I arrived for the 50k race approximately 2 hours before race start and there will only a few parking spot left in the main lot next to the starting line; however, there was another parking lot across the street. This is just to give you an idea of when you should plan to come to park.

Registering the car for parking was simple; just pulled up to a booth and was given a ticket to display in the windshield. I was fortunate enough that there was a parking spot REALLY close to the start line; this was nice.

Packet pick up in the morning was simple; took about 1 minute. Got my goodie bag, long sleeved shirt, bandana, and I took some stickers from the table. The volunteers were super nice answering some of my questions, like how do I put on the timing chip, and where is the course.

Backrooms seemed to be ample with no line each of the 3 times I went. There is one permanent bathroom structure, and about 8 or so port-a-johns.

My wife joined me and she plopped her self down along the course; there is ample room to spread out along the course of spectators. She made for a good crew the 2 times I ran past the start/finish area.

The race begins!

The course is pretty beautiful for the midwest. The first 13 miles are singletrack (a little technical with roots and rocks along the way). If you are from the Chicago area, I would compare this trail to the trails around Bullfrog Lake. Since the singletrack does start early on, everyone is in a single file line for quite a while, which means some traffic jams around the uphills; keep that in mind, because he don't want to position yourself at the front where you're exerting too much energy and you don't want to be in the back, and being slowed down. You have about 1.5 miles or so to position yourself correctly.
Nonetheless, great trail system. And great volunteers (both road crossing and aid stations).

Then we come along to the 2 loops of the xcountry skiing trails. This is somewhat singletrack-ish. There is one definite track for most of the loop, but you can run along this track as the grass in this general area is either small or absent due to all the people walking over it. I would say these loops have more elevation change than the first 13 miles of out-and-back. Plan on getting tired. LOL.
Still, beautiful terrain and most of this loop is shaded under trees...most, but not all. It can get hot.

The aid stations in all parts were very well stocked with water, sodas, snacks (pretzels, gummy bears, oreos, etc), HEED. Additionally, some of the stations also had ice. The crew was always very quick to respond to your needs, and in one case, the volunteer even took my second bottle to refill while I was putting away the other. They know their stuff!

The finish is great! Everyone is cheering, and the announcer is naming you as you finish. Great feeling! The afterparty is also one of the best I've seen. There was food (salads, taters, burgers, brats), and copious amounts of beer. They even had live music; and the band was pretty damn good.

Overall, I fully recommend the race and look forward to registering for next year's 50 mile version. Just keep in mind when registering, the 50k race sold out in 20 minutes this year. Good luck!

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