Redwood Trail Run (Spring)

I ran the Canyon Meadows trail marathon as a training run for my first 50K. There are multiple distances and the full marathon is basically 2 loops of the half marathon course. I thought the trail markings were excellent, which was a huge relief because there are sometimes issues at Redwood Regional, where vandals come and remove or relocate course ribbons. The most difficult section of the course was the first 3.5 miles of each loop, which starts with a steep, exposed ascent and keeps going up until you hit Skyline Gate. Thankfully, from that point on, it’s mostly runnable with the exception of a few big hills. There are also some really scenic portions from mile 3.5 to 11. I found the last 2 miles of each loop psychologically challenging because you essentially run past the start/finish area and do an out-and-back (luckily you can’t see the finish, but you can hear it). The aid stations were well-stocked, but be aware that there’s a long, 6.2 mile gap between 2 of the aid stations. I would definitely recommend bringing at least a handheld water bottle, if not a hydration vest. It was really hot pretty early in the race, and I definitely didn’t drink enough water on the first loop. Personally, I was sick with a head cold, so I didn’t have my best performance, but I thought the race itself was well-organized and executed. However, I would *not* recommend the 50K as anything but a training run, because it’s essentially the marathon plus another 5 mile loop that includes the horrible, exposed ascent. Oh, and get to the race early to avoid the parking madness!