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The ride to Preston is pretty flat and is basically a warm up period. We stopped in Preston (mile 30 of 206) for food and water and then headed out over Strawberry Canyon towards Montpelier. This is the first major climb which is about 20 miles long and an elevation increase of maybe 2800'. This is the part of the race that was the most difficult for me. I pushed a little harder than I should have, consequently coming down the backside of the mountain into Montpelier I had major cramps in my left leg and my right calf. By the time we pulled into Montpelier (mile 80 of 206) I was ready to hurl chunks and quit this crazy race. I was in major pain, I can't think of any part of me that did not hurt. I told Angela that I wasn't sure I could finish. We had dropped Trent somewhere up the climb and we weren't sure how far back he was. I knew that if I waited too long for him my legs would freeze up and I would be done. So off we went without Trent. There are two more steep climbs through Geneva and then over the Salt River Pass, I really took these climbs a little slower and made every effort to drink and eat. After the last climb we pulled into Afton (mile 125 of 206) and I was actually starting to feel a little better. We took a bit of a break and then headed up to Alpine. When we arrived in Alpine Eric was having such bad leg cramps that he needed to stop there. Trent was still about 30-45 minutes behind us. So the rest of us left Alpine and over to Hoback Junction and up to Jackson Hole and finally into Teton Village. We gladly finished the race about 7:30pm, Trent kept at is for almost 1 hour longer and came in alone at around 8:30.
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Marc Fuller, Tait Eyre, and Billy Freedman
Richard, Corey, Billy, Marc, Scott and Tait
