kicked off the race at 5 am on September 1. Temperatures hovered around 50 degrees and onlookers included party-goers who hadn’t yet called it a night. There were no dust storms — a frequent concern during the annual gathering at Black Rock City — though temperatures did climb roughly 40 degrees by the time the final runner crossed the finish line shortly after 12:30 pm.

“We faced a lot of nervousness from people on the safety of such an event,” Yanek told Wired.com. “Luckily, the organizers of Burning Man were quite supportive.”

In the end, only Ben Merchant could proudly raise his arms above his pink tutu in victory, clocking in with a time of 3 hours, 50 minutes, a good 21-minute gap over second place. Aid stations were placed strategically, so that runners would encounter them every few miles as they looped around The Man, but conditions proved such that no significant injuries were reported. As for the other runners, Yanek reported that the scene was a mixture of “codpieces, capes, tiny briefs, and lots of body glitter.”

That’s a far cry from some of the initial responses she encountered when she first started floating the idea of a 50-kilometer race. “A lot of the Burners thought it was completely insane. The idea of Burning Man itself is a little crazy, but hosting an ultramarathon? Totally insane,” Yanek said. “Also, many Burners aren’t your typical athletes, so they were surprised at the field we got.”

There are improvements Yanek wants to see implemented in next year’s race, already scheduled for 5 am on August 31 (the Wednesday before Burning Man). “We hope to have smoother transitions with turns (including better course markings), more water stops, and more volunteers to help out,” she said. “Overall, though, it went quite well for the first year.”

And, of course, attire will be optional.

Photos courtesy Michelle Maislen and Fabien Pichard

Follow us on Twitter at @erikmal and @wiredplaybook and on Facebook.

Authors: Erik Malinowski

to know more click here