THE Race

There is too much too discuss. Too many why's, what for's, and misunderstandings to clarify. Too many blisters and ripped tendons, muscles, etc. Too many thorns to pick out of skin or lacerations to heal. Too many stories to read, much less document...

Too many unsettled consciences to count.

But you can watch these three videos and read read the following stories to begin the inexplicably impossible challenge of understanding of what this race is and why these immortals attempt it... every year.

When you watch the videos and read the stories, I strongly urge you, if not demand, to not just sit back and say what they're doing is stupid or ask why they'd even do that, with no interest in an answer or listening to their argument of why, but to try and think of how a person would feel after completing something of this nature... 150 miles, 4 days, 6 hours of sleep, the only prize is pride, and almost enough scary situations to make you give it up forever... whether this all be a positive or negative thing is for you to decide.
Remember, we all get our kicks in different ways.

(I'm not embedding the videos here, so you must go to their prospective sites and read the stories, too.)
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First, Dave Chenault put out a short write-up on the 2012 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic.

I commented on Dave's experience and write-up (fourth comment below Dave's post above).

Spruceboy shared Gerard Ganey's YouTube Video.

Luc Mehl, organizer of this year's race and winner of the past few summer & winter races, put out his video & write-up.

Dave Chenault got home and collected his thoughts on the race, with a long write-up and video.

Roman Dial shared his experience, which brings extra light to the topic, with his extensive Classic experience having completed six of the seven routes in it's history. Excellent thoughts and tales of hallucination.

The Fairbanks Daily News Miner also had a summary of this year's Classic.

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I'm glad I didn't do this year's race. I saw this coming, thankfully... at the first word of this year's route choice.

To those participants who enjoyed this year's race, congratulations. You should keep going bigger and faster and farther. Don't ever give up, as you are the ones making the videos we all love to see, influencing gear design, and expanding the vision of what is possible, on foot, in a raft, & unsupported.
To those who have second, third, or final thoughts about this year's race, who wants to go on a trip?!?!