Jeremiah Bishop is up front, covered with mud as he pushes his bike up the hill, pursued by TJ Platt . Next come Benji Klimas and Justin Povrikova , racing neck and neck as they have from the start. Cassie Smith comes by. Shelly and Lori Ware push their bikes across the finish line together, running the last 100 yards to the cheers of the faithful. A worried husband is relieved to see his wife Mary Phillips emerge from the woods.
Every finisher is relieved, completing a race to remember and having a story to tell.
Spectators have a renewed respect for those who took on the challenge. All in all, the race is in the books and, thankfully, everyone comes out none the worse for wear. Monday morning, the sun was blazing to start a beautiful day in Oak Hill with the temperature heading up towards 60 degrees and nary a cloud in the sky. They had to snake the shower drains at Ace to clear all of the mud out. No one will forget this one for a long time.