Wrote up a far more in-depth review last time I did this trail (not coincidentally, a year ago also on my birthday!) so I'll keep this one brief.
Phenomenal trail, can't recommend it enough! Dreamt of setting the overall FKT but will settle for shaving close to 8 minutes off my previous mark despite the heat and high training volume as of late. Particularly happy that I came through Skyline Gate (rough halfway point) a minute slower than last year but closed the back half nearly 10 minutes quicker.
A note worth clarifying: the time is from the "FKT | East Bay Skyline Trail (southbound)" segment. Chris purposefully created this one after his attempts in 2020 to match the stretch exactly from Alvarado Staging sign to the trail marker at Proctor Staging.