Any player can win every episode race if they complete an episode in 24 hours. Candy Crush is not a game of skill. It is a game of endurance and patience and time spent/wasted.
I still don't really understand how this event works, but I seem to be getting a lot of boosters from it, and I know that if I fail then my friends get boosters, so it's a win-win event either way!
I think that people who play hard enough to be at the top level Should NOT be penalized by not being able to compete in a game. It needs to be remedied!!!