The Way Too Cool(WTC) 50K ultramarathon is the most popular 50K in northern California and probably the biggest sporting event based out of Cool. Parking for the event is by the Cool Fire Station, Auburn State Recreation Area parking for the Olmstead Trail and other trailheads. Attendance for the event is limited to 675 participants(in 2011) and by lottery only. Many runners run this as a training run for the American River 50 mile race(AR50). I ran in WTC for the first time this year, and it was a blast. The trail was muddy, but the streams were not too high. There were about 50 stream crossings, I believe about half a dozen were up to my knees. This has been my best trail running experience yet, and I am definitely going to stick with the 50K and marathon length races for awhile at least. The elevation gain(7000 feet) is rough, and I need to do much more work on my hill climbing. Because I am new to distance running, I am slow. I don’t expect that to be a permanent state of affairs. It’s unfortunate that this has to be a lottery, but at least that way everyone gets a fair shake at running it.
