"It's gorgeous!:" "Lake Michigan Trail Run" takes racers through five County parks

CUDAHY (WITI) -- Early Sunday morning, August 31st, hundreds of runners were gearing up to race in Cudahy. The inaugural "Lake Michigan Trail Run" kicked off at 6:00 a.m. Sunday.

"The fog is here, but it`s a Sunday morning. It`s gorgeous," runner Amy Friese said.

Hundreds of feet pounded the pavement for a chance at victory in Sheridan Park in Cudahy Sunday.

"What`s unique is not only do you have Lake Michigan, but you also have our trail system -- which some of of them are in ravines, some are paved trails, some are off road trails. It just gives you a total different feel," Guy Smith with the Milwaukee County Parks Department said.

Marathon runners, half-marathoners, 20-mile racers and 50K "Ultra Marathon" runners were on hand as the trails were turned into a competitive field for the first time.

"You want to keep it interesting. You want to do something different and I think that this type of run experience is totally different than you get anywhere else," Smith said.

Runners battled the morning fog -- reaching for the finish line. Mark Caballero came in first place in the half-marathon race.

"It was a lot of fun. That was my first half-marathon that I`ve done, so it was really challenging for the distance. It was a little foggy, so it was spooky -- but loved running through the woods. It was great," Caballero said.

"This is a good course. I liked the half road, half trail stuff," another runner said.

The course started and finished at Sheridan Park in Cudahy -- but it took runners through four other Milwaukee County Parks.

Money raised will be donated to the "Friends of Grant Park" organization, and the Wisconsin chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. 1,000 runners were expected to participate.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Lake Michigan Trail Run.