This years race was in Glendale at the Westgate Shopping center. This event is hosted by the same folks that host the Kiss me I'm Irish and the 12k's of Xmas. The 5k course was a single lap around Westgate and the AZ Cardinals stadium, while the 10k and the Plunger relay was 2 laps. The event had a local country radio station, a live band at the start line, and benefits 'Dogs on Deployment' an organization dedicated to assisting our soldiers while on deployment.

Pros: Fun festive atmosphere, easy parking (and freeway access), the course was well marked with live bands playing at several spots, ample water stations, plenty of encouraging volunteers and great job of traffic control. Also, huge improvement (over the Irish 8k) not having to run over walkers on the last mile.

Cons: 9:00AM race start -this is Phoenix and it is April, would have liked to see an earlier (and cooler) start time.

Neutral: The shirts (a redneck tank) are a huge improvement (over the Irish 8k) shirts, as these are the soft technical type, but still seemed to rub.

I would run this again and would invite others.

A huge thanks to the police working this event, they did an awesome job with traffic control, always making eye contact with the runners, gauging our approach/timing and getting us through traffic/intersections.