I've been wanting to get into trail racing lately and I knew I needed to find something a little shorter than a half or a full to start out with. I found this Quivering Quads II (the original Quivering Quads is earlier in the year which I missed out registering for), so I knew I needed to jump on registration. I am so glad that I did!

There was constant online updates on the race, I never felt like I didn't know what was going on. I had my Mom do this race with me as well, and Fleet Feet here in St. Louis really had our backs on any and all concerns we had!

Parking was very well marked and we were able to have a shuttle take us from our car right to the race start. There were plenty of port-a-potties, so getting a last minute bathroom trip was easy (let's all be real, this is a huge issue and I've been at races that didn't have enough bathrooms)... Also the pre-race set up included fire pits to help keep warm and loose before running!

The race start was super well organized, only allowing 25 runners at a a time to head out with a 2 minute window in between each group. We were never clustered together and I never felt like I was in the way of anyone else. We were instructed on passing and the proper way to do so before the race as well! I just felt really well informed before running this race and it really helped to boost my confidence going in!

The course was absolutely gorgeous and although this was my first trail race I feel like the difficulty was just right for a beginner but also challenging enough for someone wanting to get a specific time! I also need to shout out to the aid stations, they were so well stocked and manned that it was just so incredible, also the volunteers were super motivating which was awesome as well!

After the race they had a really great BBQ set up going on... First race I've been to that has had such an incredible post-race set up! We were also offered some craft beer from iTap (usually we are only offered Michelob Ultra, which I am not a fan of but give me the craft beer all day long!)

All in all I have to say this race was so well organized, planned out and implemented. There were never any questions or concerns because any possible thought I may have had, was answered or addressed by all race social media platforms! I will definitely be running this race and the original Quivering Quads next year and if you're in the area (anywhere around the St. Louis area really) I highly suggest you look this race up next October!