Final results for the 2008 Great Divide Race

Photo by David Blaine

1. John Nobile - 15:01:26, overall course record
2. Carl Hutchings - 17:10:41
3. Simon Kennett - 19:05:02
4. Fred Wilkinson - 21:01:45
5. Noah Dimit - 22:12:11
6. Jenn Hopkins - 22:18:40, women's singlespeed record

Did not finish:

Geoff Roes, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
David Blaine, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Keith Flury, Rawlins, Wyo.
Cullen Barker, Rawlins, Wyo.
Ryan McHale, Lima, Mont.
Dave Croll, Lima, Mont.
Brad Perry, Butte, Mont.
Nathan Bay, Butte, Mont.
Todd Temres, Helena, Mont.
Andrew Genco, Whitefish, Mont.
Gary Anderton, Whitefish, Mont.
Rainer Klaus

Noah Dimit's final thoughts

"Hi, this is Noah Dimit, doing the final wrap-up call in. I was really out of it last night, and I wanted to send out my thank yous. I wanted to thank my Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Darlene, ___ bikes, Tony's Coffee on Broadway.

Anyways, it was the most amazing thing that I've ever accomplished in my life. Best and worst times all wrapped up into 22 days I guess, 22 days and some change, 12 hours and 11 minutes. A lot of hardships, but looking back on it now having a day to reflect, I would probably do it again at the drop of a hat.

I also wanted to thank all of the racers who have ever even attempted it. Even showing up to the start line is pretty huge. And the original racers who got this thing started are pretty amazing. That's about it, and maybe we'll see you next year. Bye.

Jenn reaches Antelope Wells


Jenn in the Great Divide Basin. Photo by David Blaine.

Jenn Hopkins called from Antelope Wells at 10 a.m. Sunday to say she arrived at 6:40 a.m., for a seventh-place and first-female finishing time of 22 days, 18 hours and 40 minutes. Jenn also is the first woman to complete the Great Divide Race on a singlespeed, which would make her time the new female singlespeed record. Her call from Antelope Wells was a bit warbly and hard to understand, but it sounds like she had an amazing last few days.

"I had a long day yesterday from Beaverhead, all the way down through the Gila which was stunningly beautiful, just gorgeous," she said. "That has to be one of the most beautiful places I've been. Huge thunderstorms moving across. I had a really special moment there that made the whole thing worth it."

She made the "long, long trip" down the highway from Silver City. She saw Mary Collier and Steven Gleasner, who had just finished the Tour Divide and were on their way home. Then she rolled to the border early Sunday morning to find Mary's father and sister waiting for her. She said it was wonderful to see people there to greet her. She didn't know how hard that would have been to finish the race to a closed border station with nobody around.

"Time to get back to normal," she said. "As normal as this is, I guess. It's been beyond everything else that I realized it would be."

"Thanks to everyone who got messages to me along the way to wish me good luck and to keep track of how I'm doing." Jenn thanked her family and a few individuals (Debbie?). As I said, it was a bit hard to understand her call. Maybe she will get a chance to call back with final thoughts from a better phone.

"I'm rambling, because I'm tired and hungry and I'm going to get another shower. There will be lots of showers, and then food, and then eat. Thanks. Bye."

Congratulations, Jenn, on an inspiring ride. Jenn was on pace to break a number of Great Divide Race records. Then she contracted Giardia, fought that parasite for a couple of days in Abiquiu, and still pulled through to finish the race well before the cut-off. Congratulations to all the racers.

Noah Dimit rolls in

Noah Dimit called from Antelope Wells about 11 minutes after midnight Sunday, for a sixth-place finishing time of 22 days, 12 hours and 11 minutes. He sounded pretty tired and didn't have too much to say at the finishing line. "Anyways, it's a pretty crazy race," he said. "And ... yeah ... that's it. Bye."

Congratulations, Noah. At 23, Noah was the youngest competitor in the 2008 Great Divide Race, and one of only three veterans in a race packed with strong rookies. Of the veterans, John Nobile and Noah Dimit were both able to log their first finishes, John's in record-breaking time.

We only have one racer left in the GDR, Jenn Hopkins, who can't be too far behind Noah.

Fred's final thoughts

Fred Wilkinson called from Moab on Saturday afternoon with some thoughts on his race. He said his wife told him it was lame not to leave more information, so he logged a three-minute final call, which was probably longer than all of his previous GDR call-ins put together. Thanks, Fred! This is the kind of call that is best transcribed, so, here are final thoughts from Fred:

"I want to wish Jenn and Noah good luck on the finish. I hope it's not raining that much on them. I don't know if people realize how much it is raining in New Mexico. It rained every day on me in New Mexico and a lot near Silver City and Pie Town.

The big high point for me obviously was finishing. I was really psyched to finish. I actually had a goal of maybe a faster time which I missed, but I was happier to finish.

The other high point was riding up Boreas Pass because that's when I started feeling better in Colorado and thought I actually might finish. And also that final stretch down below Silver City is really nice leading down to Interstate 10, downhill and you know that the finish is coming up.

My big low point was the day into Rawlins; I had a horrible day that day. I had to walk up every single hill, even the paved highway into town. I ended up having to stay in Rawlins for 18 hours to recover. I had some knee problems then, but I got it back together in Colorado, so that was OK.

My bike and equipment all worked great. I didn't have any bike problems. I didn't even have any flats. The only flat-type issue I had was the first day, some air escaping and I was able to seal it with a sealant. No chain problems - one chain for the ride, one set of tires, one set of brake pads for the ride, my grips worked great. Everything worked great.

Animals: I saw two grizzly bears, lots of elk, lots of pronghorn, lots of coyotes, rabbits, deer, cows, roadrunners, saw a couple of horny toads, two buffaloes, but I didn't see any ostrich and I saw no javelinas. I did almost see Carl hit an owl. He had to skid away from running into an owl, which most people probably wouldn't expect to see.

Beyond that, the riding was a lot harder than expected. It was a lot of climbing. I didn't expect the climbing to be so hard. It was especially a lot of climbing in New Mexico, a lot of rain in New Mexico, and a lot of muddy roads in New Mexico, so it was really hard.

I didn't see anyone after that first Monday, after June 13. I did see Jenn in Abiquiu and I felt bad that she felt bad. I didn't get to talk to her more because I didn't want to intrude on her, but I'm glad that she's riding again. Saw a couple of Tour Divide racers out there. Saw a lot of people who knew about the race, but not many people seem to know the difference between the GDR and the Tour Divide, but beyond that it was cool to meet people who knew what I was doing.

At the border they seemed very surprised that I was asking to use a telephone or water. The guy who helped me was not very much help, but another guy did help me get onto a shuttle, so within 10 minutes of getting there I was on my way to Phoenix, and that got me home quick."

(Fred's call may have been cut off here after the three minutes were up.)

...

If any other racers have some final thoughts or pictures they would like to post on the blog, e-mail me at jillhomer66@hotmail.com. Much easier than transcribing! Whew.