Starting and finishing at the beautiful Tanglewood, in Lenox, Mass., this is a real "punch you in the gut", difficult trail race. It's one of those races that only a very select few won't need to take walking breaks from time to time. AKA - my kind of race.

The race is very well organized. With parking and packet pickup/registration taking place just outside the main entrance of Tanglewood. There is great music planing in the parking lot and announcements were constantly informing the runners of the start time and location. About 15 prior to the start, all the runners walk to the start line (about 1/4 mile walk). After a few brief announcements, the race started exactly on time!

As soon as you start you know that it's not going to be easy. The race goes uphill for the first couple miles. And the trails are somewhat technical, so you have to be paying attention the entire time. The course was marked "okay", but could have been done better. I talked to two people that made wrong turns and added a bit of distance. And this cost one person 2nd place overall (he joined the race in 4th place when he back-tracked and got back on course).

The finish is wild! You come out of the woods about 1/2 mile from the finish and get to run down hill across a gorgeous grass friend before hitting a tree lined path to the finish line.

Pros:
Great organization, beautiful scenery, and fun atmosphere.

Cons:
VERY difficult, expensive!

Overall -- very nice race worth doing!