Hi Mike,
In regards to the 8.5 day calculation, wouldn't it be closer to 9.5 if you factor in the required 24 hour break?
Looking at the results of the Kusko last weekend, with a hard fast trail (and the wind at your back) it seemed like the top 10 teams were able to stay pretty close to 10 mph even near the end, some coming off 150 mile runs with only a 6 hour rest. I think the total race time may get reduced as teams are seeming to trend towards longer runs, shorter rests (closer to a 70:30 ratio) and still maintaining some speed. It appears that further into a race, as teams become more conditioned that a 50:50 run:rest schedule isn't necessary, and that speeds don't necessarily decrease as was previously thought. Is it that if a team is travelling at a faster pace they will likely require a longer rest to recover, while a slightly slower team, while taking a bit longer to do the same run segment, may not require the same recovery time?
Tamra