Oh records (I hate to sit and speculate before it's written in stone - isn't there a saying about chickens or eggs hatching? count your chickens eggs?) but with different directions, thoughts on which way is easier, timing starting in town last year, 1000 more vert this year, there is only one way to determine to the ultimate ctr champion.... dramatic cinema shot pans to Jesse's garage... the race bike... sitting in dust... just gets brushed off.

I think the weather has waaaaaaay more influence in time than the direction.  There are a lot of debates you can make about what hills you climb or coast down in which direction but I think one bad hail storm at 12,000 feet will wash away those differences in one scared heartbeat!  As for ultimate CTR champion, that's easy, Matt!  Anyone who finishes the trail is a champion .  Going fast just means you aren't out there suffering for as long!

Does anyone have an update on Paul Hamilton?  He was having an amazing ride and then his Spot didn't post a point since Hwy 114?

Neil is rolling into Silverton right now (9:45a MDT). Will he catch Ben? I think he will. Will he catch Jefe? He just might.

With how much work he's done to this point and the extra sleep Jefe got I'd be surprised if Neil can catch him but I'm pretty sure he's going to beat my time from last year!  I was 3d20h14m Trailhead to Trailhead and that gives him about 16 hours once he can resupply in Silverton and get rolling for the final leg.  It wont be a leisurely ride but I'm certain he's using every cell in his body to get there as fast as he can.  The record is his if he can get to Durango befor 2:14am.  Get it Neil!

I also don't know how Jefe and Ben made it this far w/o stopping in BV for resupply.  They both flew thru BV (even Neil stopped briefly in BV for resupply).  They might be coming into Silverton on fumes.

I'm baffled by that too!  There has to be more to the story though because I cant imagine they both picked up 3 days worth of fuel in LV and you just dont carry 25,000 extra calories 'just in case'!  And as for them making it to Silverton, unfortunately I dont think either will make it there before 10pm with what they have left to ride (it will be very close for Jefe) but maybe they will pull out another magic trick and not get stuck in the Sliverton penalty box till Neil shows up!   And speaking of Neil, he's 3.5 hrs ahead of his last effort in 2014 with great weather ahead.  History in the making folks!

Jefe crossed HWY 50 around noon and increasing his lead over Ben.  For someone that was just 'touring' it he's still pushing himself hard!  If he keeps with it he will have no problems making it to Silverton before the stores close at 9pm.  If things go really well its possible to make it from hwy 50 to Silverton in 28 hours putting him there at 4pm leaving a full 5 hour buffer.  Missing that is a major bummer though since its highly doubtful he'd have enough food left to get to the finish forcing him to wait till the stores open at 7am.  I know he's thinking about that already!  Weather will be a bit of a factor today too since it looks like he's getting rained on right now but hopefully tomorrow will be clear!   There's a good battle for 3rd going on too (not counting Neil)!

Neil is pacing fast and ahead of Ben and Jefe at the same elapsed time.  But I cant understand how both of them blazed through BV in the middle of the night so fast and didn't seem to stop in Mt. Princeton either!  Have they upped the game and are surviving on pine cones and mudpies?  Looking closer at Neil, I am comparing his pace from 2014 and he's tracking really close to the same splits on his actual spot points (his spot hasn't updated in 45 min).  If he can hold his pace without his knee blowing up he'll be setting himself up to challenge 4 days!  Exciting to watch it unfold and way easier than being out there

holy crap, man.....do you sleep well otherwise?  or battle with insomnia?  I just can't imagine coming even close to doing that.....

I had no idea an hour per night was even possible until I witnessed Jefe a few years in a row pull that off (even skip the first night in the CTR and TD!).  My first CTR I thought I was pushing the limits with 5-6 hours per night and in 2013 I was running ragged with 2-3 hrs per night.  I normally sleep a solid 9 hrs per night and even when life gets super busy I do everything I can to get at least 7.  So basically the CTR is waaaaaaay off my norm!  My prep was to sleep as much as possible the week before the race and avoid all caffeine for a month before.

jesse: how many total hours did you sleep last year?

Right around 3 hours total (one hour per night).  I don't recommend it!

It does look like Ben is increasing his lead over Jefe (from about 4 miles to about 8-10 miles in the last several hours)

That's 'cause Ben just rode down a 6 mile hill

Ben had an awesome first day and it looks like Jefe is super motivated this morning and woke up with some serious speed in his legs!  Aaron and Aaron are adding to tight race at the front!

I would seriously like to change the race date next year to late June/ early July, because the course will be greener then, and there will be more flowers, it will make a great tuneup for the ctr, and not conflict with the velorution venture or the monarch mind bender. 

Like Woodland said, you're always going to conflict with something!  Just pick a date that will work best with the terrain and go for it!

Stoked to try another bad-ass route!  Unfortunately the race is the same weekend as my Monarch Mind Bender but get out there some time!

... how do you get 20,000 calories without most of it being junk food?  Anyone got a list of what they are looking for when loading up for the stretch?

I never figured that out!  I'll be curious if this is possible but I lived mostly on poptarts, gummies, peanut M&M's, beef jerky, granola bars, nuts, trail mix and a few gels.  The only thing not classified as 'junk' was 2 frozen burritos that I made sure to eat within 24 hours.  I also tried cookies, muffins, snickers bars, Clif bars but it all ends up about the same.  Good luck!

After driving through the Big Horns to climb at Ten Sleep I can definitely say that area is really enticing!  I'm looking forward to seeing what the route is...

Tortoise - I had a Zpacks 7'x9' tarp with me for the first 4 years I did the CTR and it's a great option if you want more than 3 hours of sleep per night.  It was 180g and lighter than any bivy sac I could find.  Plus, it helps keeps your sleeping bag dryer than a bivy sac which is important for a down bag that never gets a chance to dry out in the sun.  On clear nights I never set up the tarp but if the weather was questionable it was worth it's weight in gold. 

Neil's at the Arizona Snow Bowl.   Looks like he's doing some post hole traveling ahead:  http://www.arizonasnowbowl.com/?q=webcams
Anyone know if the snow persists beyond Humphreys peak?

Watching these things  I see how entertaining Spot Trackers are!  I hope Neil stays strong but for my sake I hope he gets another Spot so I can follow him along with the rest of the others out there.  I keep refreshing my trackleaders page hoping to see the update!

Here is another one in the Alps on July 8, 2016:  20K Ultra Trail
http://20k-ultratrail.it/en_GB/

Trhoppe,
It all depends on the snowfall but you should be able to go 1 week earlier and only have a few small small snow fields to contend with as a worst case.  When the snow melts it really goes fast and I'm always amazed at the difference a week can make in early July.

I'll start wit the right answer, you can make anything work!  I just read about a guy that did it on a unicycle!!

My personal preference after riding the CTR a hand full of times is a long travel FS (130mm-160mm) with a Reverb.  I wanted to take a HT at one point for the frame bag volume and lower weight but reconsidered after racing the Vapor Trail 125 on it.  Contact points take a beating riding for days on end and anything to limit the shock will help in the long run.  I also subscribe to packless at all costs for the same reason.  Difference in wear and tear on my body was enormous and with a FS your gear is suspended weight and more manageable on the descents.  You have to get really creative to make everything fit that way unless you can ride XL frames.  But, I still had fun on the trail carrying a pack for my first 3 years but you'll do yourself a favor to keep it as light as you can.
Good luck!