So this is what they mean by extreme ultramarathon....

OK, so I have run a few ultramarathons, I have done several marathons, and trail races, and nothing has ever even come close to this.
My friend Jesse was volunteering at the race, so she gave me a ride to the start. This meant that I wouldn't have to drive myself home in case I was too exhausted or injured to do so.
The race started st 5:30 am, there were about 200 ultrarunners doing either the 50k (me) or the 50 mile. 50 mile participants could switch races at mile #25. Just in case you felt like doing 25 mile miles instead of 6.
First off, they sent us up a ski slope. I know because of the ski chairs stored at the base of the hill, we snaked up through the woods, then ran pretty much straight back down the slope. The 50 mile runners get to run the ski slope again at the end of the race.

I tripped on a branch or rock, (fall #1) coming down the mountain. Then we ran across the park through a bunch of pretty nice hiking trails lined with thorny berry bushes (scratches on arms) And into Devils' Lake state park, about mile 15, things got interesting. We were routed up the first of three sets of stone stairs, and around the perimeter of the lake. There were too many participants, and I spent a lot of time walking to get around other runners and hikers. There were a lot of hikers, and the trail around the lake was very narrow. On the south side of the lake We got to run across an open filed, there was no trail, we were just sent across a wooded portion of the park, over a stream, and over rocks and logs, and marshes. The footing was unsure and it took forever. Then we were up and running through some other narrow trails infested with hikers, and stone stairways...We even had an aid station on top if the bluff; people had to cart the water for the aid station up there! Eventually I ran back down the trail towards the finish. When I say 'nice trail' I mean that there was a trail. many of these trails were not open to the public, and were overgrown. There were logs across them, and We had to duck under barriers to get onto them. Towards the end, I was pretty tired and my muscles were not working properly. About a mile from the finish, I was running towards Parfrey's Glen on the Ice age trail, and I tripped on a branch or root. (fall #2) my calf muscles seized up and I had to wait a few minutes before I could get up and continue on my way. Eventually I finished. My family was at the finish as usual, though Maddie complained that I was too slow. Caleb ran into the finish with me so I gave him my medal.

There was no shower at the finish, so I took a swim in the lake.
The course was well marked, there were great volunteers (like Jesse!) directing us across roads and along the course. I think there were too many runners on the course, and too many hikers on the trails. This was an experience, but I prefer less extreme races, ones that actually feature trails throughout the entire races and do not involve ski slopes or wading through streams.