diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index bab1dd08ef..c3351e40e5 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -31,20 +31,23 @@ jobs:
       - image: redis:6
     steps:
       - checkout
-      - run:
-          name: install dockerize
-          command: wget https://github.com/jwilder/dockerize/releases/download/$DOCKERIZE_VERSION/dockerize-linux-amd64-$DOCKERIZE_VERSION.tar.gz && sudo tar -C /usr/local/bin -xzvf dockerize-linux-amd64-$DOCKERIZE_VERSION.tar.gz && rm dockerize-linux-amd64-$DOCKERIZE_VERSION.tar.gz
-          environment:
-            DOCKERIZE_VERSION: v0.3.0
-      - run:
-          name: Wait for redis
-          command: dockerize -wait tcp://localhost:6379 -timeout 1m
-      - run:
-          name: go_test with race
-          command: go test -tags race --race --timeout 60s -v ./...
-      - run:
-          name: go_test
-          command: go test -tags all --timeout 60s -v ./...
+      - restore_cache:
+          keys:
+            - v1-dockerize-{{ checksum "Makefile" }}
+            - v1-dockerize-
+      - run: make dockerize
+      - save_cache:
+          key: v1-dockerize-{{ checksum "Makefile" }}
+          paths:
+            - dockerize.tar.gz
+      - restore_cache:
+          keys:
+            - v3-go-mod-{{ checksum "go.sum" }}
+      - run: make test
+      - save_cache:
+          key: v3-go-mod-{{ checksum "go.sum" }}
+          paths:
+            - /home/circleci/go/pkg/mod
 
   build_binaries:
     docker:
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..032c4a401a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+MAKEFLAGS += --warn-undefined-variables
+MAKEFLAGS += --no-builtin-rules
+MAKEFLAGS += --no-builtin-variables
+
+.PHONY: test
+#: run all tests
+test: test_with_race test_all
+
+.PHONY: test_with_race
+#: run only tests tagged with potential race conditions
+test_with_race: wait_for_redis
+	@echo
+	@echo "+++ testing - race conditions?"
+	@echo
+	go test -tags race --race --timeout 60s -v ./...
+
+.PHONY: test_all
+#: run all tests, but with no race condition detection
+test_all: wait_for_redis
+	@echo
+	@echo "+++ testing - all the tests"
+	@echo
+	go test -tags all --timeout 60s -v ./...
+
+.PHONY: wait_for_redis
+# wait for Redis to become available for test suite
+wait_for_redis: dockerize
+	@echo
+	@echo "+++ We need a Redis running to run the tests."
+	@echo
+	@echo "Checking with dockerize $(shell ./dockerize --version)"
+	@./dockerize -wait tcp://localhost:6379 -timeout 30s
+
+# ensure the dockerize command is available
+dockerize: dockerize.tar.gz
+	tar xzvmf dockerize.tar.gz
+
+HOST_OS := $(shell uname -s | tr A-Z a-z)
+# You can override this version from an environment variable.
+DOCKERIZE_VERSION ?= v0.6.1
+DOCKERIZE_RELEASE_ASSET := dockerize-${HOST_OS}-amd64-${DOCKERIZE_VERSION}.tar.gz
+
+dockerize.tar.gz:
+	@echo
+	@echo "+++ Retrieving dockerize tool for Redis readiness check."
+	@echo
+	curl --location --silent --show-error \
+		--output dockerize.tar.gz \
+		https://github.com/jwilder/dockerize/releases/download/${DOCKERIZE_VERSION}/${DOCKERIZE_RELEASE_ASSET} \
+	&& file dockerize.tar.gz | grep --silent gzip
+
+.PHONY: clean
+clean:
+	rm -f dockerize.tar.gz
+	rm -f dockerize