Packet Pick-up was at Ward Parkway Mall and was very easy. This packet pick-up was at Genesis Health Club, but the sign on the door still said 24-hour Fitness. Unlike my previous race packet-pickup at a Genesis location, the race organizations for this race mentioned in their email that Genesis purchased 24-hour Fitness, so it was clear we were at the right place.

Because the race begins at a shopping mall, there was plenty of parking. The mall entrance was also open, even though the stores were not, so it was nice to be able to wait indoors for the race since it was a little cold that morning.

The course is a nice road race along Ward Parkway. The aid stations were well stocked with water, but nothing else was provided. I would have liked a little Gatorade has a 10k runner, but this wasn't a huge deal.

This was the first year that this race had a 10k distance. I was glad for the addition, but think that the routes could have been set up so much better. The 5k and 10k starting lines were in two different places, about one block apart. The 10k starting line was a block south of the 5k starting line - but both races started at the same time. This means that the fast 5k runners were quickly blocked by a wall of 10k runners, forcing them to jump into the grass to move to get around everyone. If I were a fast 5k person, I would be very frustrated about needing to jump a curb.

Because the 10k runners ran two loops of the 5k course, this again became an issue when 10k runners were coming around for their second lap, and began trying dodge those that were walking the 5k. Even as a middle of the pack runner, this began an issue for me. The 5k walkers didn't seem to have any clue that another distance was going on, and so weren't purposely in the way, and I think the race organizers could have done more to make everyone participating in both distances aware of how to give everyone involved the best possible race experience. I understand that road closures are difficult and inconvenient, but changing the course a little to better accommodate both distances could prevent some of these logistical issues.

This race provides a long sleeved thermal, which is very nice. And all finishers receive a 6' pumpkin pie. Those were the two reason that I signed up for this race! There were a few vendors at the finish line festival as well. It was not easy to tell where to get our pie, and we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure things out.

Because of the number of options for Thanksgiving Day race in the city, I honestly probably wouldn't run this one again.