Perfect Races

The Tuesdays on the Run this week asks "If you could make the perfect race, what would you like to see included?  Do you have any deal breakers that would make you avoid signing up for a race?  Have you run a race that you would consider "perfect"?"

Must Haves/Deal Breakers: 
Closed to traffic.  I've run a few races that have been on roads open or partially open to traffic and as a rule I hate them.  I'm looking at you Lola's Half Marathon. 
The exception is Feet in the Street because you just cannot believe how well done that race is, including traffic management.  
Chip timed: When I was picking my last 5K, that was something that I really looked for. This seems to be an issue particularly in the 5K distance.  Longer distances are almost always chip timed. 
Excellent Race Organization: There's one race organization that's kind of notorious locally as one to be avoided.  They famously cancelled a full marathon in a way that just screamed "let me take your money and hang on to it for a while, because we know we don't have permits for this race". 
For me to fork over money, the race organizers have to be legit.  Locally, I've enjoyed any Mary Anderson Races or Final Stretch Races.  On a larger scale, both TCM and Flying Pig are incredibly well organized. 

The "perfect" race:
The closest to perfect I've ever seen was actually the Avondale 5K.  It's a very small race, partially open to traffic.  It was so crazy well organized, and the police did such a great job of traffic management, I'll run it every year I can.  (This race has a special place in my heart because it's where I'm from.)
Honorable mention: When I'm asked to compare TCM and Flying Pig, I put Flying Pig first.  TCM seems to have race routes in more affluent areas of town only.  Flying Pig routes covers some low income and African American neighborhoods.  Everyone gets involved, including schools and neighborhood groups.  It's a big city race but all the different groups and course entertainment make it feel like a small town race that belongs to every little neighborhood on the course.