I ended up running this with three friends which made it so much better. The experience is great and the support along the course is awesome. I definitely should have adjusted training for this but I just came off running Chicago and thought I had an okay base. It's just a different kind of running and mentality. Do your research and understand the best way to approach an ultra. The three loops for this race make it easy to utilize the same aid stations along the course but it does make for a repetitive run. With the lack of ultras in the Chicago area, this is still a good race with a real grassroots feel.