This was my first ever trail race and I have to admit, other than knowing it was on a trail, I had no idea what to expect. It was great and I look forward to signing up for another one in the future. The Bigfoot State Park in Lake Geneva was easy to find (thank God) which was beneficial since I was running slightly behind schedule. I arrived and parked with approximately 15 minutes before the start of the race. But everything from there went well and I made for the national anthem. The course itself was a mix of grass trail to dirt (some spots with mud) to a brief section of paved which was when you went through the campground area. Some slight inclines and declines and one part that crosses a somewhat narrow bridge. The course itself was a 5K loop that for the 10K folk, you ran twice.

T-shirts/SWAG: A water bottle was the "swag" for the race. A shirt would have been nice, tech or t-shirt. And I kind of was hoping for a medal, it being my first trail race. Might seem corny but I would have liked that instead of a bottle whose logo will fade over time.

Aid stations: Two per loop, water and nuun products being offered. Really cool that they used nuun instead of the traditional Gatorade, which I find too sugary.

Course Scenery: Beautiful. Simply beautiful. The race starts out with a great view of Lake Geneva, then you cross a little bridge and that leads into the woods and trails where you get a pleasant mix of sunlight and shadows. I also enjoyed running on the grassy parts while being surrounded by tall grass. Great experience for a trail race.

Expo: Packet pickup was at two different Fleet Feet stores in Illinois. Not really an expo per se.

Elevation: Some ups and downs, nothing too crazy and then there is one final "big" hill just ahead of the finish line, which the RAM Racing told me on Twitter would be a "sneaky surprise"

Parking: Easy as pie. Awesome that they parked you right near the start/finish line. All my gear and excess stuff close by; one of the easiest arrival experiences I've ever had at a race.

Race Management: Tons of updates and info blasts leading up to the race; weeks and weeks ahead of time. Zero questions leading up to the race. I thought RAM Racing put on a good trail race; I do wish there was a medal and that there was some sort of food at the finish. They only had water and more nuun beverages to try. There was a massage table area as well, but no food. Something would have been nice, not a lot, but something.

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