Animals were not really a problem for me as I finished 182nd out of 423 starters , so there were a few in front to scare them away
. I did see a dead snake on the track though.
It was hard to see when riding into the sun as it reflects on the dust on the lens of your goggles and makes it near impossible. Also, the quads and other bikes put up so much dust(especially the quads), so you really need to pick your times to pass carefully.
By the end of the race I was not physically worn out like you would be riding deep sand all day but mentally I was pretty spent as you have to be concentrating non stop as the terrain changes so quick . My lower back was real bad as you are in the crouched over position pulling back on the steg pegs nearly all the time( 3 hours for me).
All the above said , the race was awesome and run in a really professional way and I reckon I will be back to try and beat the first try that was this time.
Cheers Mark