Holy he!! That was tough. The climbs were sustained and crowded, making it so even when I felt like I could run, I couldn't. Uphill walking is worse than shuffle-step jogging, and it took its toll on me. I knew going in I had not done enough hill training and I expected to do a bit of power hiking on the ups, so no worse than anticipated there. I am, however, a decent downhiller and made up time there. I did it in 1:53, unofficial time. I think it will end up fairly close to that. Legs feel good, except for the heavy use my quads got, but my feet are pretty beat up. I ran in lone peaks, and they just do not fit my foot perfectly. I was really wishing I had picked up a pair of mt110's like I had planned to. Lighter would have been nice, with a better fit for my foot.
I did not connect with Janson, but am assuming his local knowledge helped him be well ahead of me the whole time. I honestly had nothing but the course description to go on and was not well enough mentally prepared. I was much better fueled and hydrated than I was in my fall half, though, so I got that goin' for me; which is nice.