Race Discovery
Desert Classic Half Marathon & 5K January 23,

Desert Classic Half Marathon & 5K January 23,

Glendale, Arizona, United States View on map
Jan 23, 2027 (America/New_York local time)
Running

About this race

The Desert Classic is an Arizona original. Join the tradition this year on Saturday January 23rd for your choice of a half marathon or 5K race starting and finishing at Thunderbird Paseo Park, Glendale, AZ.  Both courses are professionally marked and chip timed.

Cost is $45 for the half marathon ($40 for ARR members), and $30 for the 5K ($25 for ARR members). Your ARR member discount will show on your total during checkout.  Prices go up after January 10th, to $50 for the half marathon and $35 for the 5K for both members and non-members.  

Half Marathoners must be 14 years of older on RACE day.  Note that the Half Marathon course will close at 11:30 am, 18 min/mi. pace.

Start Times:
Half Marathon:  7:30 am. 
5K:  8:15  am

Location:  Thunderbird Paseo Park, Glendale, AZ

Note:  Registration closes on RACE day morning at 7:00 am for the half marathon and 7:45 am for the 5k.  Registration on RACE day will only be through Run Sign Up.  There will be NO paper RACE day registrations.

Aid Stations:  There will be 6 aid stations for the Half Marathon with water and gatorade, and 2 Aid stations for the 5k, water only.

Finisher Medals:  In lieu of race shirts, all finishers in the Half and the 5K will receive a custom finisher medal. 

Prior Year Race shirts:  Will be available for sale on Race Day for $5, 3 for $10, Cash or Venmo.

Packet Pickup:  Bib numbers will be available for pickup on race day from 6:30 am – 8:00 AM.

Awards:  Both races will have 5-year age group awards (all awards will be based on chip time).

To Sign up to Volunteer:  

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904084EABA82BA7FE3-61269896-arrdesert

Pick your distance

Running

Half Marathon

The Desert Classic is an Arizona original. Join the tradition this year on Satruday January 24th, for your choice of a half marathon or 5K race starting and finishing at Thunderbird Paseo Park, 6011 W. Thunderbird Rd. in Glendale. Please note: Half marathoners must be 14 years or older on race day.

Jan 23, 2027 Half-Marathon 7:30 AM
$45.00
Open

5K

Come and join us on one of Arizona’s longest standing 5K runs. The 5K features professional chip timing, age group and overall awards.

Jan 23, 2027 5K 8:15 AM
$30.00
Open

Half Marathon Youth - Must be over 14

The half marathon features professional chip timing, age group and overall awards and much more. Please note: Half marathoners must be 14 years or older on race day.

Jan 23, 2027 Half-Marathon 7:30 AM
$5.00
Open

5K Youth

Come and join us on one of Arizona’s longest standing 5K runs. The 5K features professional chip timing, age group and overall awards.

Jan 23, 2027 5K 8:15 AM
$5.00
Open

Half Marathon - Young Adult (18-24) ARR Members only

Free for ARR members if registered by January 10th, 11:59 pm.

Jan 23, 2027 Half-Marathon 7:30 AM
$45.00
Open

5k - Young Adult (18-24) ARR Members only

Free for ARR members if registered by Janurary 10th, 11:59 pm.

Jan 23, 2027 5K 8:15 AM
$30.00
Open

Typical race-day weather

Based on 2 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Glendale, plus the 3 days either side.

Temp (°C)
Minimum temperature (race-week average) 8.8° / Maximum temperature (race-week average) 20.6°
Feels Like (°C)
Minimum feels like — heat index / wind chill (race-week average) 7.7° / Maximum feels like — heat index / wind chill (race-week average) 20.6°
Peak wind (km/h)
Strongest wind of the day (race-week average)
8.7
Precip (mm)
Precipitation over the day (race-week average)
0.0mm
Humidity
Mean relative humidity (race-week average)
31.8%
Sunrise
Sunrise at the start line on January 23, 2027 (EST)
Sunset
Sunset at the start line on January 23, 2027 (EST)
Daylight
Hours between sunrise and sunset on race day
10h 21m

The sun rises at 9:29 AM and sets at 7:51 PM local time (EST) in Glendale on January 23, 2027 — 10h 21m of daylight.

Course

No course map published yet.

The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.

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Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.

  • Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
  • Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
  • Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
  • Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 11 Glendale events

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