Wow, what an incredible trail! Pure SoCal bliss.
I started at 5:30am from Will Rogers State Park. I had cloud cover and good temperatures in the morning, though it was very humid. I felt very good though 50 miles and was about 30mins ahead of the record splits. It got very hot around this time and I started to suffer going up Sandstone Peak. It was kind of a slog from there and I lost time over the final climb and descent, which Wyatt ran really well. Overall, I'm happy with the effort, though I wish I would have closed a bit stronger than I did. That's the way it goes sometimes!
May is definitely not the time to run this route for speed. My gut says this will eventually be a low 9hr record for the right athlete on a cool day. Big thanks to My wife Harmony and the crew that came out to help -- Ryan Thrower, Jesse Haynes, Ben Atkins, and Jeff Stern. This trail is definitely one for the bucket list. Long, challenging, and beautiful!