Notes
The race started off typically, with costumed young-guns sprinting from the line, but the Luther Alumni were caught up by the time we got to the trails. The rope swing came much earlier than anticipated, thankfully the kid right in front of me made a good leap and I just followed him, making it to the other side easily. After that I decided it was time to take the lead on a slight uphill and pretty quickly it was just Drew and myself. Retro soon joined us and fellow alum New Guy caught up a few minutes later.
I was in the lead and enjoying the distance-pace-race and great singletrack trails when I missed a turn. That put me back in 4th position, and I was surprised to see 5th and 6th close by. As we started the many creek crossings, 5th, a young hotshot, decided to pass me and take whatever shortcut and advantage he could find. When he passed Retro I decided I needed to get back up to the front (it wasn't the easiest to pass on these makeshift trails without jumping by someone). Once I got back to Drew, we started picking up the pace and separated ourselves quickly. The passing people and the move had tired me but once we eased off the pace slightly and I took the lead, I started to feel good again.
So the last couples miles were just Drew and I enjoying the course. Retro was always visible and we thought about waiting for him, but we also weren't sure where others were. We cruised in and Luther Alumni ended up going 1,2,3,5(New Guy after a wrong turn), 8 (Lars Anderson), and 9 (Citius!).
As always this was a great race, lots of log-jumping, tree-ducking, hills, streams, singletrack, prairie, uncharted woodlands, and even a large pipe to maneuver through. Just finding the path is buckets of fun as well; I did miss the 1 turn, and then 1 other spot left Drew, Retro, and I just standing around in an open area looking for the next flag, but overall the course was well marked, but also constantly leaving you looking where to go next.
And to all my readers: You should regret every decision you've made if you don't do this race someday.