
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
A local championship sprint event includes $300$ athletes competing in a $100$-meter dash. The track can accommodate $8$ runners at a time. In this championship, after each sprint, the top two finishers of a race advance to the next round while the other six are eliminated. Determine how many races are needed to declare a winner.
A) 50
B) 51
C) 52
D) 53
E) 54

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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