This year's Rat Race runs June 14-20 with the practice day on June 13th. Allegiant Airlines is running inexpensive non-stop flights between Mesa Gateway and Medford, making it easy and cheap to get there and back.

If you've never competed in a race-to-goal event, this is a great first comp because it provides two races, the Sprint with shorter, more manageable tasks designed for newer competition pilots and the Race with longer tasks intended to challenge the world-class pilots.

Woodrat is one of the most reliable sites in the country. With some really interesting mountains and numerous valleys, the site generally provides a mixture of thermal and convergence lift.

Registration for the competition opens on February 15th, and it generally fills quickly, so plan to register at http://www.mphsports.com/ shortly after it opens.