Dino Valley 50k
This race report is going to sound pretty hypocritical. I liked the race, but I wouldn't run it again.
The 100m and 100k started at 7. All other distances (50k, 25k, and 5m) started at 8. Something like 168 people did the 100m and 100k. I don't know how many started at 8, but it created a bottleneck for a good bit of time. The course was a lot of single track. There were a lot of rocks, some loose and some big stable rocks. I had about 2600 feet of gain on my strava. The loops were 10.5 miles long. 50k was 3 loops.
There were a lot of miles on the course where there was traffic coming and going. I usually don't mind that too much, but a lot of those spots on the course were pretty narrow, so it was a hassle.
The race director was very enthusiastic and all the volunteers were great. I think the race starts could have been staggered a little more and it would have been better. They are trying to get enough finishers for the 100m and 100k this year to be a qualifier for Western States. We set up a tent in the crew area and that was convenient.
Overall it was a good course, and I PR'd by quite a bit, but I just can't imagine running those loops 6+ times.
Feel free to ask any questions, I still have some race brain, so I'm sure I left something out.