There is something special about the concept of a marathon, in any kind of guise. It is all very well saying "I ran 30 km" or "I rode 50 km," but people will just nod, smile, tell you that's nice, and go on with their day. However, if you tell someone you did a marathon... suddenly they are all ears and staring at you with a slightly awed look on their face as they bask in your sheer athletic prowess. Although that is a slightly overcooked example, it is true that people do think you are slightly broken in the head when the idea of a marathon enters the conversation. And when you tell them that the marathon in question will be at full race pace with a national title on the line, the jaws drop even lower. This is often accompanied by a slight shaking of the head and the phrase "are you nuts?!?!?!" But alas, that is what I had was intending to do when I entered the Highlander 2013, also known as the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cross Country Marathon Champs (try saying that in one breath.)
The weather in this country is slightly queer. We have been in the middle of the worst summer drought in years, and on the day of the race it decides it's going to rain for the first time in months... A rather damp field with a few tents was what awaited me on arrival to the Whakarewarewa forest, and despite this I was still looking forward to the race. Even in the rain, Rotorua is still an amazing place to ride. At registration I glanced down at the list of entrants and couldn't help but notice that there were only about 50 people on it. Upon closer inspection this was the list for all race categories and age groups... Turns out all the riders for U17 80 km had decided not to enter. I'm not sure if it was the distance or the promise of rain that scared them all away, but I was to be racing alone. I talked to U17 short course XC 2013 winner Nathan about why he didn't enter, and the reply was that it was to long for him to even consider entering... So knowing that there were no other U17's, I adjusted my sights instead to finish in under 4 hours and try and hold the top guys for as long as possible.
I have a reputation for strange race faces. Here is a focused one.
The start was fast and furious. If there was any planning to pace from the riders, it wasn't evident as we battled it out to make it into the singletrack first.
Surprisingly, I found myself keeping pace with the lead riders through the first section of singletrack. Railing our way through creek track, I was quick to hook up with endurance expert and all round nice guy Ryan Hunt, and together we began to force our way through the field. Ra had been kind enough to to include a few sections early on in the race designed to level out the field; namely a hike a bike section straight up the nearest hill. A short section of queue jumping made it seem more like a shopping mall than a bike race, and before we knew it we were back on the bikes again.At this stage I was feeling as comfortable as a Labrador on a couch and was easily holding a group of pretty fast riders. We rolled into Genesis and this is where things got interesting. There is this one downhill in Genesis that is notorious for ejecting water bottles, and you'll never guess what happened... I was face with a decision: go back and grab the now ejected bottle and lose the lead group or face down 40km until the next feed zone with 750ml less water than I was expecting... Thinking that the cramp preventing electrolyte is ambrosia for distance racers, I chose the first option.
I had lost sight of the lead group as they burnt up the fire road and so was facing the next 72km or so all by my self, unless someone behind me caught me or I reeled a few riders in. As the race began to drag on I chose to reel riders in. Slowly but surely I worked my way through the pack and eventually found my way to the next notable section of trail; another hike a bike section. I wish I had some photos to show you of it because it was pretty steep and went on for ages. It's times like that I'm glad I own bike shoes that are actually walkable in. Turns out this was to take us to the top of a gravel descent which, seeing as today was the first rain it had seen in at least a month, was pretty slidey and loose under the wheels. At the bottom of this I was greeted by every Endurance Racer's favourite sight; the Feed Zone.
For those of you who know me well enough, you will have undoubtedly heard that I swear by icecream as a pre race food. This is true. Today, however, I was going to experiment in a new usage of icecream, as a food source during a race. Turns out this wasn't such a good idea. First of all, despite being kept in a chilly bin the icecream had completely melted. Secondly, it turns out that to digest the protein in icecream whilst riding is quite hard, and my stomach was not happy. Nausea out on track is not fun, and I was lucky not to send it all straight back out again. I think it can stay as a pre race food from now on...
The last half of the race passed with little to write home about. With on and off rain I spun my way through trail after trail and fire road after fire road, moving ever closer to the finish line with each crank stroke. The rain intensified. Rolling through Chinese menu it was impossible to tell whether it was sweat or rain clinging to my cycling jersey. Nonetheless, I kept pushing forward. As I hit Be Rude Not 2 the rain lifted a little bit with glimpses of sunlight showing through the clouds. This didn't last long and it was raining again before I reached the covered section of the trail again.
At long last I reached the last section of trail; Rosebank. Rosebank is a series of switchbacks, pinch climbs and short, technical downhills that end at a small stream crossing. As the last section of trail, my gps was telling me I had around 6 minutes left before I would cross over the 4 hour mark. If I pushed, I knew I could do it. The funny thing about racing is that no matter how tired you are, at the end of a race somehow you can open up the taps that control your energy output and pump out an extra burst of speed, much like the afterburners on a fighter jet. That is exactly how Rosebank felt to me. As I hit the river crossing at the end at full pace, I was greeted by cheers from my fellow JAFAKIDS Kim and Kalen, who had already competed in the 40km event. I whipped past them and sprinted across the field to the finish line. Sliding across the wet grass to a stop, I knew I had done what was without a doubt the hardest race of my life so far. 80km, 3 hours 58 minutes, and a whole lot of rain later I had completed the Highlander.
Skidding on the wet grass often leads to overshooting.
Truth of the matter is I love distance events, and the Highlander was no exception. If there was a marathon race on every weekend that there was a short course race here in Auckland, there would be one less guy to beat in the U17 Short course races because I would head off to the Marathon instead. It's more of a challenge, and a single stuff up doesn't spell the end of your race. For anyone looking to give their first XC Marathon a go, know that there will be smiles, there will be tears, and there will be moments that you curse the course designer's name to the four winds. but when you finish, you WILL know that you have done something that others consider to be truly extraordinary. So, are you nuts?!?!?! I think not...
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