The With or Without You 5K takes place yearly at the Brook Run Park in Dunwoody around Valentine's day. This was my second year participating in the race and their first year of holding the race at night instead of in the morning. Aside from the normal age groups, you can also run as a couple and finish together to qualify in the fastest couple category. Ran alone this time and it was my first race of 2017.

Swag
There's no bag of goodies however, you do get a long sleeve shirt, box of chocolate, and a participation medal. The design for the medal and on the shirt were more on the Ed Hardy side, which is a shame since the shirt is pretty nice quality especially for a local 5K. First Watch provides plenty of food and drinks after the race, such as freshly made pancakes, bananas, OJ, and other snacks.

Course
The course is a basic loop with a few gradual hills to consider, nothing major but it definitely is not a flat course. It is all paved with a few wooden bridges about a mile in which makes it a pretty fast course. I was hoping to get a fast time however, i forgot to take my inhaler before the race (exercise induced asthma) so I finished around 26 minutes instead of the 24 minutes I was aiming for.

Verdict
The course is suitable for new runners, as you can train the exact course on your own before the race and the course lends it self a quick pace. I personally prefer morning races as I know what and when to eat prior to the race and night races are always hit or miss for me. I will definitely do this race in 2018 if my schedule allows it.

Race Day Gear:
Headphones: Aftershockz
https://aftershokz.com/collections/wireless/products/trekz-titanium

Shirt: Nike Zonal Cooling
https://www.nike.com/t/zonal-cooling-mens-training-top-KK3M7l

Shorts: Asics

Socks: Rabbit Swiftwick
https://www.runinrabbit.com/collections/goodies/products/rabbit-x-swiftwick-ankle-socks-ink-puffins

Leg Sleeves: 2XU

Shoes: Asics Gel Noosa Tri 9

This was the inarguable Jingle Jog in Cartersville, Georgia. It is held on the first weekend in December and will be next year as well. All the proceeds from the race go to "Small Bridges" Adoption Solutions (www.smallbridges.org) which wonderful! Since this is a new race and a smaller local race, the swag consisted of a soft short sleeve. Granted, it's a nice soft shirt so I was fine with nothing else.
The course itself is exactly the same as the Turkey Trot held at the same location in November. It is a fairly flat course with a nice down hill after the first mile and another at the final half a mile. There is one gradual uphill after the second mile, which is not very difficult and does not slow your pace down much at all. My pace for this race was a flat 25min, which is actually faster than my Turkey Trot pace. The weather was perfect, 50 degrees and the sun just coming out when the races started. I do not remember seeing any aid stations on the course, I personally don't use an aid station during a 5K but it is something that should be there.
There was a 1mile 45min after the 5K started and a short dash for the younger children after that. Since this was their first race there was a long time waiting for the medals and results. It was a little long, but I can understand since the timing company and the organizer are new at this. They did a raffle before the medals with a lot of cool prizes from the sponsors. Overall, I really enjoyed the race, the medals, and the shirt.

United Way holds a Turkey Trot 5K each year the weekend before thanksgiving, with an opportunity to win a frozen turkey if you finish 1st in your age division. Although I never won a frozen turkey, I really enjoy this race. The only swag to get is a long sleeve tee. There is plenty of food and beverages both before and after the course, but there is no bag of swag like at most races.
The course is comprised of large sidewalks or the road. The race is held at river walk, a 2.5mile loop for walking, running, or biking. To make the course a full 5K, they guide you along a road and back into the loop. The road and course is well marked with people waving flags and directing you at each turn as well as someone at each mile to tell you the current time. There is one aid station around the halfway point with water, I normally don't use aid stations in a 5K but this one did look smaller. The course is pretty flat with a long down hill just passed the halfway point and again at the very end. The only up hill is around the 2 mile mark and it is a long gradual incline which makes it easy to keep your pace.
This year was much warmer than in the past, around 49 degrees, which allowed me to keep a fairly consistent pace of 8min 20seconds for almost the entire race. It is a good race for those new to running or looking for a race that will not take too much out of you. This was their first year doing chip timing so there was some time to wait to hear the results. I also was told that the course may change next year as the river walk loop is being expanded.
Since I last did this race, I joined a run club (primarily for the speed drills) and have going to jiu jitsu classes more. I hit a PR recently in one mile run but my 5K time and pace hadn't dropped that significantly. This year I managed a sub 26min 5K and got first in my age group, which means....free turkey!!

Shoes: Asics Tri-noosa
Headphones: Aftershockz
Shirt: Nike
Shorts: Asics
Socks: Asics
Sleeves: 2XU

This race has been held for many years, but this is the first time I've participated in it. The race is held at the Rose Garden Museum in downtown Cartersville with plenty of parking available at the library, which is just a block away. The race takes place the same morning as the Roselawn’s May Market festival so there is plenty of vendors to visit after the race before the medal announcement.
Race: The course is very fast and actually a little under 3.1 miles. Overall it is a forgiving course and you can keep a steady pace with little need to slow down if you adjust to the few hills. It includes three hills and one rather steep hill that ends in a turn. The course is laid out with large blue signs at each curve and plenty of volunteers to point you in the right direction. The event organizers close off most of the roads from traffic, however there was one 4-way stop where traffic was still coming and a car came up behind me. This is definitely an aspect they need to correct in the future as I was literally a foot away from the car as it passed me. There was only one aid station throughout the race and it was a set up near the halfway point. I rarely go to an aid station in a 5K, but they could of used a second aid station as a lot of runners were looking for one earlier on. The end of the race comes up quick and consists of a slight downhill that curves into the finish line. The standard medal ceremony, consisting of overall finisher medals and then first through third place medals per age group, does not happen at this race. They only hand out medals for first place finishers in age groups of 10 years. I never like when a race changes the standard fiver year age group to ten years, the skill level and speed various so much in ten years that it is not a good way to award runners.
Swag: The swag is picked up after you finish. The shirt is a very soft tech tee that cuts a little larger than normal, which is great for running in the summer. The swag bag comes with a variety of items from the race sponsors such as a flashlight/tire pressure gage, a guide to all the places to visit in north east Georgia, and a legal pad and pen. Plus you can look around the fair for some local food and homemade crafts.
Verdict: I really enjoyed the run and the course and the shirt/swag are great! There are two things they need to improve on, closing roads for runner safety and standard age group and medals for 1st-3rd instead of just one medal for the fastest in a 10 year age group.