The Run from the Taxman is the first of the Wisconsin Trail Assail Series by Silver Circle Sports. It runs through the summer at various state and county parks in SE Wisconsin.

This race is at Lapham Peak in Delafield, and is arguably one of the toughest places to run (if not THE toughest place) in Southeast Wisconsin. Be prepared for lots of hills. The race features a 5k, 10k, and Half distance. There's also a lookout tower in the park, and you better believe you'll run up that.

Packet pickup is at In-Step, a local running and PT place in Delafield, and is very straightforward. Bib, shirt, and away you go.

Race morning is quick, but make sure you plan ahead. There's plenty of parking at Lapham, but make sure you either have a State Park pass or bring $5 to get into the park. If you didn't pick up your packet early, you can do so on race morning in the shelter as well. There are limited bathrooms (state park, remember) but nothing that will hinder your race start.

The 10k does one loop on the "outside" loop, or if you've run Lapham on your own, it's the black diamond loop. The Half does two of those. And I literally have no idea where the 5k goes. Because of this, the 10k and Half start at the same time, and the 5k five minutes later.

The first two and a half miles bring the hills, so you get thrown in right away. Once you get on the west side of the park it flattens out a bit onto some grass areas as you enter the cross country ski area. Also, this is easily the muddiest area if it's rained (which it had the week prior) since the water doesn't really have anywhere to go. Oh, and there was some snow on course this year.

Once you head back into the woods at mile 5, it's a long single track climb to the watch tower. As mentioned before, yes you get to climb the tower before continuing on. The last mile is mostly downhill, but there is one more good climb before you barrel down to the finish.

Half runners receive their medal, which is an awesome design this year, and age group winners are announced in the shelter. There's also an incredible fruit bar which is at every race in the series. Oh, and beer too.

If you're looking to dabble in some trail racing in SE Wisconsin, definitely check out one of the races in this series. And if the Taxman is your first trail run then it (probably) only gets easier from there.