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Riding a mountain bike as fast as one's legs can manage, for 75 miles, over almost 10,000 feet of elevation. Sounds like a rather painful day, does't it?

Apparently the statistics aren't enough to scare off bikers, if anything, they act as some big lure, drawing bikers from all parts of the country who want to jump at the chance to ride some of Park City's best trails, all in one day.

On Saturday they will get their chance as the Park City Point to Point mountain bike race begins at 7 a.m., at the Quinn's Junction Recreation Complex.

If you are thinking about recreating in Park City on Saturday, keep an eye out for the bikers, who will be rolling on much of the single track between the starting area through Deer Valley and Park City ski resorts to the finish at the Canyons.

All that sweet single track is what distinguishes the Park City race from many other endurance style races, a popularity that created some eye-popping statistics of its own.

When the registration opened, more than 600 bikers crashed the system for the 380 available spots, leading to a sellout in just 11 minutes.

Jay Burke, who has been staging the race since 2009, said the course keeps riders returning.

The Park City race is often compared to the Leadville 100, a 100-mile out and back mountain bike race that has a low point of just 9,200 feet of elevation and reaches a high point of 12,424 feet, but it is mostly on double track and gravel trails.

The Park City race doesn't feature as much elevation, but does showcase some of the area's best biking trails.

"I could put together a 100-mile course easily," Burke said. "There just aren't enough hours in the day. But we have over 400 miles of trail here in Park City, and that makes it different from a lot of endurance rides and races that use loops. You are never on the same trail twice here, and that is phenomenal."

In 2015, local Rob Squire won the men's race in six hours, 32 minutes and 29 seconds and Evelyn Dong (Sho Air/Cannondale) won the women's race in seven hours, 37 minutes and 33 seconds.

Squire, fresh off a ninth-place finish in the Tour of Utah, will be back to defend his title, with Cannondale teammate Keegan Swenson expected to be his biggest threat. Colorado riders Marlee Dixon and Gretchen Reeves are the favorites in the women's race.

Squire echoed Burke's thoughts on why the race is so popular, noting the trails are hard to beat, as is the atmosphere.

"Despite the race drawing a highly competitive field, all the racers are really friendly and committed to having a good time," he said. "I'm excited to be in the line in an attempt to defend my title this weekend. Giddy up!"

While the pros get the recognition for their speed, Burke said its actually the efforts of the everyday riders in the race who make it what it is.

"There are a lot of people who just want to check it off their list, and I love having them here," he said. "It's not for the faint of heart, you can't just get off the couch and do it, but there are a lot of people who want to say they did it."

With the popularity of the race so high, Burke has been tempted to see about expanding the numbers, but doesn't want to do so because he fears it would lose the friendly, good vibe the race has.

"It's like a small boutique race," he said. "People come into town and set up a mini-mountain camp, chat and get to know each other. If we open the floodgates, I don't know if we could keep that campy feel that makes it so special."

Special, but hardly easy. —

Park City Point to Point race

In short • 380 mountain bikers will tackle one of the country's hardest race courses starting at 7 a.m. at Quinn's Junction Recreation Complex (Round Valley). Winners are expected into the finish area at the Canyons around 1:30 p.m. or so, although it will take most riders around 8-9 hours to complete the course.

Where • The course will cover mostly single track from the opening area on the Round Valley trails to Deer Valley to Park City Mountain Resort to the Canyons.

More info • thepcpp.com