I usually don't make a habit of traveling to run the same race more than once. There's a simple reason for that - with all of the goals I have for different combinations of places I want to run in, there's a lot of traveling that I need to do, so even if I really love a race or its location, unless it happens to be in or around the Chicago area, it's hard for me to justify paying for a flight, rental car, hotel, meals, etc., to do a race in a place that's already been checked off of my list. I have a number of races that I'd like to go back and do again after I finish all of the others, but Arizona is probably the one place that I'll make an exception for. I don't mind going back to do races there (especially when they're held between January and March) even though I've already done a number of them. The people, the desert scenery, the chance to get away from Chicago winters and go someplace warm for a few days, and the chance that I might even get to catch a hockey game while I'm there all make it an ideal place to go.

I wrote a separate review of the 2007 race that you can read if you're interested. The race in 2010 was a lot warmer and was more like what I would expect Phoenix to be like in January. The course was exactly the same though and when I look back on it now, I can say that this was one of the biggest reasons I decided to start looking at other races in different locations that I hadn't been to before. I realized that even if it's a really good race, running the exact same course over and over again can get old. But I did have a great time and it was nice to go back and run the race again without feeling like my legs were going to turn into ice cubes. I also took some time to do a few other things while I was there the second time too, so if you do this race and you're looking for some things to do around Phoenix during the rest of the weekend, here are a few suggestions:

Climb to the top of the "A" mountain in Tempe. This is a small mountain next to the ASU campus with a 60 foot steel A attached to the side. There's a trail that goes to the top of the mountain and it's not really steep or long - it takes less than a half hour to get from the base all the way to the top and you'll get some spectacular views of the Phoenix skyline on one side and the desert and mountains on the other.

The race is in January, which is right in the middle of hockey season.... so if the Coyotes are at home, check out game. Being a Blackhawks fan, I'm used to tickets being expensive and selling out quickly so I was kinda surprised to find $20 seats available on game day that were in a pretty decent section of the stadium.

Or take a drive up to Sedona, which is quite possibly one of the most beautiful towns in the United States. It's only about 2 1/2 hours away and you won't be disappointed.

As far as parking and picking a hotel to stay at goes: the start line is in Phoenix and the finish line is in Tempe, and there are shuttle buses that will take you from the finish line to the start line before the race, but not the other way around. The way it works is that runners park near ASU in the morning, take the shuttle to the start line and then their cars are waiting for them after the race. If you park near the start line, you’re on your own as far as finding a way back. So in 2007, I stayed in Phoenix and had to navigate around the road closures to get to Tempe on race morning, but in 2010, I stayed in Tempe and getting to the start line was much easier. So my suggestion would be to ignore the suggested hotels in Phoenix that are on the race website and find a place to stay in Tempe. There are tons of nice hotels that are close to ASU and some are even walking distance from the campus, which is ideal because if you stay in one of them you won’t need to worry about driving anywhere on race morning.

The course itself was nice and flat and fast. There are a few miles in the middle that go through part of Scottsdale that aren’t particularly scenic but the rest of the course is beautiful – you’re surrounded by mountains and desert scenery almost the entire time. After the race, there’s a big party at ASU and with Tempe being a college town, a lot of the local bars have food and drink specials for runners who bring in their medals.

As far as the other details like the expo, race medals, etc...., I can't complain about any of it - the Rock n Roll marathons have always been pretty well organized and have offered some pretty nice bling and if anything, they've only gotten bigger and better since I did these races. So if you're looking for a good race to do in January, definitely check this one out.