I'd been looking forward to the 2nd installment of the race ever since I finished last years run. This year Brad was joined by his parents from Wisconsin who were at the race helping out the runners and taking care of the grandkids. Nyla had her hands full with her new 2 week old, yet she still found the time to help out the runners with logistical problems. It is such a wonderful family supported event. We were all saddened when we found out that Nyla's father (Capt'n Karl) had passed away only 6 weeks after last years race and his memory will be with all those who were honored to have met him last year. I knew we were going to have to contend with some water since this area of the Hill Country received lots (19 inches in a 6 hr. period in nearby Marble Falls) in the past week, but I didn't know how pervasive the ruts and mud would become in these normally dry rocky trails. As we were driving to the race, we hit a fairly intense storm in Burnet, but it didn't rain at the race site at all during the whole night. During the pre-race announcements, Brad told us that the lake level had gone up that morning and that we wouldn't be running the section on the other side of park road 4, which led to more 2 way traffic on many of the single track sections to squeeze in a 5 mile loop. Once the race started we all bounded up the trail through a bog. Those first 50 feet of the race would be the only time any of us would have dry feet. I settled in with everyone else during the first loop, then things started to spread out a bit and I got to chatting with Pat from Boerne who is moving to Austin, so we'll probably be seeing her on the local trails soon. About a mile from the end of loop 2, I saw a fantastic sunset right next to a thunderstorm cloud with lighting. Quite a unique sight. I made it through the first 2 loops in the daylight, then changed my socks, grabbed my headlamp and started out again. It is amazing how different the trail was at night. It seemed each step was a new adventure waiting to happen. I slogged through a couple loops then cleaned my feet and changed my socks again after loop 4. I credit changing my socks to keeping my feet blister-free. Even though, my socks would get immediately wet given the course layout, having clean socks got rid of the granite/sand buildup that I heard alot of other runners were experiencing. I got a chance to sit and talk with my friend Steve at the far aid station during loop 5. He'd been very busy volunteering as the official timer during my first 3 loops before getting a break. (Thanks for all your help Steve. I certainly missed your espresso, but the Red Bull did the trick.) I knew that I still had one more loop in me after that, so I got to business and finished at 6:04 am. I could have gone out again, but given my last loop split, I decided to call it a night. I passed out what beer I had left to the finish line crowd as we waited to see if Larry King was going to make the cutoff and take the lead in the race. He came in just 90 seconds late and had to settle for 2nd place. Then, we all enjoyed a burrito breakfast with mimosas and beer available. Gotta love post-race ultra fare! Here's to Brad, Nyla and their families for a wonderful addition to the Central Texas race season. It is one of the few local races whose focus is on night trail running. Already looking forward to next year and hopefully drier trails.