1. A method, in a data processing system, for performing a wake-and-go operation, the method comprising: responsive to a first wake-and-go mechanism associated with a first processing unit within a plurality of processing units detecting a thread running on the first processing unit that is waiting for an event that modifies a data value associated with a target address, placing the thread in a sleep state; creating a wake-and-go instance for the thread comprising the target address and a thread identifier associated with the thread; assigning the wake-and-go instance to a second processing unit within the plurality of processing units; storing, by a second wake-and-go mechanism associated with the second processing unit, the wake-and-go instance in a wake-and-go storage array associated with the second processing unit; and responsive to the second wake-and-go mechanism detecting the event that modifies the data value associated with the target address, placing the thread in a non-sleep state, wherein placing the thread in a non-sleep state comprises: identifying a third processing unit within the plurality of processing units that has a lowest processor utilization within the plurality of processing units or a lowest priority thread running within the plurality of processing units; and placing the thread in a run queue of the third processing unit.