Photo courtesy of the Des Moines Register Race Report: 2008 Living History Farms XC Part - Letters & Comments There's nothing that you could say or do to change my mind... it was a great time! Even though the crowds were huge, there were no mats at the starting line and my son and I got shirts that were too big... you guys do an outstanding job... for my son and I... it's a fun thing to do together... we've talked about some of the zaney costumes, creek crossings, bottlenecks at the tunnel just enough times that my wife and daughter are tired of hearing about it:) Thanks for the quality of planning and quality of volunteers, the quality of the coarse... and every little thing that you do to make this a great big race that keeps getting bigger! Tom I (3 time LHF runner) and John I (2 time LHF runner). I just wanted to say thanks for all those that made the race possible. This was my first time and it was a blast. The race was very well run especially considering the numbers. You will definitely see me there next year. I also ran with a helmet camera and tried to catch how crazy this race actually was. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gke2C22oGF4 Thanks Tristan Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you and all of your volunteers for a wonderfully entertaining race on Saturday. As a cross country coach, I know how much organization goes into a meet with 150 or 200 runners, so I know you had your hands full with 7500! I'm sure there were problems that could have been ironed out, but the excitement of being there and taking part in such a great event makes up for any mistakes! T D AMAZING!!! My hats off to everybody who was envolved with putting this on! Can not wait for next year. P.S. Naked Indian man: we got it...you're crazy...enough. In a word: AMAZING. The most fun I have ever had running in my entire life. Loved the cold weather, high water, and muddy mess. The people make this fantastic - from the volunteers to the participants. I am a coach and race director so I know and understand the work that goes into pulling an event like this off - congrats on a fantastic job and thank you for your hard work. I will make it a point to be back year after year, no matter where my life takes me - this is a can't miss. I would love to see some sort of on-line photo book created where participants and spectators can post photos. Chris I just want to say how much fun I had running this race. I was a first timer and plan on doing this race every year as long as I can. No matter what people say about being cold that is something I never felt...well, not until after the race was over. Another reason why I'm writing this email is to express my concern for what I thought was going to be chip timing that I'm accustomed to. Personally, I'm used to the timing system that has the mats that start your chip time when you cross the starting line and then your finishing time is read when you cross the mat at the finish. The kind you see in road races. At the beginning of this race I didn't see the chip start-time mats. It was a minor concern and like I said, I had a blast running this. Since I run primarily road races this could be why I wasn't used to the particular system today. The system I experienced today is totally XC but others I was next to were mentioning the same thing I was thinking. OK, anyway, I'm by no means angry or upset. I'll just have to start my Garmin when I hear the starting gun go off next time;) Thanks for the killer event!! Kevin Explanation will be coming! I need a rest.

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