The Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights provides the ideal venue to start the New York Road Runners Club point season, with bands playing funk, folk, southern rock, merengue, mariachi, bagpipes, and, of course, salsa and blues throughout the entire 3.1-mile course.

The NYRR Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K now attracts more than 5,000 runners annually, all of them eager to take on a challenging course with its notorious hills in a diverse neighborhood known for its history and community spirit.

As one of California's top tourist destinations, Napa Valley has been home to this race for decades. When it comes to scenic, it just doesn't get better than Napa in the spring. The narrow valley is covered in grape vines that stretch high up the hillsides on either side. The colors are crisp green, blue and yellow at that time of year.

The more than 300 architecturally unique wineries look like castles, mansions, sprawling villas and even sunken flying saucers. Subject to periodic rain showers but enjoying mostly crystal clear mornings, the race is a favorite, always a sellout and operates with a seasoned cast of running officials so it all goes down as smooth as Napa's finest Cabernet.

This annual race in San Francisco's historic Chinatown is sponsored by the Chinatown YMCA. Don't be surprised if you hear a few firecrackers along the route -- Chinatown's biggest celebrations surround the Chinese New Year and in this race you'll be right in the thick of things. Expect the spectators to be more festively dressed than at any other race. It a little complicated to explain, but the Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20.