Cross country racing involves completing a number of laps on a short technical circuit ranging from 6 to 8km in length. Marathon racing involves covering vast landscapes normally over distances in excess of 100km far away from civilization.
Given my background of endurance sports, triathlons and road cycling I was more likely to take up the marathon aspect of mountain biking. Only recently have I come to experience the two very different aspects of mountain biking. Each race took place just one week apart so that experiences from both would be fresh in my mind. Both races were national events on the 2010 MTN marathon and cross country series therefore attracting the top riders in the country. Each race was also extremes in there own categories as the cross country race took place in Maritzburg on a very similar course that the world cup cross country race followed last year, thus it is a world class circuit. The marathon race the following weekend took place in Clarens and turned out to be the hardest race I've ever done!
From my experience cross country racing is shorter and a lot more intense than marathon racing. Marathon races usually start with a neutral zone. This see the riders out of town and usually organizes the bunch of riders before the real racing begins. It is also a nice feature that I find eases you into the race. On the other hand in cross country racing, the second the start gun sounds the frantic rush to the first section of single track begins. With this comes the immediate spike in heart rate and lactic acid build up in the legs as one gasps for oxygen! I could easily get used to this as it is very similar to the start of a triathlon race where it is like a washing machine of everyone swimming on top of each other and being kicked in the face in order to get to the first buoy in a good position.
Once the neutral zone is over in marathon racing and the real racing begins you quickly settle into a rhythm (hopefully with a group of riders) that allows you to pace yourself. There is no such thing as pacing yourself in cross country racing, you just have to go flat out for the entire duration of the race. After surviving the mad rush to the first bit of single track it is then time to focus a large amount of energy towards concentration as one split second error or misjudgment will have catastrophic consequences!
These are the two most important differentiating aspects that need to be applied to these two types of mountain bike racing to ensure a decent finish. For marathons it is pacing yourself in a way that you are going hard without over exerting yourself to early resulting in blowing later on in the race as well as eating correctly at the right times in order to keep your energy levels up such that you don’t bonk later in the race. For cross country racing it is purely the concentration and skill that is key in getting you to the finish line.
Personally I found that I didn’t get as tied in the cross country race like I did in the marathon race. The duration of marathon racing is very tough on your whole body and also involves a large amount of mental strength to get you through certain stages of the race. Cross country racing involves a large amount of skill in order to push your physical limits over the shorter duration of the race. Both races are extremely challenging and exciting in there own separate ways and I would like to master each of them as they both help in preparing yourself for one another.
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