Options
Marji Gesick Mountain Epicness (MTB, Run, etc)...
OMG @Rich Stanbaugh Just sent this along and I had to share. Full website here And it's single day, lots of epic and NOT on the Left Coast (no offense).... Czech it out!
~ Coach P
1
Comments
I was fortunate enough to have @Rich Stanbaugh send me this the other day. I shared it with @John Withrow and it is our intent to do this race in 2020 and rope in as many of the EN MTB/Gravel riders and Ultra Runners to join and make it one huge event...
@Emily Brinkley @matt limbert @Gabe Peterson @tim cronk @Clark Mitchell @Steve boer @Pat Morton @Patrick Large @Tim Sullivan @Brian Hagan @Bill Manard @maurice matthews
which event will @Coach Patrick be doing?? 😵
Looks "fun" @scott dinhofer . Timing might work too.
@scott dinhofer is that this week? It may be fun in 2020, but I know I tend to crumble after peaking for Leadville.
I think the plan is to do this in 2020... Then in 2021 have the even "Dumber Idea" of doing the course as an out and back for a true MTB ultra... There are a bunch of other great videos on YouTube if you need any further convincing of how bad this race will completely suck!!!
And if you don't believe me on the "Dumber Idea", you obviously don't know me very well... Check it out on bikereg by scrolling down. I just don't know if anyone has been dumb enough to actually try it...
Does anyone know if @Jeremy Behler even owns a Mountain Bike??? Seems like the type of thing he might hate to do after we do RAAM in 2021. Oops, did I accidentally say that out loud? 🙄
@Pat Morton Yes the event is happening this weekend.
I'm not sure that something which 40% fail to complete is actually a "race". More like a survival test.
I think I like the 100 mile duathlon option. Where you can get "The Worst of Both Worlds"
WTF
So... my buddy at work who is a pretty legit MTB'er in his own right just told me NOT to do this race... He has won a few of the local 4hr "Marathon" MTB races. He has a friend who is a STUD pro mountain biker. She has tons of street cred, I think she was Top 5 at Dirty Kanza and has placed well in pretty much every other "hard" mtb or gravel race there is. My buddy said that the MG100 took her ~16hrs this yr and she said it was the hardest race she has ever done. Her hands were completely torn up inside of her gloves and she wrecked many many times. Said the technical nature of the course gets harder and harder as the course goes on.
So now I really want to do it... But need to wrap my head around the thought of being on my mountain bike on REALLY technical terrain when I'm exhausted and it's pitch black dark out because it'll likely take me ~18-24 hours to complete... Oh, and I literally have exactly zero places around me to even try to learn how to ride technical MTB stuff and my current proficiency level is about ~11 out of 100... YOLO, right...? right?
So I guess I'll either try to figure out a few shorter (~50 mi) much more technical races before hand... Or start with the MG 50 miler the first yr and build to the 100 miler in 2021. But frankly, I might rather just suffer through the entire thing the first yr, even if it takes me 24 hrs of mostly hike a bike...
This is way different than Aspen-Vail-Aspen on a tri bike (sucking @Jeremy Behler 's wheel or this yr with a big group). On that ride, if you were exhausted, you could simply go slower on the smooth road or paved bike trail. Much different when in an even worse condition with blistered hands and sore back, but needing to traverse an endless rock garden up (or down) dangerous inclines...
This is a very different race than even leadville which mostly takes place on an "offroad" highway.. the ability to get hurt on technical terrain as you get more and more fatigued (Physically and mentally) will increase every hour...
I have been MTBing on some technical terrain for a few weeks now and it's amazing how fast my skills are rebuilding, that said, I would have to do ALOT of MTB riding on technical terrain to get ready for this.
one thing I have noticed is that it's easy for me to ride the same and familiar places and hit them with gusto. Last week I rode near Amherst Mass when visiting Lauren and having the wheel of a guy I met in the parking lot was helpful, but I still got off the bike more often than I would have liked...
if we CAN get a group together I will throw in for the 50 and likely get sucked in by @John Withrow for the 100 😁I would probalby only do this race 1x in my life, so YOLO!!
it's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye!