Ramey,
I agree it could be a problem for ride managers. I also once
sponsored my daughter as a junior and left an hour later with the 25
milers, and then went on to finish the 50 mile ride (by the way it was
Castle Rock). I explained that I would be going through the early part
of the trail late and explained why and that was ok with them.
When I am talking about the need to establishing cut offs is
when the first vet check is at 12 miles and a rider arrives at 4 hours
after the start, then goes on to the lunch stop at the 25 mile mark in
another 4 hours, so after the two hold times is 9 hours into the course
to start
the second half. Could a rider finish this portion in three hours? Of
course, some of the top ten riders will. Is it likely that this rider
is going to be doing that. Realisticly no. Under your premise, the
third vet check would stay open with a vet and volunteers three hours
after the previous rider had gone through in order to allow this rider
the full 12 hours to stay on the course before being pulled. The vet
that had to stay there for this one rider, could be back at basecamp
helping the post vet check, treating horses that need assistance, etc.
Another problem is that the drag riders cannot leave until all the
riders are through. When you do not establish REASONABLE cut offs, the
drag riders are so far behind the majority of the pack, that if there
was a major problem along the trail with another rider, the drag riders
would be so far back that they would be of no benefit. So there is a
safety reason, and not economics.
Maybe this is something the directors can talk about at the convention
to establish some guidelines that would be helpful to the ride managers
without compromising the riders.
Terry Woolley Howe