Well I did the race. I was aiming for 1 hr and 20 min and I did it in 1 hr and 12 min.
I didn't really know what to expect, so just finishing was a goal.
It was pretty tough, but not as hard as I thought it was going to be.
Here's a (not so brief) synopsis of the race.

The first mile and a half was probably the hardest. It was about 40 degrees out and you could see your breath. I, of course, was the only one in shorts and a t-shirt. Next year I will be sure to wear some light gloves. It was on asphalt as well, which I hate. Even though I started out slow, I immediately got a side stitch. I think that was due to how cold it was.

As soon as the crowd evened out and we all found our pace we all bottle-necked on to a single file trail straight up the side of the mountain. I think this is where I could have went a lot faster if I had been out front. Someone at the front was walking, which was fine, it was too steep to run. But they were walking as if they were on a nature walk, not in a race. We were going at a pace MUCH slower than I would have gone if there were no one in front of me. This lasted about a mile, so that slowed me up considerably. Next year I'll start out at the front and try to build a lead.

The trail leveled off and my side stitch was gone after all the walking. But it wasn't level for long and there was another hill almost a mile long and pretty much straight up. I was able to jog a lot of it and pass quite a few people that were walking.

The last half of the race is a lot of loose, rocky terrain. A lot of it was downhill as well. Which sounds good, but it's killer on your knees and hips and really hard to maintain balance on all the rocks.

The last mile has a lot of little hills, quick switchbacks, fences etc. The last half mile you cross a fence, over railroad tracks and then across the river. THE RIVER WAS ICE FREAKING COLD!!!! My legs were bright pink and completely numb the last little stretch.

All in all it was great fun though! I can't wait to do it again next year. I now know that I need to be a lot more aggressive about passing people, even if it means going off the trail and on slightly more dangerous terrain to get ahead. There were a couple of times where I should have bolted ahead to get around some slower runners and I missed my chance.

The race is a re-enactment of this:
John Colter, Mountain Man