It's the tale of two races; the first 19, then the last 7. Super fast downhill with a hill at mile 3 in the first 19. After that, it's 2-3 parallel to a highway, then more downhill right down to the finish. Pluses: efficient buses to the start, on-time start, good volunteers, spectacular scenery, cool temps to start, sun at your back until mile 21, nice medal and shirt, updated emails/Facebook all week long, fast results, free photos, tons of gels/fruit on the course. Be prepared for a lot of downhill running . The course has a 5,000 foot elevation drop and an average of about a 5% downward grade. Even if you were able to adequately train on extended downhills, this course will best you up. It’s just a lot of pounding on your joints and muscles. Also, the high altitude is challenging if you are from more low lying areas. Still, the course is breathtakingly beautiful (the first 19 miles at least), and Revel puts on a great race at a reasonable price point.