This was my first official 50k trail (or road) race. I've run 25 road marathons and several 10Kish trail races, so that background is my main frame of reference for this event.

I highly recommend this event to anyone in Portland, OR who wants to do an Ultra and sleep in their own bed the night before the race without an early alarm clock. This would also be great for people looking to visit the PNW and check out much more of Forest Park than the average tourist sees.

To a flat road marathoner, this course was extremely hilly. While, it doesn't have any major peaks, the course quite consistently goes up and down difficult fire lanes. This isn't your ordinary run along Leif and Wildwood with a few hills in between. But, that makes it really fun. This helped to motivate me to spend more time on trails I don't typically touch while training in the park.

The race is cupless which I completely respect, as I admit having so much waste as a result of a bunch of runners using a paper cup once is silly, but the road racer in me really hates carrying a bottle to each aid station. That said, the aid stations were well stocked, well placed and all of the volunteers at each location were fantastic.

The shirts for this race have my favorite feature in that they are optional for purchase. 5 stars for that. The glassware that was given for finishing and as awards were a nice keepsake that I can use.

The post-race food, drinks, and hangout area had a great atmosphere and was appreciated.

Go Beyond, the group that puts on this race is top notch, and I'd never hesitate to recommend giving them your business.