AOM Long (04/03/2018)

A very fast course that still had some good route choices to it. The ground in the white woods at the start was actually very, very soft. Following the trails for a bit helped. I was leading a train up until the butterfly loop and the pace didn't feel too fast, but I stopped thinking clearly on the butterfly loop and had to lower the pace to get back into a zone where I could think. When I was going to 17 I based my entry into the woods from the trail on the location of the water stop, but they were in the wrong spot, actually being northeast of the position on the map. After that I stayed in a pack of 4 other guys. Pack running: very fast but you've got to maintain map contact. These guys were going pretty fast, faster than my tired body could manage at that point, but I stuck with them as best I could and got precious seconds when they screwed up the entry into the controls.