I am surprised it has been given this status, I haven't even heard many people speak favorably about the trail. Maybe I should go investigate for myself, mostly I have heard people refer to it as a huge pain in the ass.
Disclaimer: I had a part in the design and development of the trails between Russell, Jim Hogg, and Overlook Parks. I know the trail fairly well.
From what I can discern, you either like it, or you hate it. It's very technical in places (from about mile west of Russell Park all the way to Overlook
and from Cedar Breaks until about two miles from Tejas Camp (TC.) From there, it's fairly easy to TC, and it's mostly doubletrack from TC to a mile from Russell.
I like starting at Tejas Camp for a few reasons: It's the closest trail head for me. It gives me the option of either starting or finishing with an easy five mile spin. Either way, somewhere along the half way point from TC, you ride a little over a mile across the dam on pavement. This can be tiring depending on which direction the wind is blowing.
Generally, it's out of the south in spring, summer, and fall months. Sometimes it's out of the west. If you ride it counter-clockwise, you'll have a southern wind at your back across the dam but get some wind in your face between Russell Park and Tejas Camp.
The rock is tire shredding embedded limestone with scree in places. There are ledges here and there, too, as well as two or maybe three sets of log steps that I have yet to clear going up. Oh, and there's cacti galore.
As far as the IMBA Epic status goes, it wouldn't have been chosen had it not met the IMBA standards for epic. Those standards do change, so one day it might not be an epic. I submitted the application for epic status and had to answer several follow up questions. I had no idea it was being chosen until IMBA announced it.
To see the various ride times for a full loop and segments thereof, log into
Strava to see what people have created and accomplished. I strive for an under-three-hour lap following the "official" loop.
If you're interested in riding the loop and think you can ride it between 2:45 and 3:15 hours, PM me. I can show you around.
D