One more thing, can we please do our best to check our claims before posting them? False statements, whether honestly believed or not, dilute the thread. Cheers!

Excuse me for not noticing that particular footnote, I guess I should have said long standing instead of since the inception. I'll exit the conversation now as you are obviously trying to just convolute the issues here. The rules were broken, a rider was relegated. There's no doubt it was the correct decision. The only thing diluting this thread is your trying to twist the simplicity of this in to some kind of courtroom hearing. I'm glad the RD sees it the way pretty much everyone in this thread does except for you. It's simple if you are one who follows rules instead of trying to find loopholes to bend them. Take responsibility for yourself, and race unsupported with no visitation. The rules were available before Lael's run and she broke them in a premeditated fashion. That honestly makes it even worse.

The visitation rule wasn't there 3-4 years ago (and 2 of those years were pandemic years). Let's treat this rule as what it is: a new addition. BTW, there's plenty of grey areas, read my posts above - I mention some of them. It seems that the grey area that some mind is media crews/visitation. The other grey areas are fine to keep.

The visitation rule has been in effect for all of the Triple Crown races since their inception. This is not a new thing.

The course itself changed recently and the visitation+media rule was added around the same time, am I correct? Surely, you must have objected to it when it happened (by your reasoning above). What did they tell you in defense of suddenly changing the rules & the route after so many years?

There have been no rule changes since the course change that I am aware of. This is the same rule set I raced the 750 under in 2015.

I forgot, this is the era of "everyone gets a participation trophy". Evolving the rules until everyone is happy ensures that nobody is happy. I would venture a guess that the vast majority of people doing these events are attracted to the "do it yourself" ideology. Evolving the rules to move away from that is a disservice to those looking for that experience.

To get a non * time, document your effort yourself. I've seen beautiful photos, and engaging videos (look up Aaron Johnson's 2014 AZTR video) from participants. It can be done.

I agree with this 100% and had mentioned Aaron's awesome video in an earlier post here, it was one of my main sources of stoke while training for the 2015 AZTR750. I must have watched that video 100 times.

Hence the discussion to evolve the rules. I don't know how to make this any clearer, sorry.

"Evolving rules", so how would we keep records then? Each time the rules change, the race changes and the racers are no longer racing the trail under the same rule set. To me, that sounds like something that would degrade the integrity of the race and be a record keeping nightmare since you can't in good faith say that the racers are racing under the same set of conditions. The current rule set is simple, I've raced the whole Triple Crown and there's no grey area unless you're trying to bend the rules. Get out there, do it alone, without visitation or support. I did it, so have many, many others.

I thought it was her spouse, Rue, photographing/filming her?

Visitation is not permitted, so just her partner being there is enough to be relegated. Case closed in my book.

"Media crew" is just an extra thing that happened and quite honestly is inconsequential when there's already a visitation rule that was plainly and provably broken.

I have nothing against Lael, and I would support John in this decision with any racer.  I, for one, think this decision supports the integrity of this great race and those racing this trail past and present and keeps it in it's current state of being an excellent event, my favorite event of the Triple Crown. Lael is one heck of racer, as are you Sarah. I hope Lael gives it another go without visitation and kills it again. But this attempt was plainly outside of the rules for the event and I'm glad John is our new RD and is not afraid to enforce these few and simple rules. Quite honestly, from what I have seen, the only people who seem to think they aren't simple are those who haven't raced under them, and those trying to bend them, as I have seen in all of the races I have been in.

Agree to disagree on media (especially dedicated media following a specific rider) being support. Seeing a friendly face my partner's face along the length of the route would be a huge boost for me - thus my opinion.

I absolutely agree with this. Even for fast racers, having your partner following you and knowing you're going to see that partner day to day is a huge motivator. And even if it isn't, visitation is against the rules. Once again, case closed.

I've known John Schilling for quite a few years at this point and know him as nothing but a fair-minded, honest and unbiased person who has a passion for bikepacking and has contributed to the sport infinitely and selflessly. There is no way this is against a single rider and certainly is not about Lael being female. No one who has posted is a "He-Man" type rider as Bigbuck stated, we've all been beat by numerous incredible females and I can say for myself that the women of ultra racing have always garnered huge respect from me. I may have completed the Triple Crown of Bikepacking, but I'm not one of the fast guys, hence my handle of "SlowRide" on the forum here.

There have been brilliant videos of the AZTR750 taken from selfie sticks and go-pro type cams, I can remember one of the Aaron's posting a wonderful one circa 2014 that he did (if memory serves) from near the front of the pack.

Bigbuck, please look at all the posts here, you are the only one who typed anything derogatory or aggressive, all of the other posts are quite calmly stated and objective. "Pitiful woman" was only typed by you and it sickens me to quote it right now. Also, just because a thing has been done wrongly in the past and was let to fly does not mean it should be done that way again. We all know the rules going in, visitation is not permitted, media crews are not either. These rules were plainly broken and I for one am thankful that we have a RD that is willing to enforce the rules.

Ride on everyone.

Garmin eTrex 20 did the triple crown of bikepacking and all my rides for recreation and training for years and years with no issues. Good battery life, rugged, simple. Maybe better options out there these days but this is an old standard.

Why didn't Lael sign on to Trackleaders as an orange dot to start with, and save her reputation and everyone else all the hassle and drama?

Wondered that myself since she obviously knew there was going to be visitation and a crew. Seems like it would have been the logical choice to do that and go for the FKT instead of calling it the AZTR800 which she clearly knew she'd be outside of the rules for.

Looks interesting:
https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/new-colo-race-to-highlight-1000-miles-of-area-trails/

Definitely interesting.... getting my mental gears turning as I watch the spring snow fall here in Colorado.

Lael finished her 800 ITT a bit ago, about 2h 20m ahead of Nate's winning time from last October.
Rules. The AZTR has them and enforces them. Rule #2 explicitly states no media crews & no record will be acknowledged if a media crew is used. There's also a visitation rule which states excessive use may result in relegation. Unfortunately this too occurred over the entire 800 miles.
Lael's finish time of 9d 8h 24m will be noted, but not recognized as the record for violating the above rules.
I know a lot of you are very passionate about these events, keep it civil.

Thank you for enforcing the rules John, I am in full support of you and this decision. Rules are rules, Lael knows these rules, and they were broken.

The frontrunners just came through Clark, CO. Brendan Heinig high tailed it after a quick stop at the Clark Store and JayP sat down for a Beer and Pizza. I Just saw Brandon quickly as I happened upon him on the road, I pulled over as soon as I saw him and said a quick "Keep it up!" as he rode by, he replied an energetic thank you and seemed in good spirits. I snapped a very late shot of him making his way down 129 towards the 'boat. Then caught up with JayP at the Clark Store on the deck and had a quick conversation, he says he's feeling great and psyched to just keep riding. Nothing but smiles there.

I’m here at the Twin Lakes trailhead getting my gear packed to hike the Collegiate Peaks Loop, Corrie Smith from Anchorage just now rolled on through northbound. Her SPOT flew off of her mount on her bike at some point and is waiting for her further up the trail. She’s in good spirits and looking strong! Go Corrie!

I had a really surreal dream last night, which is rare for me.

I had made it to Silverton in great time....but when I looked down at my bike, there was nothing on it.  No bags, no extra clothes, no lights, nothing...only (scantily clothed) me and a bare bike.  Apparently I had been so rushed at the start I had forgot to carry anything with me.  I found some bike/ski shop in silverton and was scrambling around trying to find warm pants to buy, but all they had were bib-length swim pants....like the kind they wear in the olympics to go faster.  I started continuously cursing myself for being so stupid and absent minded, and then the dream ended.  Fun times.

Anyway....

I need a better water filter setup for next year.  I used a sawyer mini, but filling the plastic bag was a total pain in the ass.  It would take forever to get the bag full (even when there was enough water to dunk it in), I'd get my gloves/hands all wet, then would have to screw on the filter, and squeeze the bag into my camelback bladder to get ~12oz worth of water.  Then unscrew everything, refill bag....etc and repeat 5-8 more times to get a full bladder.

Maybe I'm just doing it wrong?  Should I attach the filter in line with my camelback hose, and fill the camelback with stream water and make it filter while I'm drinking?  Or is there another faster/easier solution/product?

Also would like to find a GPS unit to use that will either last ~4 days continuously, or has replaceable batteries with long life.  Did it last year with the guidebook and pulling out my phone with trailforks to double check.  Took one wrong turn that cost me an hour and 8 extra miles and also spent way too much time stopped looking at book/phone making sure I was going the right way.  Is an etrek the best option, or any other recommendations?  I have a wahoo elemnt, I suppose I could wire it up with an external AA battery pack, but no idea what the usage would be.

Throw the Sawer “bag” away. That thing is a pain. The sawyer mini has threads that match any soda or disposable water bottle, use one bottle as a non-treated water bottle and fill others from it. You still have to squeeze the water bottle but it’s way easier that the bag. As far as GPS I’d be looking at eTrex20. If you want more info go eTrex30 but I found more info just eating at my mind on Tour Divide as I flipped through screens anticipating climbs etc. wasted mental energy. eTrex20 has all you need, is rock solid, and if you turn the backlight completely off will last quite some time.

I’m in Colorado and play in the high country daily. I’ve been in a tent for a few weeks now at 10,000’-12,500’ here around Steamboat, there’s definitely a lot of snow left in this area but as Stefan speculated, most of it is hikeable. Watch out for trap doors near rock piles that heat up during the day and near logs where the rotten snow can give way and branches can puncture or snare your leg etc. All in all it’s tough travel out there, I just came in from some nights on the CDT last night, but, it’s doable.

I see Jeff Kerkove is now officially marked a scratch, any news on what may have happened? He was having a great run at it.

Timon dot bouncing at the finish....Congrats on a great race!

It looks like Timon is headed off route (hopefully a tracking error, but he's on a road.  And the boss, Jefe, is now in second!  Lots of strong riders out there, in the ladies race as well.  Wondering if anyone is going to crack.  Woo hoo, dot watching

Looks like Timon is back on track at this point but it didn’t look like a tracking error to me. Looked like he missed a turn, glad to see he caught it and corrected it especially with 3 horsemen charging after him. This race has been high excitement!

Where can I find the official route, minus the detours?

I’m going to be leaving on the 18th, figured I’d be able to find and download the detours somewhere on route.

Thanks

Garrett

All the info you need is posted and linked to here:

http://www.climbingdreams.net/ctr/

The official GPX file is on Toby Gadds blog here(which is linked to on the previous link I posted):

http://tobygadd.blogspot.com/2012/01/colorado-trail-race-gpsgpx-tracks-and.html?m=1

Heya Scott,
  Just a quick note, and a quick fix, I believe "Navad100" should be "Navad1000" on the race listing.
Peace,
John

I used a snowboard lock for Tour Divide, didn't use a lock for AZTR or CTR, just google "snowboard lock" and you'll see them, it's another lightweight option.

Looks like Justin's almost at the bottom of the ditch. Go go go!

I gotta do the 750 again next year.... going nuts watching it from the sidelines....

[nice Yeti!]

Nice job on your 300 ITT Mark, nice Yeti!