Started around 6:40am so I didn't have to start with a headlamp. Went fairly conservatively the first 25 miles and was playing catch up from Mesa Cortina on. The first section was muddy, wet from rain, and several down trees, which I expected, but it did make for slower conditions. It was a very quiet day on the trail, however, which helped. Temps ranged from 36-55 degrees F and wind picked up on Eccles pass. Nutrition was decent until Uneva Pass when I started finding it hard to eat at altitude. I brought 3 bottles of high carb drink mix and otherwise filled up with my Salomon filter flask in creeks to save time. I ate Maurten gels every 40-50 min.
There is a decent amount of climbing in the first half of the run, even though the major passes are looming at the end. I'm a stronger climber than runner so I thought it would be best to finish with the climbs. Beautiful evening and a "fast finish" to barely sneak in under the pervious FKT time.