This is a fabulous pre-Thanksgiving event. There are several Thanksgiving morning races in my area, but I will actually bypass the one in my neighborhood to come to this one. While I haven't attempted the half yet, the 6K is a great way to jumpstart my morning, so I can then get home and start cooking.

T-SHIRTS/SWAG - Cute, gender-specific tech shirt, cute finisher's medal. Really can't beat either of those things.

AID STATIONS - There are one or two water stops along the 6K route. Volunteers are always sweet.

COURSE SCENERY - The course winds through some really lovely, shaded residential areas. It's nice to look at the different houses along the way and the trees keep the sun from beating down too hard.

EXPO QUALITY - No expo. Packet pickup is any of the 1st Place Sports running store or on race morning.

ELEVATION DIFFICULTY - This is a pretty fast race. There is one incline in the middle, but I hesitate to even call it a hill.

PARKING/ACCESS - The race start is on a main roadway, and parking is available at the different shopping centers around, leaving runners with a quick walk to the start line. Couldn't be easier.

RACE MANAGEMENT - 1st Place Sports always puts on a great event. This race is inevitably one of my fastest, for reasons completely unknown to me. There are plenty of port-a-potties, water and bananas at the finish, and a few vendors set up with samples for the finishers and spectators.

This has easily become a Turkey Day tradition for me. One day, I'll try to go for that 13.1.