I prefer a ride that doesn't repeat too much trail - although like
Lucy mentioned, if you are repeating in the dark, it doesn't really
matter as much and actually is kind of helpful.

As for loops in and out of camp or point-to-point, I personally would
prefer something that starts and ends in the same spot, but has bigger
loops with as little repeat as possible. I've started 7 100's now
(Wow! How did that number get so high???) and finished 4 - of those,
only Tevis (2 attempts - 1 finish) was point to point. Tevis was also
the only 100 that I've had crew for, other than my very first 100 in
Sunriver, Oregon. Since I normally drive myself, and crew for myself,
having multiple checks in the same location is easier. But rides like
Patriot's and 20-Mule Team make that fairly easy by having some checks
in camp, and then another "away" vet check that you may visit more
than once, giving managment the opportunity to start and end loops in
various locations.

Doing a ride like Swanton or Vermont, where it's a single-loop and you
don't share check points, would be a lot harder logistically in that I
couldn't just send one crew bag/box out with everything I might need,
but would need to plan better what I might want or need at a different
location. And then have to coordinate several different bags and
stuff to go in them, rather than one. Riding with a crew mitigates a
lot of that though.

--
~ Crysta

"Those of us who finish near the back, make the rest of you look good."