The second Epic weekend

The BT Epic is a very fun, challenging 55 mile mountain bike race with a 300 participant limit imposed by the National Forest governance. This keeps the trails very uncrowded. 27 miles of the course are on the renowned Berryman Trail and portions are on the Ozark Trail, both containing many rocky and rooty sections. They are always going up or going down through beautiful Ozark forest scenery. The host venue is the Bass River Resort- a great outdoor adventure base for floating on the river or riding/hiking the trails in central Missouri. The weather in Missouri in October can be iffy- this year it was splendid! starting at 35 and reaching low 60's. I might be the oddity, 10 years older than any woman placing in front of me, but I'm liking these longer races! BT Epic was my second long mtn bike race this year, and my second long race in two weeks time, having finished an XTERRA Epic distance (6:43) just the weekend before in Arkansas. I was diligent in my use of my Hammer supplements during the week - in particular- Super AO, AOBoost and 6 Tissue Rejuvinator per day. I was racing well, even with the short week of recovery. Around the 40 mile mark a poorly placed arrow sent many a rider, myself included, on a long detour. (this was my first time at this race, but I've learned that it's been a common problem thru the years) I added about 25 minutes to my travels and probably 2 places to my womens finish, judging from where I was before my re-route... and then I missed the last water fill. This was a problem and I cramped both hamstrings with about 8 miles to go. The 3 Hammer Endurolytes I took with my last drops of Perpetuem saved the day. After less than 5 minutes of soft pedaling, I was able to start pushing again and rode steady, reaching the finish in 6:42:15 and heading straight for the water cooler! (Beer and bonfire came later!). Did I mention it was near enough to be Halloween Weekend?