We selected the Badger Mountain Challenge as our first ultra after injury and weather scrapped the prior two we were signed up for. But in the end, this was a great choice. I loved a couple of things about the structure of the race, first of all: it isn't a 50km. It's more like 56km. And it's an out-and-back, which is a format I like. And finally, you get a MEDAL!! Which a lot of ultras don't do. Buckles are for 100 milers, I get it. But I want something to hang on my wall, and the BMC50km gives you a nice one.

Everyone kept saying it was "deceptively" hard. I get that now. It looks at first blush like running on soft, groomed trails over rolling hills. NOPE. There are some big ups and downs, and the rutted-out jeep tracks are murder. It was dry and dusty this year, but I'm told other years it's caking mud or even ice and snow.

The "out" is a lot of fun and felt nice and easy to begin with. A couple of 700' climbs on groomed trail, and then running past the "endless vineyards" on road or packed earth. But then it takes a sudden turn into gullies, jeep trails, and serious climbs that don't LOOK bad on the GPS track but are really steep and forbidding.

The aid stations were well stocked with happy, encouraging people. And there was even GRILLED CHEESE!!! It was so good. Beware the weather. It was only 65 degrees F at the hottest for our run, but we were in relentless sunshine with no cover for the entire race. Sunscreen, or even a hat would be reasonable.

The way home, going up Candy Mountain hurts a lot. It's a 25% grade at least, for 700'. No switchbacks. The climb up Badger isn't as bad, even though it's a lot longer. And finishing on a nice two mile downhill that lets you run through the finish and feel like you finish strong is really nice!

Overall, I'm super proud of this as a first ultra. My only criticism is that sometimes the course markings were a little vague, they could use a few more flags in places. We added on about a kilometer with a missed turn! But that didn't take anything away from the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.