Buy a reloadable Copper Card at a Circle K, Walgreens, or similar retailer before boarding — foreign contactless bank cards cannot be tapped directly on Valley Metro readers.
Getting to the start
Half Marathon & 10K start: S. Mill Ave at 3rd Street, Tempe. 5K start: 80 West Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe 85281.
Closest Valley Metro Rail station to start is University Drive/Rural.
HM/10K drop-off: left on Farmer Avenue, drop off south of 5th Street.
5K drop-off: intersection of 5th Street and Farmer.
Parking: ASU Lot 59 (SW corner Rio Salado & Packard Dr) for HM/10K, $16/day ASU-covered structures for 5K;
SpotHero reservations accepted for both.
Getting to the finish
Finish Line Festival at Tempe Beach Park
Closest Valley Metro Rail station to finish is Mill Ave/3rd St.
More details
No dedicated race shuttle bus listed.
Valley Metro Rail runs Sunday schedule (trains every 20 min) for race participants;
all-day pass $4.00, purchasable in advance at rail station fare vending machine.
No specific road-closure details published.
IC card
Copper Card
Reloadable at hundreds of retail locations across the Valley including Circle K, Walgreens, Safeway, Albertsons, and Bashas;
one-time card issuance fee $4.
Not accepted at the gates — get the local card above
Alternative: Copper Card automatic fare capping (daily/weekly/monthly — not a separately purchased pass) Base one-way fare: $2 (bus/light rail),
$1 (streetcar) —
The cap applies automatically once you've loaded value onto a Copper Card and ridden enough in a day/week/month —
no separate pass purchase needed, but you must have a physical Copper Card or the Valley Metro app.
More details
Valley Metro serves the whole Phoenix metro including Tempe (light rail + bus).
The system moved to a Copper Card/Smart Fare model in 2024, replacing paper passes.
Load funds via cash, debit/credit card, or Apple/Google Pay — but only onto the Copper Card or app, not tapped directly at the vehicle reader.
No confirmation found that a foreign contactless bank card can be tapped directly on a reader.
