CU Collegiate Conference finals

I thought I was done with collegiate racing, but on Sunday Jane and I went back for the reunion tour. CU was hosting the Rocky Mtn regionals, but they had also made it open to the general mountain biking public.
Saturday night we camped as it deluged. The next morning was an early one at 5:30. The temperature was a balmy 33F as we swerved through herds of elk on our way down to the XC course. Thankfully the race start was delayed until 9am, giving the sun time to warm us up. As we lined up for the Women's A race, it was clear that Jane and I were the only two non-collegiate racers in a field of about twenty.
The course itself rocked. It was brief, probably around 10 miles, but fairly technical and with some lengthy climbs, so it took us about an hour and a half to finish. Much to my surprise I finished right behind Jane (she usually outstrips me in the climbs)--she had a rough night on Friday. Hopefully I'll have a funny picture or two to post from that one.