After running the Chicago Half Marathon on September 14th and coming down with a case of bronchitis during the week, I didn't think I would be making the hour and a half drive North of the border to take part in a 5k. But boy am I glad I did! I got to the site an hour and a half before the start time to make sure I got parking and picked up my packet. Parking was an absolute breeze! Check in went just as smooth. I thought the choice to have your participant shirt silk screened with your distance on site was a nice touch. After getting checked in, I still had an hour to kill. I watched the start of the half-marathon and then went for a warm-up jog around the park. I got back with plenty of time to watch the start of the 10k and enter the coral for the 5k. The MC for the event was fantastic and full of energy! What a great way to get pumped off before starting on my first trail run ever! We were asked to stay to the left on the course as the first of the half marathoners would be returning any minute. The first half mile or so of the 5k course was along the highway on the shoulder before cutting over to the Ice Age Trail. As I climbed the first hill, I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into (I'm a road runner - did I mention this was my first trail run)? I eventually came up with a strategy for the hills of pushing hard to get to the top, slowing down until the descent where I was able to pick up the pace again. There was a lot of sand on the course which I found somewhat surprising and awful slippery. The course was however well marked with ribbons matching the bib for your race. No getting lost in the woods. After making the turn around, heading back seemed a lot faster. Ran out of gas somewhere on the homestretch coming down ZZ. A few people passed me during the last tenth of a mile. After finishing in a time of 30:01 (definitely not a PR), getting a finishers medal and a water bottle, I headed to the results tent to discover I came in second in my age group and had missed first by less than 30 seconds (did I mention this was my first trail run?!) Took some time to watch other runners come in, visited some of the great sponsors and got some awesome samples from Cliff. They also had a kids fun 1k run with some characters in costume as "pacers" and all the kids got #1 Bibs and finisher medals, making this a great family event! The only drawback was the wait for a recovery massage. I never seem to get in that line early enough. Overall, this was the most well run event I have attended this year and as a result also the most fun! I can't wait for 2015! I'll definitely be back, just don't know what distance yet!