Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona 2027: race days, start lines, drop-off and a chauffeured race morning

A race morning with Scottsdale Sprinters starts with the organiser’s own schedule, the day you run and a rider count. Runners and families lead with the Executive Black Sprinter, alcohol-free; friends staying for the Finish Line Festival ride a Limo Party Sprinter or the party bus; a run-cation takes the Maybach Jet Sprinter. This guide uses only facts the Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona organiser publishes, and turns the weekend into a written pickup, drop-off and ride home.

Last updated: September 27, 2026

Prices start at $125 an hour for the Luxury SUV (Suburban), which seats 6, on a 4-hour minimum, so the shortest booking is $500 before 8% tax. Every vehicle is booked by the hour at its published rate and minimum, with no per-seat pricing.

When is Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona 2027, and which race runs on which day?

Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona 2027 runs Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17, 2027, in Tempe: the 5K starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday the 10K starts at 7 a.m. and the half marathon follows; there is no full marathon on the 2027 program, and every race finishes by Tempe Beach Park. The organiser lists three distances for 2027: the Half Marathon, the 10K and the 5K. Its half-marathon start time differs between two of its own pages: 7:30 a.m. on the course overview and 7:40 a.m. on the event schedule, and both say times are subject to change. Check the organiser’s final information before you set the pickup. The weekend has run in the Valley for more than 20 years, and the organiser calls it a tri-city tour: the courses take in Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix, past the red sandstone formations of Papago Park, and end at the Finish Line Festival at Tempe Beach Park. The average air temperature it prints for race weekend is 68°F.

Where do runners get dropped off, and where do you park for Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona?

Sunday half-marathon and 10K runners are dropped off on Farmer Avenue just south of 5th Street, and Saturday 5K runners at 5th Street and Farmer; drivers who park use ASU Lot 59 on Sunday, at the southwest corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Packard Drive, or the ASU covered parking structures for the 5K, and the organiser recommends reserving a spot in advance. The organiser prints directions to the Farmer Avenue drop-off from the 202, from I-10 and from Tempe or the 60, and notes that taxis and ride-share apps serve Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale on race weekend. It prints the parking rates on its own page; we do not repeat them here. With a chauffeur there is no lot at all: we drop the runners where the organiser and race staff direct, take the cheer crew to the finish, and keep the dry layers and the post-race bag in the vehicle. Nobody hunts for a space before dawn.

Where do the Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona races start and finish?

The half marathon starts on S. Mill Avenue at 3rd Street in Tempe and the 10K on N. Mill Avenue north of E. Curry Road, and both finish on W. Rio Salado Parkway by Tempe Beach Park; the 5K starts and finishes at Tempe Beach Park, 80 West Rio Salado Parkway, by the Mill Avenue Bridge. The organiser gives the half marathon a 4-hour time limit, the 10K 2 hours and the 5K 1 hour, and notes that courses and times are subject to change. Its course maps are on the course overview page. Music lines the way: the organiser plans 13 entertainment and motivational stops on the half-marathon course and 10 on the 10K, with bands, DJs and cheer stations between the start and the finish.

Can you take light rail to Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona, and which roads close?

Yes: on Sunday Valley Metro Rail runs its Sunday schedule with extra trains before the races and after the finish; the closest station to the start is University Drive/Rural and the closest to the finish is Mill Ave/3rd St, and every rider, runners included, pays the fare; road closures for 2027 are not posted yet. The organiser’s traffic page says course and road-closure information will be posted as it becomes available, and suggests the Waze app to avoid race-day closures. We write no street or time here until it does. Flying in? The organiser points out that the free PHX Sky Train runs from the Sky Harbor terminals to the 44th Street station, which connects to Valley Metro Rail. A chauffeured group skips the transfers: one pickup at the airport or the hotel, one ride to the start.

Where and when is the Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona expo and packet pickup?

The Health & Fitness Expo is at Tempe Beach Park and is free and open to the public; it opens at 1 p.m. on Friday, January 15 and closes at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, January 16 it opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m.; every runner must collect a race number, gear bag and T-shirt there, with photo ID. Packets are handed out only at the expo, so plan the expo stop before race morning. The organiser adds a bonus Remix Challenge medal for runners who finish two distances over race weekend, the Saturday 5K and a Sunday race. The organiser’s schedule, its race-week page and its expo page do not print the same expo dates; the schedule and race-week pages say Friday, January 15 and Saturday, January 16, and the hours on all three agree. An expo run fits a short booking: the hotel, the expo and back.

Where do family and friends meet runners at the finish?

Just outside the Secure Zone: after the finish line runners enter a fenced Secure Zone for participants only, collect water and the finisher’s medal, then leave it to reclaim a gear bag and join family and friends at the Finish Line Festival at Tempe Beach Park, where the Encore Entertainment starts at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Once runners leave the Secure Zone they cannot go back in, and gear bags must be claimed before the Finish Line Festival closes on race day. The organiser has not announced the 2027 Encore line-up yet. The organiser prints no age rule, bag rule or closing time for the festival itself on its pages. Agree a meeting point near the park and a pickup time with your chauffeur in advance; the vehicle is there when the group is ready.

Can kids run Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona, and is it good for families?

Yes, from age 8: the organiser’s minimum ages are 8 for the 5K, 10 for the 10K and 12 for the half marathon, and there is no KiDS ROCK race in 2027, the organiser says; strollers and dogs are not allowed on any part of the course; for a family ride, our house rule applies: If even one passenger is under 21, the trip is alcohol-free for the whole group, adults included. An adult completes the registration for anyone under 18. Families who come to cheer meet their runner just outside the Secure Zone. Families and runners ride the Executive Sprinters, never a party unit, and no family package carries a drink service. We sell no alcohol.

What does a chauffeured race morning cost?

A race morning is billed by the hour at each vehicle’s published rate, from pickup to drop-off, with its minimum hours: the Executive Black Sprinter is $145/hr and seats 14, the Limo Party Sprinter (12-13 Pax) is $175/hr, and the Maybach Jet Sprinter is $295/hr; race entry is sold by the organiser, and prices are before tax. Split across the group, the hourly rate becomes a per-person figure. 14 riders in the Executive Black Sprinter for 5 hours is about $52 each before tax. 28 riders sharing the Party Bus (28 Pax) for 5 hours at $250/hr is about $45 each. That is arithmetic on the published rates, not a flat race-day fare. The hours run from the pickup at your hotel or home to the drop-off at the end of the morning, and the vehicle waits nearby in between, so the morning is one booking, not two rides. The ready-made packages on this page are priced the same way, with the extras they carry, and show the total before anyone books.

Which vehicle fits a Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona group?

Runners and families lead with the Executive Black Sprinter, our pick for race morning, or the white Executive Sprinter, alcohol-free; friends staying for the Finish Line Festival ride a Limo Party Sprinter or the 28-seat party bus; a run-cation couple or VIP group takes the Maybach Jet Sprinter; running clubs overflow onto the Mini Bus (24 Pax) or the Executive Mini Coach (29 Pax). The table uses current published names, seated capacities, hourly rates and minimums, in four groups. Runners and families: the Executive Black Sprinter and the Executive White Sprinter. Finish-festival crews: the Limo Party Sprinter (12-13 Pax), the Limo Party Sprinter (16 Pax) and the Party Bus (28 Pax). VIP: the Maybach Jet Sprinter, the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter, the Maybach Shuttle Sprinter and the Luxury SUV (Suburban). Running clubs and teams: the Mini Bus (24 Pax) and the Executive Mini Coach (29 Pax). A VIP party larger than the Maybach Jet Sprinter rides in two vehicles, one booking each for the same day and times: the Maybach Jet Sprinter with the Maybach Shuttle Sprinter seats 17, and with the Luxury SUV (Suburban) it seats 15.

How does a chauffeured race morning work, and how far ahead should you book?

Your chauffeur picks the runners up before dawn at the hotel or home, drops them where race staff direct, takes the cheer crew to Tempe Beach Park, waits nearby through the Finish Line Festival and drives everyone home; availability varies by day and vehicle, so no fixed lead time applies; send the race day and the group early. The first request needs the race day, the pickup address, the runners’ start, a likely passenger count and which group is riding: runners and family, a finish-festival crew, or a running club. The organiser lists official race hotels in Tempe, among them the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU and Tempe Mission Palms; we pick up from any hotel or home. During the final 48 hours, confirm addresses, phone numbers and the meeting point for the ride home. Reach the reservations team at (623) 986-6339 or reservations@scottsdalesprinters.com.