This is by FAR the most difficult XC course I've ever seen.
Pictures don't do the course justice but it has massive hills and you do them 5 times each. One hill is a 10% grade. Our article on the course is here:
So the question becomes how to "attack" a course like this.
Is there any science that extra effort on a 10% grade isn't worth it as you won't gain as much time as if you pushed it on a downhill portion of course (or is this exactly backward).
We're looking for all the advice we can get from good hill and mountain runners.
I think my advice to Kelsey and Matt may be "you can't start too slow" the first lap.