North Face puts on a very organized and fun race. This was my first 50M and expectations were high.
For 50M racers, you do get a bandana along with your t-shirt. I was disappointed that this year they didn't screen-print the mileage on the shirts. But the quality of them were still great.
Race pick-up was smooth. I chose the North Face store/Brookfield Square so that we could stay and listen to the panel of North Face athletes: Timothy Olson, Dylan Bowman and of course, Dean Karnazes! Such wealth of knowledge from these guys and great stories as well.
Race day morning was painstakingly cold. I'm not sure why they moved the race to Oct instead of Sept (2014). But they have little fires scattered so you can warm up as best as you can.

Race starts in waves, just minute or two apart. Then we were off into the darkness. All you see is your headlamp casting light on other runners' shoes, you hear the shuffling and occasional cry of pain as someone kicks a rock in the dark.

It was hard to judge the terrain in the first few hours as we were in the dark; It was a challenge just to maintain my footing in dark. The course overall isn't too technical. There are some hills that make you want to tear up a bit but not too bad like Devil's Lake.

The aid stations are the best -- no other race compares to North Face aid stations. They have everything and the volunteers are top notch. They're fun, supportive and despite the cold the time they spent out there, very energetic.

My only complaints are that the parking available to the runners could be closer. It doesn't seem like much but after running a trail race, it was brutal for us to shuffle to our cars in the freezing cold weather.
Also, there was lack of volunteers at the finish line, mostly at the tents. We had been running over 12 hours and it was a pretty bleak sight. No one to hand us our free sock (we never got them), no massage, no hot coffee or merchandise to look through.

But overall, I love this race. The atmosphere is amazing and you'll find the friendliest runners around. And you may even run into Dean Karnazes on the trail ;)