Chasm, I looked it up on the website and it is in fact an official race, although it is listed as 'not yet permitted.' I will keep an eye on that, and when it opens I will buy a day permit. Thank you for alerting me to that.
Achoo, I have been working on my climbing and hill riding in the last couple of weeks, so that hopefully the race doesn't rip me apart too fast. I knew it would be a big change, so I'm trying to adjust my body to that. I will definitely work on my pack riding skills, but am not thinking that I'm going to be way up in the main pack.
Thank you both for the tip to look at the racing forum, I'm just getting the chance to go there and check it out right now.