The course is at Cary State Forest in Bryceville, Florida, on a 25K loop. There is an 8 hour time limit. This was my first trail race of the year and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The event was well organized, the trail running community was out in full force being caring and supportive as they are known to be, and there was pie!

T-Shirts/SWAG:

There was no gift bag full of stuff that I probably won't use. Heck, there wasn't even a medal or a belt buckle. There was simply your own apple pie, and a coffee mug waiting for you at the end. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I enjoyed that warm apple pie with two scoops of vanilla ice cream as my reward to myself. We also got a pretty sweet polyester/cotton long tee which I'll definitely wear out in about.

Aid Station:

The aid station placement was pretty clever. We ran on three different trails but each trail looped around and hit the same aid station. What was awesome about this aid station was that it was pretty much a one stop shop. Chips? You got it. Pretzels? No problem. Gels? Here you go. Hydration? Pick which one you want. Plus the guy that was manning the station was a pro. He would take your bottle from you to fill it up while you gathered your belongings or grabbed some food.

Course Scenery:

You aren't going to find the beautiful mountain tops and the lush forest of the PNW here in FL, but man do I love seeing the sunrise come up from just beyond the tree line. I remember thinking at that moment just how blessed and fortunate I was to be out there doing something I loved while being able to witness such a scene. Honestly, it felt as if the world didn't exist outside of that trail.

Overall:

Definitely doing this run again next year for as long as they have it. There is a campground near by so chances are I'll get some camping in before the race to take full advantage of all that Cary State Forest has to offer. Every single person out there helped make this run feel special.