HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – When it comes to community, the Lake County Milers always comes up a winner.

And 2012 will be no different, with the 10th annual Spring Has Sprung Run/Walk on Sunday, May 20, demonstrating the club’s commitment to both the physical fitness of its members and giving back to local causes.

Two Lake County high school running groups will again receive a large portion of the net proceeds from the 5K/10K race.

The annual fitness event in Hidden Valley Lake will feature a flat 5K run and walk, as well as a challenging 10K run with hills and panoramic views.

Kids ages 4 to 10 can participate in their own 1/2K and 1K timed runs. Start and finish for all races will be at Coyote Valley Elementary School, 18950 Coyote Valley Road (take the Hartman Road exit off Highway 29 and turn at the first left).

The kids’ races are set for 8 a.m., followed by the 5K/10K for ages 11 and above at 8:30 a.m. Event-day registration is from 7:15 a.m. to 8 a.m. Prizes and medals will be awarded starting at 10 a.m.

Early registration through May 10 is $30 for adults and $20 for youths 19 and under for the 5K/10K (with fees going up $5 thereafter).

Entry for the kids’ races is $5 through race day. A large portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Middletown High School and Upper Lake High School cross-country teams.

Participants can register online (at RunSignUp.com) or with a mail-in form from the Milers’ Web site, www.lakecountymilers.com .

New at this year’s race will be a mini-expo, where participants can browse booths and displays from the event’s sponsors.

“Business sponsors in Lake County and beyond have always been so supportive of our event and they have come on board in a special way this year,” said Milers President Jeanine Burnett.

Joining Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District, which has been the star sponsor of the event since 2004, is Calpine Corp., which operates the Geysers geothermal plant in Lake County.

As star sponsors, each organization imparts a special message: the HVL Community Services District is promoting Water Awareness Month; Calpine, which takes an active role in its employees’ fitness, is committed to sustainability.

“Spring Has Sprung gets better every year and we have an event full of exciting activities for the whole family,” Burnett said, noting the mini-expo, race giveaway bags stuffed with extras like a BPA-free water bottle and merchant coupons, and the kids’ races. “The Milers truly want the whole family to get off the couch and get active. It is not about just kids being in sports – mom and dad need to be healthy also. Physical fitness is for a lifetime. Running and walking routinely does much to further that goal and it takes very little equipment.”

In addition to providing an opportunity to get the family out for a competitive fitness event, Spring Has Sprung features other inducements.

Everyone who enters the 5K or 10K by May 10 will receive a tech T-shirt (with this year’s logo, pictured above), and all entrants in the kids’ races will get a coupon for a free frozen yogurt from Big Chill. Runners and walkers in the 5K and 10K will vie for overall first-place awards in both men’s and women’s divisions: a one-night stay at the Twin Pine Casino Hotel in Middletown plus a $50 dining certificate at the casino’s restaurants.

Overall first-, second- and third-place winners in the 5K and 10K will receive commemorative photo awards provided by Middletown Florist and Gifts as well as gift certificates from Heart & Sole Sports of Santa Rosa.

Plus, first-, second- and third-place finishers in age and gender divisions for the 5K and 10K run will take home medals.

Additionally, all participants will be eligible for a race-day raffle, featuring prizes of gift certificates, merchandise and services from Lake County and beyond.

Besides Star Sponsors (HVL Community Services District and Calpine) and Gold Sponsor (Twin Pine Casino), Silver and Bronze Sponsors include Hardester’s Markets of Lake County, Happy Smiles Dental Practice (Middletown), St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake, Heart & Sole Sports (Santa Rosa), Clearlake Dental, Middletown Florist and Gifts, Jolly Kone (Middletown), and Lakeport Ford, along with (all from Hidden Valley Lake) Mountain High Coffee and Books, Chic Le Chef, Muscle Matrix Gym, the Big Chill Frozen Yogurt Shop, and the Corkman’s Clipper Irish Pub.

For an entry form and other instructions, call 707-987-3229.

For a small additional convenience fee, participants can register online by following the link at http://www.lakecountymilers.com/index.php/spring-has-sprung /. Or they can simply print out the registration form on the website page and mail it in.

The Milers running and walking group meets every Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in two locations: the parking lot of Hardester’s Hidden Valley Lake shopping center (Hartman Road exit off Highway 29) and in Kelseyville in front of Studebaker’s Coffeehouse, 3990 Main St. The public is warmly invited.

Additionally, longer training runs are generally scheduled for Sundays. To find out more about the Lake County Milers call 707-987-3229 or visit www.lakecountymilers.com .