Race Report: Into Day 9

John Nobile on the 30-mile railroad-bed hell-trail
outside of Big Springs, Idaho (2006)

Rain, hail, thunderstorms and deep mud continues to be the main topic of this years race.  Over the past few days, the weather has ceased to let up and has made for some very non-ideal conditions on the route.  Racers had to trek through nearly 70 miles of deep mud in the Centennial Valley from Lima (mile 878) to Red Rock Pass (mile 948) after the valley received 2 weeks of straight rain.  In Big Springs (mile 967), Matt Lee was forced to deal with quarter-inch sized hail, which is beginning to be a near-daily occurance for many of the race leaders.  Due to the weather, racers are likely wearing through their drivetrains much faster than previous years, which will likely cause many of them to have to pre-maturely replace them once they get into Colorado.  

As the racers made their way into Wyoming, they found more unfavorable conditions.  Racer's have indicated that the road leading to Flagg Ranch (mile 1045) was very muddy.  However, Chris Plesko has indicated that it was "it was good mud instead of terrible mud."  In spite of the mud, race leader Matthew Lee has managed to stay close to the record pace.  As of Flagg Ranch, Matt was about 2 hours ahead of record pace.  Unfortunately, snowy passes east of the Tetons has slowed his progress and he is 3 hours behind the record as of Boulder (mile 1221).  The chase group of Chris Plesko and Kurt Refsnider had a difficult time making progress beyond Lima; after closing the gap between them and Matt Lee to only a few hours, it has been extended to a 9:30 gap as of Flagg Ranch.  Jay and Tracey Petervary have been making up time as they are only 3 hours behind Kurt and Chris and a pack of 6 racers are 15 hours behind them.

Unfortunately, Brad Mattingly seems to have won the "bonus-miles" award as he missed almost the entire section between Lincoln and Helena.  Presently, he appears to have gone to the Helena Airport, presumably to cut his race short.  We are yet to discover if he intentionally went off-route to drop-out or if he is intending to fly home out of frustration.

Bears and Circus-Animals

An interesting subplot of this years race has been the racer's encounters with wildlife.  Cricket Butler had an bear-encounter just north of Butte that lasted over an hour.  Unlike Jeff Kerby who charged a bear, Cricket was charged by the bear at one point during the experience.  While bear sighting are not unusual on the route, this is one of the first reported stand-offs we have had. 

Additionally, Jeff Kerby has had some interesting encounters with the locals.  In Canada, he reports that he spent the night under a bridge in Elkford with a drunk homeless guy where he was concerned that the guy was "gunna knife me."  Then outside of Helena, Jeff went slightly off-route and ended up talking to some colorful locals "straight from the meth lab."

What's Ahead

Racers have more snow to hike through in Wyoming this year.  Matt Lee reports that Togwotee Pass (mile 1102) has 3-miles of deep snow that is marginally better than what racers encountered during last year's race on the same pass.  Additionally, Union Pass (mile 1139) has snow on it in six different places.  This snow was not present in 2007 when Matt set the record and helps explain part of the slow-down he had between Flagg Ranch and Boulder.

Beyond Union Pass, racer's will begin a nearly 300-mile section that cuts through the Great Basin that is has no significant climbing.  In spite of the lack of elevation gain, it is a rough section due to its often rolling terrain, washboarded roads and exposure to the elements.  This section could benefit Jay and Tracey Petervary as they should be able to motor through the flats, so be sure to keep a close eye on their progress over the next two days.