Darren Worley's Staging Area

Beautiful course! My first impression getting onto the trail was that I was stepping on a ride at Universal for Jurassic Park. This is a point to point run where the trails are well marked. The race directors do a good job with extra markings to help with runners confidence you are on the right trail. It rained a lot on race day, so the trail was extra muddy. There is also a 1.5mile bog you go through, which will be there whether it rains or not. Expect to get at least knee deep in the mud multiple times. The race directors do an excellent job getting info to runners as to what to expect on the course. Aid stations are well stocked with great volunteers. If you are looking for a 50 or 100mile trail run in FL, this is a good one.

I was supprised how much more scenic the course was than what I expected from reading other reviews. The course is a 13.1 mile loop done twice for the marathon runners. There was one section about 2 miles long that was a straight road that felt like it was a light industrial area. Other than that, I enjoyed the course. I enjoyed several of the neighborhoods that we went through and looking at the houses that were along the way. We went a very short distance through a park along the riverfront (wish this segment was longer), ran around another, much larger park, through the campus, and the finish line was on the football field. For me personally, the highlight of the day was experienced the second time going through the college campus. Before entering, runners were offered a flower to place on the memorial honoring the football team from 1970.

Overall, I really want to give this race a 5 star review. The course venue is great. The trails were great and in good condition. The volunteers were great. The big miss on this event was on course marking. The time of year this race is run, you can expect a lot of leaves to be on the ground. With that being the case, I feel there should have been more frequency with the confidence markers placed on the course to give the runners “confidence” they were on the trail and on the correct trail. With that being said, I strongly feel that the race directors care a lot about this event, and will find a way to fix this problem. If you are looking to do your first 50 or 100 miler, this is a good trail venue to try. The course itself is not too technical, and there are not really any steep hills to have to worry too much about.

Not much to say here that is not already talked about on the race website. The race director does a great job having information available for his events readily available for people to see. The course was well marked, and the scenery on this course was great. Most of the run is on single track trail. A few miles at the beginning are on a road leading to the trail head, and then there are stairs (lots of them!) taking you in and out of the canyon. The aid stations were well stocked, and the volunteers were helpful and encouraging.