The Earth Day Races offer a 5mile, 15 mile, and 50k option. I opted for the 50k this year--it is conveniently timed at 3 weeks before the Ice Age 50 miler, and thus makes a perfect last long(est) training run. The course is a 5 mile loop, a loop which the 50k-ers run 6 times. We started out on a sunny, crisp morning at the bottom of a BIG grassy hill. The grass was wet, and I remember thinking "do I have to run UP that hill at the end of each loop??" I hadn't familiarized myself with the course at all, and that big wet hill made me nervous. Lucky for me, I never had to run up it. The aid station is at the top, and you run down the hill instead at the start of each group.

The first loop started out pretty crowded--all of the distances start out together, so I found myself a little swept up with everyone else--going faster than I would normally go for a 50k, and running up the big climbs instead of walking them. Looking back, it would have been a good idea to hang back a little bit to let the 5 and 15 milers spread out a little.

The course has a good mix of terrain--a lot of technical trail, with a good mix of single track, wide track, and gravel path. There's quite a bit of elevation change--no massive climbs, but still enough to keep you on your toes. There's one small section where the course is an out and back (a "lollipop" on the course, as the race director called it) but it's on a wide enough section of trail that you don't have to worry about crashing into anyone. It's definitely a great training race for Ice Age--the elevation gains at Ice Age are bigger, but to me it seemed like the terrain was fairly similar.

The volunteers at this race were FANTASTIC. There's one main aid station at the start & finish. It was fully stocked with most of the foods you would find at an ultra. They asked that everyone bring their own water bottles instead of using cups (it was Earth Day, after all). When i rolled through the aid station the first time, I heard a volunteer call out "46! 46! How you doing? You need anything? What can I get for you? You want a coke?" I replied--"I'm good for now, I'll grab a coke on loop three!". Each time I came through the station, the volunteers not only asked me what I needed or wanted, but made sure I was doing okay, and was in good spirits. That made all the difference--the one volunteer even remembered that I wanted a coke on loop three.

To top it all off, each runner received a hand-painted medal at the end, and the age group awards were jars of honey.