• Eagle,
    Wisconsin,
    United States
  • October
  • 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon, 50K, 50 miles, Relay
  • Trail Race
  • Event Website

See more of our race!

Lisa Dretske

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
50 34
2016
"Rollin' with my hills"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Lisa Dretske's thoughts:

This is my 3rd year racing at this event, but first year at the 50 miler distance.

Packet Pickup: The race is organized well and offers several locations for packet pickup before the day of the race as well as on race day. I chose to pick my packet up at The North Face in Brookfield, WI. It was quick and easy, and I was offered 15% off at the store for the day if I showed my bib at the checkout.

Race morning: Parking was super accessible and only a 2 minute walk from the start line. They had many port-o-potties set up as well as the park had flushing toilets available to use. The announcer made sure people knew the timeline in the morning, and managed 3 waves of 50 milers starting the race.

The Race/Course: The race starts at 5am, in the dark. Luckily, you had 200+ other runners with headlamps to help guide the way.The course does not repeat too much which makes for an enjoyable experience. The aid stations are set up every 4-6 miles. They have huge spreads of food (pretzels, bananas, sandwiches, broth, chips, potatoes, and so much more), and drinks (sodas, water, electrolyte drink). The end of the race had the longest stretches without aid stations, which wasn't great, but I was prepared for it. Make sure to bring your own hydration for these stretches. The hills weren't too severe, but they are constantly rolling throughout the entire course, even in the prairie area. The ground was primarily nice grassy/dirt double track areas, but there were some areas of rugged rocky areas, and sand which made running a bit more difficult. I would recommend using trail shoes, but you don't need anything too technical. The scenery is beautiful the entire time as you run through forests and prairies. The only time you run on pavement is when you have to cross a road. There are also a lot of spectators for a trail race. I've never experienced this before. At one section you start to see the other distance participants, which helps keep you going at the end. The course markings are very well marked throughout the entire race.

Finish: The Finish line was an amazing set-up. They announced my name as I ran through the finish area and gave me my finishers medal. They had some initial goodies and water in a Finishers water bottle for us. Then it opens into the Finishers Village where tents with vendors, beer, and food are set up. They also have a tent to look up the finishing results and ice bath section. The food was great with many options from burgers, bbq pork, soup, cookies, chips, soda, pasta salad. I also got a free beer from Sierra Nevada Brewing. Yum! They also emailed me with some pictures for purchase after the race.

Pros:
+aid stations! They have everything and plenty of them!
+the course is scenic, not too hilly, but still challenging
+volunteers and spectator rock!
+swag/post-race village: So much extras to take part of after the race!

Cons:
-Some volunteers gave out wrong information as far as distance
-sandy areas really did suck
-I wish the pictures were free because I never buy pictures

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