Ah, Mohican! This race, part of the National Ultra Endurance Series, was a test to see if I had enough gas in the tank to take on some bigger races that were coming up: Stoopid 50, Hilly Billy Roubaix, Michaux, Cheat Mountain Ultra- the possibilities are endless for the month of June. But really this is all in preparation for Shenandoah 100. My one huge goal of the year. Just to finish that race.
Mohican begins with a MASSIVE start. The 100k and 100m
riders both line the street in downtown Loudonville, Ohio. It really is a sight
to see. This being my first time, I didn’t really understand the importance of
getting a position at the start, until I saw 600 people lined up. I tried to scoot
up as far as I could, but also wanted to avoid being sandwiched in with other
riders. I’m not that great at riding within close proximity with other people,
and I didn’t want to begin this race with a wreck. I had a lot of miles to
ride.
The start is straight out of town and up a nice, steep
climb. I went off the line quickly enough that I warmed up fast, but not so
fast that I was going to regret it later. With 600 riders out there, my goal
was just to get in the woods unscathed. Once I made it there, I knew I would be
in my element. The reality, however, is that once I got to the woods there was
a lot of standing around, waiting to clear bottlenecks, and riding a slow
congo line. I quickly realized that it was going to be a long day.
About an hour in, we were finally starting to move
consistently on some singletrack. As I made a right turn on a switchback, I was
almost knocked off my bike by some rider that cut in from behind. It was my
friend Chrissy, and she yells back “this is a race where you have to be
aggressive with passing.” That lit a fire inside, and I start passing rider
after rider. I think that by the time we exited the first 20ish miles of
singletrack, I had passed 27 riders. I had a lot more to go, but I was feeling
much better just being able to ride somewhat near my race pace. If I do this
race next year, I will know to get at the start line super early.
I played the rabbit game for the next 5 hours, passing where
I could. If I can pinpoint one major mistake I made, it was at aid station 2.
This was right around the halfway point, and I was being overly cautious
about taking in enough food and fluids. A few weeks ago, I suffered a nasty
quad cramp that I couldn’t shake at 6 hours of Brady’s Run. I didn’t want a
repeat of that episode. Plus it was a pretty hot and sunny day. Anyway, as I
was chowing down on watermelon and leisurely sipping coke, I quickly realized
that 5 other women had blown in and out of the aid station. I had no idea what
race they were in, the 100k or 100m. All I knew was that they were now in front
of me, and I had to work even harder to regain my spot. Over the course of the
next 30-some miles, I ended up passing 3 of them. I never saw the other 2
again.
As far as the terrain, Mohican is crazy fun. It has steep
ups and downs, flow/pump track, rocks, roots, and sketchy downhills. It has the
perfect split of trail and road. And my Giant Lust was the perfect bike for
this terrain. For the first time this year, I really used the suspension to my
advantage. On the gravel roads, I locked out and just rocketed up the hills.
Especially toward the end of the day. I was amazed at how easily I passed other
riders with minimal effort. This bike just wants to GO. And the full suspension
just ate up the singletrack.
Performance wise, I was pretty happy with how I raced. I
learned so much about how to prepare and operate during a course of this distance
and with this many people. From prepping drop bags, positioning myself at the
start line, pacing, passing, nutrition, etc.. You just have to get out there
and do it. There were certainly times where I had some pain – the hike-a-bikes
were physically draining, and I had some neck cramps, 3 bee stings, and
relentless arm pump. But overall, I actually felt really good. The 100k course
had 8,300 feet of elevation gain, and I ended up taking 6th /24
women open, and finishing in 7 hours (6:40 moving).
