I don't like the outdoors. I've never camped. I'm terrified of things that go bump in the night. Obviously, running the Ragnar Trail Alafia River was right up my alley!

I survived my first campaign experience pretty well. It was freezing on Friday, and heated up very quickly on Saturday, but that was ok. I got through all my runs before the temperatures started to soar, which helped a lot. I loved the trail vibe, we had a great team of women and we really had everything we needed right there. The Ragnar culture is unreal, like nothing I've seen, and I can't wait to try another one.

T-SHIRTS/SWAG - The official t-shirt is one of my favorites. It's soft and fits well and has a great design. The medal? Well. How often do you get a medal that is not compliant with TSA rules and can't be taken on an airplane? That's right. This thing is a multitool! And a weapon! Coolest!

AID STATIONS - As a trail run, Alafia River is pretty much self-supporting. On the red loop, there was an area with water spigots where you could fill your own bottle, but that's about it. Which was fine. None of the legs were long enough (in my opinion) where you couldn't self-support, if you needed water or fuel at all. I did carry some Starburst with me just in case I needed a little sugar boost, but I was fine for the whole race. Once you were done with your leg, you could always grab something in the village or at your campsite.

COURSE SCENERY - Stunning. I only wish I had managed to take some more photos out there. I had no idea such beauty existed in a Florida park.

EXPO QUALITY - There wasn't really an expo, but there was a merchandise set up, plenty of vendors and food trucks for the weekend. We'll call that the expo and it rocked. Also, in the Village, there was complimentary coffee and hot chocolate, a huge bonfire with free s'mores, and movies playing on the side of the Ragnar Truck throughout the night. They also did a Mannequin Challenge, yoga, and all kinds of other games and activities.

ELEVATION DIFFICULTY - For me, this was a big challenge. The yellow and red loops followed a mountain bike track, so we are talking about narrow, steep hills and swoops, with bridges, and climbs and all manner of things for which I wasn't prepared.
- Red Loop - This was my first outing and it was insane! While i never felt particularly unsafe, the wrong step could totally send you sprawling into water or down the side of a cliff. I ended up going a lot faster than I planned, just because you had to get the momentum to climb back up the hills.
- Yellow Loop - I hit this loop at night. I think it would have been gorgeous in the day. I really didn't get to appreciate the actual scenery because i was busy watching my footing. This was, by far, my favorite leg, even though I needed Knuckle Lights and a headlamp to get through safely.
- Green Loop - Ironically, I hated this leg. It was too flat, too dull and there was about a mile of sugar sand that just worked against me.

PARKING/ACCESS - Parking was fine. We had to pay $10 for a pass, and then got to pull up to campsite area, unload our stuff and move the car. We were asked to minimize the number of cars coming into the area, which was fair (we had three for 8 people, just because of logistics). It was tough lugging everything, and cars ended up not moving from the drop off area, simply because it was really inconvenient. Not sure how to improve on that, but it wasn't the end of the world.

RACE MANAGEMENT - No complaints here. The staff and volunteers were lovely. All runners got one ticket for a meal from any of the food trucks for use at their discretion, which was nice. Salomon was on hand, loading out demo trail shoes, which was a race-saver, especially for those of us who don't have a lot of trail experience. Portapotties were plentiful and maintained beautifully, considering. Information and communication was great. Couldn't ask for anything more.

My only complaint was that there weren't more photographers, or at least a finish line photog. It would have been nice to have the photo of our whole team coming in at the end. What photos were available were free, so I guess I can't complain, and it's certainly not any kind of deterrent. I'll make better arrangements for future races.