My second year of Marathon class was yet again another great race. The course overall was a lot dryer, yet still had a section that was good and muddy, leaving me yet another year looking like the great swap thing. The weather almanac says 30 mins into the race the temp was already 91 degrees, and the high for the day was 95. Hydration and maintaining proper sodium intake was crucial. Knowing that it was going to be a scorcher, on Saturday I drank a lot of fluids, alternating between sports drink and water, and even taking a couple S-Caps (electrolyte pills). In the morning, as always, I still felt dehydrated. Drank a cup of coffee, a pint of water, and downed some sports drink on my way to the race, as well as an S-Cap, and another bottle of sports drink once I got there. The race start was relaxed, as is typical for an endurance race. There were probably about 40 riders. I started in the second row, as I wanted to keep the leaders in sight on the first climb. I wanted to go o...