I thought this trail run was very well planned by the race director, and the volunteers were super. Since it is a one-way point-to-point marathon/50K, it is a very long day. You have to park (limited spaces) near the finish, and take a long (1 hour & 20 minute) bus ride to the start. But, it is worth it. The course was a a little boring for the first 6 or 7 miles in the woods, but opened up to beautiful views of the mountain tops, with some boulder fields to scramble over. And it got even prettier when we dropped down to the creek and waterfall. Lots of great photo opportunities. The trail is easy to run on for the most part, and there are climbs (which is a good thing; my quads wouldn't like 26 miles of downhill). Any road-runners thinking of doing this (which they should) need to do some hill-training (there is a lot of descent which is hard on the legs). And carry more water then you think you should- it was hot. In summary: PROS: very pretty course (you will want to stop and enjoy the views). well-run aid stations and helpful volunteers. Cooked food at the end. CONS: minor, but had to walk after the finish to where the shuttle pickup is to get back to parking. And port-o-potty at the parking area would be nice.

The trail was absolutely beautiful - great scenery, but the organization was poor: Only 4 outhouses for nearly 300 runners at the start - definitely not enough. No mile markers on the trail, some of the trails were poorly marked, and some runners took wrong trails and were turned around by rangers. No trailing person behind the last runner, and no medals at the end of the race. They finally sent us our medal, but it was a cheap one - no date, no place... simply "2011 marathon finisher." We paid the full registration fee but did not get much back. Will not do this one again.