Rich Oreskovic's Staging Area

This must have been a logistically difficult race to direct, so kudos to those who put this on and to the many volunteers. The finish line is several miles from where participants park their cars, so you must plan carefully to bring all the gear you need as you board your bus to the start. I absolutely loved this course, which featured a very gradual, quad-friendly descent from about 5800 to 5200 feet. I chose this destination race in part for the challenge of a race at altitude (I come from relatively low-lying Tennessee), and it did in fact lend to a faster heart rate and early fatigue for me. When I finished, I went directly to the beer line to redeem the beer token provided in the swag bag, but was told by an attendant that I must present my photo ID first. There I was, a guy in my 60’s, a long bus ride away from my car (and wallet), age printed on my race bib, and thirsty as hell after running 13.1 miles, and getting the no ID-no beer attitude. It had never happened to me before at a race, but now it has. It was all good though, as I grabbed a Coke instead, and was quite satisfied.