Dear ericshell,
Oh there is Greek blood in your family! From which region your wife come from? We will be glad to have you with us! We saw that you really like mtb and this tough race would be perfect for you. We would like to remind you that is a team race. You will need a teammate according to the regulations, mostly for safety reasons.
Furthermore, maybe you can suggest us some groups or forums to spread the race in USA.
Thank you in advance.