Land Between the Lakes - The Great American Trail Race

This is as advertised - a trail marathon. This year was often a mix of mud skiing and trying not to fall too many times. Ideal course for both runners and support. First lap on the 11 mile loop is crowded, next lap is solitary - a great mix of experiences.

This was my first trail marathon so I do not have other trail marathons to compare it to. That being said, I think the course was challenging but doable especially for a first time trail experience or for an attempt at a longer distance. Although the weather didn't quite cooperate, it was very scenic with a lakeside start and several water views along the trail portion. The 4 aid stations along the loop course were well stocked with food, water, and supportive staff. The 5 star rating for spectators does not reflect the number of them along the course...there aren't many...pretty much the volunteers. It reflects how SUPPORTIVE they were. Race organization is excellent. The race director was dealing with a lot of unknowns and other logistics due to the recent rains/serious flooding. He sent several emails during the week to keep runners up to date, and as he said, leave the worrying to them. Would definitely recommend.

32 degrees and snow at the start.... It was supposed to be warm and sunny! Made for a muddy trail, was still runnable but you did have to slow down. Two miles of road to start before hitting the trail helped due to all distances starting at once (over 600 people) Some hills on the back half that i walked, the road to finish was not fun.... All that said, great race, awesome volunteers, well stocked aid stations. The two miles of road helped spread people out so by time you hit the single track it wasn't horrible but a staggered start for the different distances would really help open it up more. I did the marathon and had friends running the 60K and the 50 Miler, we finished before them and could not project a finish time, the race director was hoping to add race tracking for next year. We stayed at the green turtle bay resort, with four people in our group it was very affordable.