Hands down, this is my favorite race I've done since moving to the Pacific Northwest. GoBeyond racing puts on amazing, well-organized races with killer courses. The 50k has about 2800' of elevation gain overall, so it's tough, but still a very fast course. There's one pretty long climb on the PCT (but nothing devastating or super-steep) and a few smaller climbs (although they were bigger than I thought) after the PCT climb. With those climbs come AMAZING views of Mt Hood, so there's definitely a good payoff, and something to look forward to.
The race starts out at Clackamas Ranger Station-- there's a decent amount of parking on the side of the road, and places to stash a bag for the start/finish. I camped the night before at Clackamas Lake campground, which i would highly recommend if you don't feel like driving in the morning. There are also plenty of campsites nearby around Timothy Lake.

The only part of the course I found a little hair-raising was the first part of the out-and-back on the single track on the PCT--a couple miles in you have people coming back in the opposite direction on the single track, so we all had to navigate around each other. This, however, is a reality of most ultras that have any single-track on them, and is definitely not a reason not to run.

The aid stations and post-race setup for this race were WONDERFUL. It was a hot day, and I'm usually towards the back of the pack, so the heat was getting pretty brutal by the time I got to the aid station at 18. Thankfully, there was a woman there ready to sponge me down with ice-water. I'm pretty sure I fell in love with her, and she'll never know it. Aid stations are all stocked with the typical ultra-snacks, and the volunteers were really helpful about refilling packs and bottles. Post race there was 10 Barrel beer, and pulled pork with Red Duck BBQ Sauce (YUM!). The race directors are so friendly, and gave me a high five and a big hug when I crossed the finish. They make sure that the last finishers have the same fan fare as the first finishers, and I am so grateful for that.

I will definitely be back for this race next year...they offer a 50 mile the day before, as well as an option to run both the 50 mile and the 50k. If you are in the Portland area, I would also highly recommend volunteering for one of the Go Beyond Race series races. It's a lot of fun! I've volunteered at the Trail Factor 50k in Forest Park in May, and am signed up to help out at the Mountain Lakes 100 in Sept.