevada chapter in 1999, according to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Just last December, the chapter awarded $493,753.26 in grants to 98 local nonprofit organizations during its annual ceremony at the speedway, the track reported, and that annual grant pool is fed in part by proceeds from events like the PJ 5K and Glittering Lights admissions.
Paulette Anderson serves as executive director of Speedway Children's Charities, with Curt Russell as director of operations, according to KTNV. The Las Vegas chapter also raises money through Laps for Charity on the speedway oval, the Drive for Charity Golf Tournament, and the Brendan Gaughan Celebrity Blackjack Tournament, Las Vegas Motor Speedway notes — a schedule Hoodline covered in a September Laps for Charity report that also featured comments from Anderson.
Nationally, Speedway Children's Charities was founded in 1982 by Speedway Motorsports founder Bruton Smith after the loss of his young son, and the organization has since awarded more than $72.7 million across its 11 track-based chapters, including over $4 million in 2024 alone, per Speedway Children's Charities.
Where the Money Lands Locally
Some of that funding flows to hunger-relief efforts like Serving Our Kids, which supplies weekend meal bags to 4,000 food-insecure children across 95 Clark County schools, according to Serving Our Kids. It's a concrete example of how a festive night of jogging past LED-lit displays translates into meals for local students during the school week.
The speedway itself, located near Nellis Air Force Base, spans more than 1,200 acres and features a 1.5-mile tri-oval track built in 1996 for $72 million, according to Hoodline's prior reporting on the venue. The grounds regularly host major multi-day sporting and community events, with Glittering Lights running annually from November through early January and donating a portion of every individual ticket sold back to Speedway Children's Charities.
