Let's Race!
The 18th Annual 24 Hours of Moab is ON!
The enthusiasm for the return of the 24 Hours of Moab has been overwhelming. By all indications attendance at this year's race will be going north of last year's, well north. I'm excited to tell you that the race is on and registration is open. Big thanks for all the commitments and generous words of encouragement from so many racers! (It'll take months to catch up on all my e-mails.)

Mark your calendars for October 6th and 7th. Then, call up you teammates and sign-up now for the best, early-bird pricing (24 days till the end of March).
Go to 2012 24 Hours of Moab Online Registration>>>

Spread the Word
Want to send out some inspiration? Many racers have said this year's numbers may be an all-time record and several have said this slideshow is the way get folks psyched. Check out this amazing retrospective slide show and send a link to all your mountain bike friends.

Play Retro-Slide Show >>>
Runs on Windows Media Player 10 and up (wmv file):
Get Win Media Player>>>

Hi-Res AVI movie file (plays smoother, bigger file):
1024x768 AVI File>>>

(lower-res versions can be found on the 24HOM Homepage)

The Bus
by Joey Schusler
Here's some more inspiration. Remember that team that was wearing penguins on their helmets? Here's the back-story. Thanks to Joey Schusler for documenting all their adventures (and mis-adventures) in this sweet, well-done fun-u-mentary.
http://vimeo.com/32761453

A New Class for Those in a Class by Themselves
The return of the 24 Hours of Moab also creates the opportunity for re-imagining the event. In our survey, hundreds of racers provided tons of ideas and suggestions and we are looking at various ways to incorporate these.

Here's one for starters: we are adding a new class, inspired by the courageous service of all our public servants in the military, fire, police, emergency medical and/or search and rescue. The Public Service Class will be a 5-person class, a sub-class of the 5-person Coed class. This race-within-a-race will allow public service personnel to compete amongst themselves and still compete within the larger 5-Person Coed class.

5-Person Public Service Class Requirements:
All members must be active duty, military, fire, police, emergency medical or search and rescue personnel. The 5-Person Public Service class is a subclass of 5-Person Coed and will also compete for awards in that division. Each team must have at least one woman and each team may include no more than one expert male racer. (No Pros are allowed to race in this class.)

There's much more to come in future announcements. Stay tuned!

Survey Says...
Ok, the survey was rather lengthy, bordering on tedious, my apologies. Still, 1087 people responded to the survey and plowed through it (a new endurance sport? Not.) The results have been invaluable. In fact, the results were so positive, it is why the race will continue this year. Moreover, the additions and improvements that we are incorporating as a result of the thoughtful and creative feedback will make the race bigger and better for the long run, too.

I'll be sharing insights from the survey in future communiques. For the time being, I'll share one of the most eagerly awaited results, the votes for the members of the "Most Bad-ass Women's Team". Here you go:

Frankly, I'm a little disappointed that my favorite (Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica) didn't get more votes. If you are a sci-fi fan and haven't watched this epic drama about the very survival of the human species, you gotta check out Battlestar Galactica.