Marathon vs. Cross Country

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.

Hardest race ever!

The last few races I've taken part in have turned out to be mechanically challenged races. This occasion turned out to be a physically challenged race in a big way!

The mountainous country side of Clarens was the setting for the forth leg of the 2010 MTN national marathon mountain biking series. Heavy rain throughout the day and night before made for a very muddy race. As usual the top contenders from the MTN and Garmin teams were on the start line. This is one of my main reasons for traveling to compete in these races. I know I'm not up there contending for the top positions (yet...), however, I strongly believe that the only way to improve and get there is to race against the best and gain valuable experience along the way. Like any business or career, you have to invest something for it to grow.

The race started out mainly on gravel farm roads for the first 10 to 15km. At this point that was pretty much the end of the gravel roads for the rest of the 100km as we headed towards the rough mountainous areas and the Golden Gate Nature Reserve.

The terrain was so rough almost to the point of unridable on a hardtail mountain bike! After riding on this terrain up a very steep hill and then along the top for a while I really needed a short break in the terrain to give my back and most of all my hands a rest. However, this much needed little break in the rough terrain never came and we then started going downhill. At one point while going down my incredibly sore hands and the rough bumpiness got too much to handle and I lost control and came off. Fortunately, myself and my bike (except for a bent break leaver and straightening the fork and steam) were ok and I was able to get back on my way without much delay.

When I got to the tech and feeding zone I was delightfully assisted by my number one girl and supporter who had everything from chain lube, coke and anything else right at my finger tips! This allowed for a quick efficient stop and I was away on my bike in no time!

After about 80km and 4-hours I hit the wall. My entire body was aching and every bump felt like I was being dropped from a building. Every pedal stroke felt like I was trying to tow a two tonne kart behind my bike. With this came the last monster climb! Hence it was a very long struggle between myself and my bike. Impressive as it is, although encouraging to know that the winner of the race Kevin Evans, said that he only just managed to ride up this final climb. I eventually made it to the top and just had to get down the otherside into Clarens, which involved a 300m portage section down some very large sort of stairs.

I eventually made it to the finish in a not so happy, broken and muddy state! I was out there for a very long time of 5hrs41min and finished in a position I’m not at all happy with of 24th. Without much sense of humor, my number one girl and supporter did an amazing job of encouraging and uplifting me. This was well needed as it has been a very hard three months without much race satisfaction due mostly to mechanical failures and this time to physical inability.

It is now time to put these last few months behind me and focus on some solid training for the next few weeks before the next race being the 100 Miler!

I must admit that this race as well as doing the ultra marathon in Harrismith last year, has provoked some self questioning about my equipment. I am definitely considering a duel suspension bike and possibly a 29’er before I compete in another ultra marathon in the Free State again. This would however, have to be on hold until sometime next year. Time to start saving and researching…

First mtb x-country race ever

I often get thrown in the deep end and this time round was no exception that's for sure!

I decided to take part in the second MTN cross-country national mtb event of 2010 in Maritzburg. Cross-country mountain biking is obviously very new to me seeing that this was going to be my first cross-country race I've ever done! As this type of racing is not my main focus I wouldn't have normally traveled to take part, however, I happened to have a wedding in that region that same day. I'm always game for riding my bike, a race or a challenge, I thought I'd take my bike along and participate.

As normal I did a loosen up ride that afternoon before. This time it involved riding the course. This turned out to be a bad idea as now I knew what I was in for and made me doubt whether I should go through with this race! Being one to never pullout or back down from a challenge this was obviously not going to happen!

Being a cross-country race I knew that it would be technical. My general feeling is that my level of technical skills are fine, the single tracks of Tokai are my back garden. But here almost the whole course consisted of technical single track with a few sections of unridable-only-launchable drop-offs and we would have to do this course seven times!

One thing that really struck me was the difference between simply riding single tracks during training (like I only really do as most of the races I take part in don't involve much technical single track) and racing on them! The other thing that struck me was the sudden intense pace from the gun! As I'm more of an endurance person that normally takes a little while to warm up, the first lap consisted purely of adrenaline, burning lungs and muscles. The first few laps also saw some sketchy moments with the near tree collisions, drop-offs and terrain, however, after the third lap I had a decent rhythm and was taking everything the trails threw at me with ease. I felt a lot more comfortable and was really enjoying it! The only problem was that by this time I was quite far behind.

It was an interesting experience and one that I will definitely take into account for my training. I will return to improve on my performance and better my position in some more cross-country races, however, with a bit more practice under the belt.

The funny twist in the tail was that I crossed the finish line at 14h00 exactly and the wedding was scheduled for 14h45!!! With great team work and detailed prior planning, myself and Roan Exelby (who is a cousin of Jayde that we were staying with and also competed in the race and was attending the wedding) arrived exactly on time to the wedding at 14h45!

Holiday in Dubai

One of the many problems with working full time and trying to race competitively is trying to get leave from work that coincides with bike races that need traveling or multi-stage races.

This scenario I was able to organise a week of leave three months in advance. This was the first leave period I was taking in one year and one month! Because I had to organise this three months in advance as well as organising the over seas travel that it also entailed, it is very difficult to find the best time period that fits in with my training and racing schedule as well! There was not much time to think! The leave was granted and the flights needed to be booked otherwise we would loose out on the good air fare rate. Unfortunately this time period coincided with the week of the Cape Epic. At the time of organising the holiday, I wasn't going to be able to do the Cape Epic. Little did I know that much closer to the time an opportunity to compete in the Epic came my way and obviously it was too late for me to scrap all the holiday plans and of coarse all the money that had already been spent.

Jayde and I were off to Dubai. What an awesome holiday it was! I had an amazing time and it was even better that I got to spend it with my number one girl and also to see my sister Tracy and Evan for the first time in 18 months! There is so much to do there and I think we did just about everything in the 8-days we were there!

- Two water parks: Wild Wadi and Atlantis hotel
- Desert safari 4x4 extreme dune bashing
- Indoor snow skiing
- Chilling on the beach at Mamzar, teaching Jayde to body-surf
- Travelling through two of the other Emirates: Sharjah and Fujairah, seeing the desert mountains, swimming and snorkeling around Snoopy Island rock where we swam with a turtle!
- Shopping at 5 different malls
- Seeing the worlds tallest building and the amazing fountain show from all perspectives (even from the 63 floor of the Address building at night!)
- We even got to go tubing behind a boat in the warm blue waters of the Gulf and seeing Dubai from the sea
- We also got to go to Tracy and Evans church and see Evan at his best leading worship

So Dubai was my first overseas holiday without involving some form of racing and what a great time it was! Now getting back home it is time to reduce the calorie intake and increase the time on the bike! Next race MTN mountain biking cross-country national in Maritzburg followed by the MTN mountain biking marathon national in Clarens.

Argus mtb race

Another race and another two punctures!

Another heat wave saw temperatures reaching the 40 degrees Celsius mark out on the 55km route of the Cape Argus Mountain Bike Challenge! Unlike Xterra two weeks ago this race started at a more reasonable time. However, that still wasn't enough as the race doctor had to cut the race for the back markers along the way short due to the extreme heat.

I was ready for this race, ready to give it everything I had! I was even more rearing to go this time round due to my mechanical disasters that put me out of contention at Sabie the previous week.

All started well with a firing pace to begin with seeing a front group of about 10 riders form early on. The short fast rocky downhills and tight corners determined an even further split up of the field. And then as soon as the roads tilted upward the gaps among the riders further increase. It was at this point where I felt that I had the legs and was feeling good and even more confident as I was riding in 3rd position only a few meters off the leader Conrad Stoltz and gaining ground up the climb. It was unfortunately also at this point when I went down a short sharp hill over a rough rocky patch and cut a whole in my back tyre! I got off my bike to try and spin my rear wheel to get the Stans to seal the whole but it was too large. So, off with the tyre and rim tape and in with a tube. Not too long and I was back on the saddle and making ground. I believed that I would be able to catch back up and finish with a decent position.

I experienced one hiccup along the way shortly after my puncture. There was a decent amount of downhill single tracks and as I was further back in the field among other riders I was getting held up a bit on the single tracks. At one point I was gunning it down this one section to overtake another rider in order to enter the next single track section in front on him but only ended up with my face in the dirt as I didn't make the corner!

Again back on my bike and making up ground I encounted yet another flat rear wheel!!! This time it was a thorn and because I was forced to put a tube in from my previous flat there was no hope. Fortunately for me the man behind my sponsor Blend Property Group, Martin Epstein, was not far behind me at this stage and stopped to give me his spare tube. Thanks Martin, because if it wasn't for you I don't know if I would have been able to face patching up tubes along the way again like the previous week at Sabie! Although this time I was out of bombs and had to pump the tyre up with my ever faithful little MicroRocket pocket pump. This did however, take a little while.

Back on the bike again this time round I had now lost far too much time to try catch back up over a 55km race and I just rode my own race and tried to catch up as much as I possibly could over the remaining distance. As with everyone else, the heat did get to me as I had to stop three times to drink Coke and water and pour water over myself to cool down. I would never have thought of stopping like this in a 55km race!

I eventually got to the finish without any further hassle. But now I really need another race to give it another go!

MTN SA marathon mtb Champs: Sabie

Sabie is the land of endless up hills! I don't recall riding more than 500m on a flat stretch during the 110km race. It is mountain biking after all and the route was all that with just over 2600m of climbing.

Hard consistent rain throughout the evening before left the course very muddy. I was not too concerned about this as my tyres that I managed to get hold of just before I left Cape Town handled the wet muddy track brilliantly! The race started with a 13km climb that took us from an altitude of 1000m up to 1900m! This resulted in the field getting strung out right from the beginning! I managed a good solid pace up this never ending climb and reached the summit placed relatively well in the top 20 just a few minutes back from the leading duo of Kevin Evans and Burry Stunder. Being SA Champs, the start line was packed with all the big names of mountain biking in South Africa! This is always exciting for me as I can see how I shape up against the others and gage my improvement as I grow in my relatively new found sport of mountain biking.

Unfortunately it wasn't going to be one of those races. As it turned out after only 30km into the race while I was still riding amongst a handful of riders placed in the top 20 of the field I experienced my first flat tyre. This occurred while descending the other side of the mountain after the long first climb. My back tyre must have lost a bit of air and I hit a rock at speed causing the side wall of the tyre to pinch. So after a while of trying to bomb my tyre back up only to realise the whole in the side wall was too big for the Stans to seal it, it was in with a tube and off I went making my way back through the field of riders.

25km later, after catching up and passing plenty of other riders while going down another rocky hill at pace I got that dreaded feeling again! Looking down I saw my back tyre was flat AGAIN! This time it was a pinched tube, one of the reasons tubes no longer have a place in mountain biking as far as I'm concerned. So now I had to first try and locate the whole on the tube and then patch it up! I can't believe I was actually making use of my little patch kit along the way!

After fixing my second flat, it was at a stage in the course where we had joined onto the route of the 40km event. Unfortunately I had to then try weave my way through the masses of fun riders. This was a difficult task in itself on the narrow gravel roads and jeep tracks, let alone the single tracks! There it was impossible to ride as there was a line of riders in front slowly making their way through the muddy single tracks.

Reaching the 70km mark I was way back in the field and highly frustrated! I have to admit that after my second puncture and getting stuck behind the 40km fun riders I thought my race was going to be over at the 70km mark where we pass the start/finish area and I wasn't going to carry on with the last 40km loop to complete the 110km. However, at this point I found my two most loyal supporters there to give me so much needed encouragement. And after a quick touch of lube to my chain and some Coke, I was heading off on the last 40km of the race.

I simply cannot bring myself to pulling out of a race. There is something inside of me that when I start something I have to complete it no matter what the outcome is going to be. In this case I ended up finishing quite far back in the field and had a finishing time that made me have to rush back to my B&B afterwards so that I didn't have to pay a late check out fee!

In the end I was happy to have just finished as it was good training and as always there was experience gained!

And Sabie didn't get the better of me!