31-37 Length, km Climb, m Straight 1.87 +35 (elev. diff.) 1AK 2.21 155 1AL 2.12 140 1BK 2.29 165 1CK 2.23 155 2 2.76 135 3 2.60 175
31-36 Length, km Climb, m Straight 1.82 -15 (elev. diff.) 1AK 2.03 135 1AL 2.12 120 1BK 2.29 145 1CK 2.23 135 2 2.76 130 3 2.60 155
On both legs, the cross-country route (#1), which required constant navigation, was intended to be the fastest. The key to successfully traversing the cross-country route was to pass just below the point marked "X", a junction of three very steep reentrants. Going above X meant slowing down to cross these reentrants. Going through or below X meant climbing (to the pond), dropping (to the large green blob near X), and climbing again from X to the control. Two trail/road routes were offered; route 2 went along California Highway 130, and route 3, low in the Halls Valley.
One marked difference between the Red and the Blue legs is that the presumed optimal route, 1AK, deviates considerably less from the straight line on Red (31-36) than it does on Blue (31-37). This makes the selection of the straight route relatively easy on Red. On Blue, a runner intent on going straight can be mislead into underestimating the disadvantage of going above point X. A cross-country route passing above X is not considerably faster than taking route 2, nicknamed "the panic escape" by the course setter. Prior to the event, the setter estimated 1BK to be the best choice on Blue, but after talking with the compeititors, revised the judgment to 1AK. The hillside was very runnable, so the advantage of having a good game trail along the fence on 1B was negated by the extra length and climb. The difference between 1K and 1L is subtle, amounting to the almost inevitable uphill walk on L vs. the extra length, but a chance to run along an established path, on K. The course setter test-ran 1BK on Red in about 16 minutes ("about", because the setter got somewhat lost near the control feature), and that was during his second run of the day, the first one being a run up Hwy. 130 to the park from the city in the morning. The estimated best leg time along 1(A/B)(K/L) prior to the event was 14 minutes for Blue, 18 minutes for Red.
Route 2 was to be second-fastest on Blue, and was preferred by most runners. Route 3 was to be second-fastest on Red, and was taken by quite a few. On #3, the course setter favors a 90-degree turn from the main trail onto a cattle path leading to X, rather than going up the steep-sided ravine. I still remember trying to chase James going down that ravine in 1995, climbing over and under logs and jumping on top of rocks; the fact that ravine bottoms were bad was well known to the competitors and mentioned in the event info.
The course setter is not aware of anyone taking any of group 1 routes on Blue. Some runners attempted the cross-country route, but got trapped by the evil X; their times were nevertheless within tens of seconds of the best times on route 2. The best leg time was posted by Steve Gregg on route 2. On Red, Matthias Kohler completed the straight route in just over 16 minutes.