big dog’s backyard ultra start hour 17:

the whistles blow.
the countdown begins.
the corral fills up.
there is the bell.
and off they go…

there is no finish line.

only 18 teams still have perfect records.
after a long run with czechia at the top with the fastest times,
now the czechs are down to 13 runners.

turkey replaced them for a good run.
now they have 14.

poland took over the top spot for a while
and now they have 14.

japan has inherited that position.
i wonder what will happen.

slovakia and belgium are waiting in the wings.

meanwhile the US is in guess what place….

18th

i like our chances

hungary is 8th and australia is 9th.
i think they have decent odds.

the last 6 teams in the “time based” standings:
france, germany, canada, UK, spain, and the US.

who do you think is building a foundation to win?

meanwhile,
the small country division is pretty close to settled.
guatemala (219) now has a huge lead over namibia (-7).
down to 3, namibia has almost no chance of catching up.
zambia (-11), with 8 runners to guatemala’s 9 might have the best chance to catch them.

the only thing is,
this is the backyard.
it isnt over until it is over.
and you arent out until you are out.
the scoring is still close enough that two stubborn athletes could make the difference.