Notes
I got very demoralized early on (around mile 4) when I realized there was absolutely no chance for a 1:40 finish. I couldn't understand it as I shouldn't be that far behind the 50-59 1st place winners pace from last year. He ran a 1:39:17 and also ran CIM in 3:15. I had run CIM in 2:59 so I though, OK, a 1:40 should be doable. By the 8th mile I was in full-on 'just finish' mode as there were some very steep hills that had to be walked. Once I got to the top and had 5 miles of mostly descent ahead of me I started rolling pretty good, taking burmed turns fast (talk about FUN!). Started feeling my calves around mile 10 and I haven't felt calf cramps for years, ever since I bumped from half-assed training to 3/4-assed training. I had put a big gap on a pack of guys that had passed me early in the uphill section by this time (I really just blew by them on the downhills). At mile 12 there was a really, really steep rocky loose downhill that you could hardly even run down. My calves went into full cramp mode but I made it down without crashing. After that I was running like I would in XC - just making sure none of the people I passed would pass me back. They never even came close as I couldn't see them whenever I had a chance to peek back which was rare because if you take your eyes off the ground you're gonna fall ... hard. Altitude was a BIG factor. From mile 8 on, any hill was tough for me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I think the locals have a big advantage here.
After the race I talked to the 1st place 50-59 guy and asked him if it was the same course this year as last since he went so much faster last year. I was thinking this guy is one bad mofo to run 1:39 on this course. He laughed and it turns out they screwed up the timing last year, though the placement was correct! He actually didn't run 1:39:17 he said he ran 1:49:17! They had deleted 10 minutes off most finishers official times! Sonuvabiotch!!!!! I got snookered into thinking I might run a 1:40. Anyway, if I'd known that ahead of time I would have went for a 1:50 and STILL not made that time. He ran 1:48 something and I ran 1:54 something for 2nd AG. I think I was about 8th overall. No official results yet.
It was a really fun race and I have major respect for those Ultra dudes. No way I'd want to run 50K/50M or 100M on that course.
1700 feet of elevation gain and loss.