Cherry blossom is a fast course ... period. With that being said, Riley's time for 9.5 is believable. It's not even close to gate river run in terms of "hills" or sharp turns through neighborhoods. Cherry blossom has maybe 2 hairpin turns and the rest flows evenly. Plus the weather couldn't have been nicer or more perfect really
most people had 9.5 on their garmins, the route that was taken was about 800 meters to 850 meters shorter than the regular Cherry blossom route
for a race that has a rich history of logistical perfection in terms of rolling with the punches, this was taken care of the right way in my opinion