Myself, Angie, Cass, and Heather

I was in wave 3 for the start, so once the countdown finished, we were off!

Everyone who ran the day before had told us that they first few miles had a few rolling hills but nothing crazy.

HOLY. CRAP.

The first several miles were quite literally up-down-up-down. The hills were pretty significant inclines and declines, with rock and mud covering the ground.

That's the thing about trail racing that some people don't understand. It seems to take 1.5x more effort because you literally need to watch every step you take and your body works harder to stabilize because the dirt/sand/whatever is softer and less stable than concrete. 

The course was marked very well, with colored ribbon marking the path. Each distance had a different color, so as long as you were paying attention (my course was marked with yellow ribbon), there was almost no way you could get lost. I think the race director had said there were 40 marks per mile? Cuz no one wants to get lost in Kettle Moraine! 

Mid-race selfie, as I do.

There were 4 aid stations, one that was used twice. Each aid station had water and CLIF Shot Electrolyte Hydration as well as CLIF Shot Energy Gels and CLIF Shot Bloks. The volunteers were extremely nice and cheered us on a we came through!

The scenery during this race is gorgeous! Even though I was running with music (and rocking my Plantronics BackBeat Fit bluetooth headphones), it was so peaceful to be running through Kettle Moraine Forest and soaking in everything around me. Even if I am allergic to everything, LOL.

I ran into Heather (who was kicking ass in the 10K) at the last aid station and we decided to finish this together!

I ended up finishing about 20 minutes faster than my first trail race, which was awesome!

The finisher's chute had a variety of food and drinks, including water and CLIF products, bananas, granola bars, chips, and more. There was also hot food available for purchase as well as a "beer garden" that served Sierra Nevada products. All runners got one free beer, and if you signed up to be on The North Face e-mail list, you got an additional free beer coupon and a reusable red cup.

All the pros that were there on Sunday! 

Myself, Cass, Kim, Heather, Angie, and Brad

Angie and I had matching 2XU Compression tights on!

Showing off my finisher's medal and shirt on the beach at Ottawa Lake.

I was very proud to have finished this race and I absolutely loved it!

 The North Face really makes it a great experience for both runners and spectators!

For the price, I feel that this race is an awesome value. I registered maybe three weeks before the race and used the BibRave discount code to save 15% off my registration fee. In addition to the fire pits I mentioned, the Finish Line area also had a tent with laptops for runners to check their times and flat screens with social media pictures from runners that had tagged The North Face, an area for foam rolling and stretching, ice baths, and a sock brand that handed out free socks to participants and the who recycled something in their recycling container. I also ended up with a free koozie from a chiropractor that had set up a booth to offer massages to runners.

I would recommend this race for sure to anyone, whether it's your first trail race and you wanna get your feet wet (so to speak) or if you're a seasoned trail runner who wants a challenge. 

Check out my BibRave review here!

Other BibRave reviews of this race here!

What other Pros thought:

Heather - 10K