big dog’s backyard hour 34:
we have our data back.
while i napped…
(lets be real, while i was in a brief coma)
they streamlined the system to handle the volume.
and this has been the story of backyard
since the first one was held…
in my backyard.
it just took off of its own accord,
and we have been struggling to adapt to the exponentially greater size continuously.
be that as it may,
i regained semi-consciousness ti find that netherlands has continued to expand the lead in the midsize division.
it turns out that there is no better strategy
than to have more runners than anyone else
at all times!
only iceland has managed to stay within potential striking distance
but they have been facing an even more implacable foe at home.
an ice storm has forced a re-route of their course
and might even be causing some data problems
as i dont think their score is right.
i believe they should stand at 442;
15 behind netherlands and 13 ahead of slovakia.
maybe not exactly right,
but close.
slovakia is all the way down to 4 athletes now,
and it is fairly certain norway, with 7, will pass them for third this hour.
norway is probably a lot more concerned about portugal,
who has 8 and is only 7 yards behind!
in these tight contests
hanging on to your runners is crucial.
right now it is just that third podium spot that is in play,
but so much race remains that even the leaders are not going to rest until the pursuit is over!
in the large division
and who hasnt been anticipating when the large division competition starts to heat up?
it is a sure thing that new zealand and belgium are in front with intact teams.
we think hungary might have lost a man on hour 32.
either that or there is a data entry error.
there are a few challenges in running a contest where about 50 languages are involved.
and no language is more difficult than magyar!
so new zealand and belgium are at 480
hungary is either tied or (-1)
the US, canada, and australia are all (-2) and a man down.
france (-8) and spain (-8) are a man down,
and dying for some of the teams in front of them to go 2 men down,
because those teams are hungry!
there is a real logjam in the large team category,
and everybody has some runners struggling as we near the end of hour 34.
it is going to be very interesting to see what happened while i wrote this!
