Tag Archives: Endurance Racing

NUE Wilderness 101

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Written by: Jen Toops

On July 23th, 2022, Shenandoah Mountain Tours held the Wilderness 101 ultra and marathon races in Coburn, PA. The Wilderness 101 is part of the NUE National Ultra Endurance Race Series. This east coast course takes you through the Bald Eagle and Rothrock state forests of Pennsylvania, and is know for pristine mountain streams, old growth forests and rocky backcountry single track.

Photo credit: Cimarron Chacon

Coburn, PA

The gravel was fast, trails were dry, but it was a scorcher as temps reached mid 90’s with sunny skies. After a hard days work, racers were greeted at the finish line with well deserved BBQ and beer included with the entry fee.

BBQ included with registration

Camping was also included with registration in Coburn Park. This is the staging area making for a trouble-free race morning and celebration at the finish line.

2 nights of camping included with registration. Photo credit: Cimarron Chacon

The Finish Line!

Women’s Open 101 Mile

Taking the win in the Women’s open, Britt Mason (Knobby by Nature), finished with a time of 8:17:37.  This is her second NUE win for 2022 previously taking the win at NUE Mohican race. She also won the W101 in 2021.

Women’s 100 mile podium: 1st Britt Mason, 2nd Jen Toops, 3rd Libbey Sheldon, 4th Liz Wolf, 5th Julia Thumel

2021 NUE Champion, Jen Toops (Pearl Izumi/ Pivot MTB), finished 2nd with a time of 8:59:38.

” I decided to race my Pivot Les Hardtail this year since there is so much gravel.  It climbed like a rocket.  I tried to hold Britts wheel as long as I could but ended falling off on the rolling gravel about an hour into the race.  From then I started my own race.  I didn’t have a lot of ride time on the Les prior to racing and had a brand new dropper. It took a bit to get the feel for the bike in the chunky singletrack. I also decided to try a race with no data and just ride by feel.  Mid race I started feeling real nauseated and had trouble eating. I could only get down Honey Stinger gels and Carborocket electrolyte mix.  I dialed it back a bit.  Libbey and Julia passed me and we went back and forth for miles.  Finally I decided to get off the bike and lay in a river to cool off. Then the next aid station had ice packs.  That was just what I needed and was ready to rally.  I focused on pushing the climbs since my Les was made for climbing and took it easier on the rocky singletrack. People were flatting left and right but my Maxxis Rekon Race held strong. On one descent there was a Timber Rattler shaking its tail at me and too close to my foot for comfort!  Talk about scary! Then we saw another one on a gravel descent!  Ended up seeing Libbey around mile 82 and was able to hold P2 until the finish! Super strong ladies field this year especially with the heat! Next NUE race is Shenandoah! Thanks to Sponsors: Pearl izumi, Pivot Cycles, Maxxis, Ergon, SCC tech, Carborocket, Honey Stinger, Lazer, Stans.

The third step went to, Libbey Sheldon (CXhairs Devo), with a time of 9:01:51.

Fourth place went to, Liz Wolf, with a time of 9:21:39.  Julia Thumel (Bigfoot Endurance) finished fifth in 9:30:26.

Men’s Open 101 Mile

100 Miles Men’s Open Podium: 1st Patrick Collins, 2nd Ian Schwing, 3rd David Hendrix, 4th Dan Atkins, 5th Nelson Odreman

Taking the win in the men’s open was, Patrick Collins (Assabet River Bicycles), with a blistering fast time of 7:27:52.

“This was my second W101 and I came into it motivated for redemption after flatting out of the lead in a bad spot last year. With the heat and humidity, the start was reserved, with the group taking it pretty easy until the aid station 1, where Ian Schwing and I opened up the throttle on the first trail climb and we got a gap. I was excited for a solid day with a good riding partner… but things turned out differently. On the descent, I flatted. The hole was too big for a CO2 + plug to hold air. I rode it a very low pressure until it went flat again a few miles later, when I put a tube in. This set me back a lot. I was frustrated but was committed to not giving up, as these races are so long and so much can happen. I went to some pretty physical and mental dark places the rest of the race to claw my way back, even with stopping to fix two more flats and crashing while riding a front flat for miles. Coming into aid station 2, someone said I was nearly a half hour back. I closed it down to 15 mins at station 3, 8-10mins station 4, 2mins station 5, then caught and passed Ian on the final climb and I went on to win by a handful of minutes. Huge thanks to the other racers that gave me CO2s and tubes to keep me going. We are all friends out in the backcountry. I love this community and the NUE series. After the race I went straight to the river to take a dip to cool off. I forgot my black Vittoria shoes there, so if anyone found them, please let me know! :) Big thanks to my sponsor Assabet River Bicycles for the continued support that makes it all possible. If you’re in the central MA area, ARB is your go-to shop for excellent customer service! My next NUE races will be Shenandoah and Marji Gesick. ”

Just a few minutes back and taking second place, Ian Schwing (Flow Formulas), finished with a time of 7:32:07.

“It was a great day for me out there. Knew the temperatures would get hot and the rest of the racers seemed to be on the same page, as the first hour half of the race was a nice easy roll to Rothrock. Went to the front on the first climb with only Patrick to keep my pace, was glad I wasn’t alone as I knew it would be a long hard day alone. Unfortunately, Patrick flatted which led me with a tough choice, to which I decided to send it alone and pray nobody catches back on. I’ve never been in a situation like this in a 100-mile race, so there were lots of nerves, thoughts, and plenty of looking back to see if there were any riders. Kept the pace high, but comfortable for me. The gap seemed to grow larger, and I kept the pace up, knowing the heat would affect me, and not having any riders to work with at the later part of the course. However, it wasn’t enough to stay away the whole race. Patrick finally caught me on the last climb like I was standing still. Tried to hang on his wheel but couldn’t push it to the end. Hats off to him for not giving up after his flat tire issues and pushing through the hot weather! Shout out to Flow Formulas for the awesome support, as I look to take on Leadville this August, Shenandoah, and a full collegiate race season this fall!”

Third palce finisher, David Hendrix (Shirk’s Bike Shop), crossed the line in 7:47:04.

Dan Atkins (Bigfoot Endurance) took fourth place in 7:47:33, and Nelson Odreman (Vida Cycling/Trek) finished fifth with a time of 7:56:26.

Singlespeed 101 Mile

100 Mile Singlespeed Podium: 1st Thad Paunovich, 2nd Eli Orth, 3rd Sam Farmer, 4th David Taylor, 5th Kevin Claus

Taking the win in the singlespeed division, Thad Paunovich (IPMC Pro Bike & Run), with a time of 8:16:55.

“The Wilderness 101 was my second NUE race of the year. I did the Mohican 100 back in May and dealt with cramping for most of the race due to the heat and lack of proper race nutrition/hydration, I assume. Leading up to the  W101, I was keeping my eye on the temps and it was shaping up to be another humid scorcher like the W101 usually is. I made the commitment to really focus on my hydration and nutrition intake for this race so that I wouldn’t end up like I did at last year’s W101 crawling to the finish line. The race started out at a pretty moderate pace going up the 1,000ft first climb. I stayed with the lead group until the gravel roads started to flatten out. When racing a singlespeed, it is always a tough call for me on when and when not to try and spin with the fast geared guys on the flat stuff. Sometimes it really pays off but other times you end up burning too many matches spinning your legs off. Eli and I dropped off the geared guys and spun some of the flatter gravel together for a little while. I decided to catch the next geared guy’s wheel that came through and away I went. I opened up a gap between me and the rest of the SS’ers and I was like, I just gotta make this stick for the next 80 miles or so lol. It worked. I rode a lot of the next 80 miles either solo or with 1-3 people staying on top of my nutrition, stopping at aid stations for bottle swaps and to fill up my water bottles with cold water to keep me refreshed. I am becoming familiar with the Central Pennsylvania east coast rocks having done the TSE 5 day stage race the past 2 years and having done the W101M twice and the W101K once. I believe this previous knowledge of the trails helped me ride the rocks relatively pretty smooth on my hardtail SS and allowed me to keep a consistent pace throughout the race. I got to the big Stillhouse double track climb around mile 65 with my 34×20 gearing and was like I just gotta go for the last 35 miles and not let Eli see me. I cleaned Stllhouse and stayed on the gas all the way up through about mile 95. I started to fade on the hike a bike section after the last climb with 5 miles to go. Fellow Pittsburgh’er, Russell Shorkey came by me and told me to finish strong and that’s what I did not having much left in the engine. Held off an always strong and consistent Eli Orth by less than 3 minutes and got my 2nd NUE Singlespeed Win this time at the WilderneSS 101.Up next for me on the NUE Race Schedule is the Shenandoah 100 over Labor Day weekend, a personal favorite because of the big long climbs and the ever so fun swooping, fast descents in the beautiful Virginia Backcountry. I would like to give a HUGE thank you to all of the Race Directors and wonderful volunteers that make these 100 mile MTB races possible, along with PRO Bike & Run who has supported me in such big ways over the past couple years helping me pursue my passion and love of riding/racing bikes! I always have to thank my family, friends, inspirors, motivators, and even trash talkers who support me and continue to fuel my fire for racing bikes! I am truly Blessed!”

After suffering a slight mechanical, Eli Orth (Dean Titanium Bikes), finished just a few minutes back in 8:19:30.

“Wilderness 101 was my 3rd NUE race on the year. As usual I raced single speed in the epic category. This was my first time doing Wilderness since 2019. In 2019 it was crazy hot with a heat index of 110. This year going in was looking to be a similar hot day. It was HOT but not as bad as I remember 2019 thankfully. The race opening miles and climbs were at a pretty easy pace. I waited for someone to open up and pick up the pace but everyone seemed content with it. I decided to see if I could pick up the speed of lead group in hopes I could latch onto a faster group in the flatter section after first climb. It worked and a group of 10 or so was able to open some distance. With there being such a big and strong group of single speeders I wanted to try and take advantage of my stouter gearing than most others had early on. After the pull for a while myself and Thad were the only single speeders around and were left to ourselves. We settled in and talked a bit. Thad made another push about 20 miles in and I decided to stay at my pace and not chase. At mile 25 I heard a weird noise coming from my rear hub on a chunky gravel section. I didn’t want to stop in the middle of the downhill so I coasted to the bottom. Once I was off the bike I saw I had broken a spoke and it was twisted between the chain and the cog. I got it untwisted and wrapped only to have to stop again and wrap the other part of the broken spoke that was hitting the frame. For a while I stayed a little cautious seeing if it would hold up. Luckily it did! I was able to retain second place and was surprisingly closer to Thad at the finish as he finished a couple minutes ahead of me. Given the mechanical it was a great race. My decision to run a 34×19 versus my previous time running 34×20 at W101 seemed to work well. Thanks to all my sponsors. The fresh Kenda Boosters were flawless and the 8 bottles of CarboRocket 333 kept the cramps away and gave me the race nutrition I needed to keep the pace up. Also the best grips.. Esi grips, AbsoluteBLACK for their oval, and Stages.  Special thanks to Dean for a custom titanium frame I can have confidence in on the gnarly Pa rocks. Plenty of rocks out there to ruin a day. ”

Third place, Sam Farmer crossed the line in 8:32:23.

Fourth place, David Taylor(Turbo Certified), crossed the line in 8:47:20.  Just a few minutes back, Kevin Claus (Rare Disease Cycling), took fifth place in 8:49:48.

Masters 101 Mile

Winning the Masters Division, Keith Papanicolas (Badass Coaching), finished in 8:14:40.

Almost thirty minutes back,  Bruce Stauffer (Cycle Works), crossed the line in 8:42:22.

Taking third place, Rob Campbell (Freeze Thaw Cycles), finished in 9:00.

In fourth place was, Zane Wenzel (Team Horst Sports), finished in 10:22:32. Fifth place went to Paul Hoda with a time of 10:35:22.

Women’s Open Marathon

Marathon Women’s Podium: 1st Kelly Catale, 2nd Bryna Blanchard, 3rd Abigail Snyder, 4th Paula Coyos, 5th Jen Tillman

Leading the NUE women’s marathon series and taking the top step, Kelly Catale (Team Kellcat), finished first with a time of 6:02:12.

“This was my first ever Wilderness 101k and I was extremely excited to experience the long-standing race but, admittedly, was less excited to race in the forecasted heat wave. After my horrendous experience during the hot and humid Mohican 100 earlier in the season, I knew that managing hydration and keeping my core temperature down were going to be the biggest challenges for the day. Knowing that the course was 76 miles (13+ miles more than an actual 101k…) and being unfamiliar with the terrain, I had an aggressive goal to finish the race in under 6 hours, but I had no clue if it was possible.
The race started with a neutral roll along Penns Creek before the first big climb. I stuck with the lead pack of men up almost the entire climb, but was dropped toward the end. Luckily a smaller group of men caught me shortly after and we pacelined along the gravel roads until the first singletrack, Dutch Alvin. I pulled away from all but one of the guys and found myself chasing up the climb. At the first aid station and all of the subsequent aid stations, my husband was ready with ice-filled pantyhose to put down the back of my jersey, cold water to drink and dump over my head, and new race bottles. With a solid fueling plan, plenty of fluids, and the ice down my back, I was able to ride steady for the entire day. Much of the race flew by in a sun-soaked blur until we hit the last hike-a-bike section that nearly broke me. Someone warned me that I would have to hike with my bike for a few minutes near the end of the race, but I didn’t realize just how rugged that trail would be. After many hours of racing, trying to lift my bike over large boulders was about the last thing my body wanted to do. I was determined, though, to break 6 hours and I was still just barely on track, so after I got back onto my bike, I pushed hard until I was nearly cross-eyed, and wound up in someone’s backyard (made a wrong turn…). After finding my way back to the race course, I finished strong and ended at 6:02, just 2 minutes off my goal. All things considered, I was pretty pleased with the effort.  I want to extend a thank you to my amazing sponsors who helped make the day possible: Seven Cycles, Voler Apparel, Industry Nine, Vittoria Tires, Flow Formulas, Ride Headquarters, Gold Medal CBD, Julbo Eyewear. And the biggest thank you goes to my amazing husband, Joe, for another smooth race weekend. Lastly, thank you to the amazing volunteers along the course who made the event possible!”

 

No stranger to the W101 races, Bryna Blanchard (BMB Racing) took home a second place finish with at time of 6:49:56.

“I love visiting PA, and I could feel my excitement building at we drove closer to Coburn through the rolling farm fields and pastures surrounded by flat top ridges. I could picture most of the single track in my head, chunky piles of rocks, rooty switch backs, and fast techy descents. I love this terrain, it’s familiar to me and inspires me to ride aggressively, which is alway helpful for racing. The Wilderness 101k course is highly variable, with long sections of smooth gravel roads interspersed with very technical single track, and a good amount of rugged backcountry double tack. Each section requires very different strategies for racing. It is also a uniquely long distance for a “100k” at 77 miles. My plan was to ride steady up the starting dirt road climb and pace myself for the long day ahead. Luckily, I hooked up with 3 other riders for road racing tactics, pace lining the initial 20+ dirt road miles before hitting the 1st single track. I entered the woods in 3rd place and caught up to 2nd on the trail, feeling relaxed and balanced on the bike, happy to be in the woods. We entered the first aid station together and rode out together back onto a dirt road climb. Still with many hours to go and feeling strong I kept my steady pace and was able to pull ahead. The next several miles of single tracks consist of rocks; uphill rocks, downhill rocks, piles of rocks, large and small. Some days are just on and riding the rocks feels like flow, until it doesn’t. Only one minor crash, a few dabs and I rode through it with a smile in good time. The Specialized Epic Evo performed perfectly, like it was designed for this terrain, and so much fun to ride! At this point the course follows a series of undulating rough unmaintained double tracks with a very backcountry feel. The challenge is to avoid flats while maintaining speed on the long bumpy descents. “Stay light, don’t flat” played through my head for many miles. The next distinguishing course feature consists of a 20+ minute class IV road climb that I know well. Once again I chose to tempo up the climb instead of pushing the pace, still many many miles to go. The remainder of the course becomes a bit blurry with fatigue setting in, some smoother single track, fast dirt road descents and painful little climbs. Without knowing the proximity of my competition, my focus turned to pushing through tired legs without blowing up or slowing down too much. With the memory of past experiences getting caught in the final miles, I raced to the finish line, feeling spent but not yet in survival mode. Racing smart, pacing and riding technically well earned me a great day on the bike and a very satisfying result. Thank you to Barker Mountain Bikes for the awesome new race rig and continued support.”

Taking third place was, Abigail Snyder (Ride Fierce Racing), with a time of 7:02:30.

” I got 3rd in the Open Women 100k this weekend, and I’m totally stoked with that result! It was brutally hot, and I started out really strong (in 2nd until halfway), but had to dial it waaay back because of the heat. Perhaps most annoying, my fork malfunctioned today and wouldn’t compress, so the singletrack just beat on me… it felt sooo rough and awkward to ride! All that being said, I borrowed a friend’s aero bars for this weekend and they probably saved me–without them, my hands would have been absolutely shattered—and they were super fast on the gravel segments!! Now to rest, recover, and get my bike in working order (and UCI-legal—no Togs or aero bars next weekend!) before heading to Snowshoe! Many thanks to Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, Roanoke Outside, RND Coffee, Cardinal Bicycle, Osmo Nutrition, and ESI Grips for their support this season! I can’t wait to see everyone again at the Shenandoah Mountain 100k in September. ”

Fourth place was Paula Coyos (Patapsco Bicycles) crossing the line in 7:31:03. Taking the fifth spot was Jen Tillman (Knobby by Nature) with a time of 7:31:33.

Men’s Open Marathon

Marathon Men’s Podium: 1st Ryan Stahnke, 2nd Anthony Grinnell, 3rd Phillip Maynard, 4th Shawn Alexander, 5th Craig Hoddy

Winning the Men’s marathon race, Ryan Stahnke (Trestle Bridge Racing) crossed the line in 5:50:45

Just a few minutes back, Anthony Grinnell (Syndicate Cycling), took second place with a time of 5:52:24.

“I knew it was going to be a very hot and humid day so I wanted to control my pace and race smart.  All was going well up the first big climb with a manageable and appropriate pace, until about 2/3rds of the way up when someone in our pace line decided to jack his brakes.  This caused the rider in front of me to crash, which caused me to ride up on to his bike and slam the gravel.  My entire left side took a beating including my hamstring, IT band, hip, butt, ribs, and a laceration on my arm.  I got up as quickly as I could because I knew if I wasn’t on the lead group by the top of the climb, they’d pull a huge gap on the next 20 miles before the single track.  That’s where my strategy of not redlining went out the window, right along with a bunch of burnt matches.  Gapping back up with a barely functioning left leg was brutal and the muscles in my hamstring and hip were killing me the entire race.  I pushed through it and kept clicking off the miles, but the power just wasn’t there and my left leg kept wanting to seize up front the deep bruising.  With all things considered, I’m really happy with a second place finish.  The S-Works Epic Evo was flawless the whole race, so big thanks to Pro Bike & Run for hooking me up with the best bike in the industry.  Big thanks to Shorkey Auto Group, McQueen Athletes, Koo Eyewear, KASK helmets, Flow Formulas, Wolftooth Components, and Extreme Nano Lubricants for supporting the Syndicate Cycling team.  Next stop- Shenandoah!”

Taking the third place on the podium was, Philip Maynard (CNYC/NYCM Insurance), with a time of 5:58:18.

“With a 9am start, the day was already sweltering when the marathon race kicked off. Nobody was eager to push the pace on the road, so we rolled casually into the first climb, where about fifteen riders formed a breakaway group. Knowing patience would be key, I hung back and let them get maybe a minute ahead by the top. A chase group of six formed and worked very well on the rolling terrain before the first singletrack, but failed to bring the leaders back. I led into the singletrack, my specialty, and set a strong pace. Only Kelly Catale (Team Kellcat), eventual women’s winner, was able to follow, although even she lost a few seconds before we were back on dirt roads. From there on it was a time trial, picking off riders as they succumbed to the heat, poor pacing, crashes, or getting slowed down by the rocky singletrack. A plush bike (Yeti SB100) and fat 2.4″ tires at low pressure (17.5/18.5psi, no inserts) were key to moving quickly, and I mostly held my own on the road, and then passed riders rapidly whenever it got rough. Anthony Grinell (Syndicate Cycling) had been caught in an early crash, and was trying to recover at Aid 4, when I caught up and joined him on Stillhouse. Anthony let me know there was only Ryan Stahnke (Trestle Bridge Racing) ahead, and somehow shaking off the effects of his crash, opened up nearly a minute on me before the top. An informal aid station at Sand Mountain Trail sped me up dramatically with an ice pack to shove down my back, and I kept Anthony in sight across Sand Mountain and onto Panther Run, but lost him for good on the final Panther climb. Some dirt bikes passed me on panther, but I caught them on the descent, which held me up only slightly before the long Poe Paddy grind, in what was now oppressive heat. At this point I was barely able to keep moving, with good legs but extremely limited by the heat. At the bottom of Cherry Run I hopped off into the stream and soaked for a moment, shedding enough heat to keep moving over Old Mingle and through to the finish. I pedalled quickly enough to hold off everyone behind, but continued hemorrhaging time to Anthony, who was on a mission and nearly caught Ryan before the finish. I ended up with a 5:58, eight minutes behind Ryan, and six behind Anthony. It was one of the least enjoyable races I’ve done, but one of the most satisfying efforts to have pushed through!”

Coming in fourth place was Shawn Alexander (Clarkson University) with a time of 6:18:41 and fifth place was Craig Hoddy with a time of 6:27:59.

Singlespeed Marathon

Winning the Marathon Singlespeed division, Tate Clemson (Trestle Bridge Racing), finished in 7:25:30.

“I didn’t really know what to expect going in to this event, as it was the first of its kind I’ve done. I had talked to Stewart Gross and a few other member of Trestle Bridge Racing beforehand to get an idea of what it was going to be like, but the actual race was totally different than how it was described. Started out with a big group and by the top of the first climb it had thinned out with me being the only single speed rider left, so I knew I was going to be in a good position. I felt good on most of the climbs until mile 40 with the mind numbingly long climb post aid-station 4. I pretty much put my head down from that point on and decided to just keep peddling no matter what, and before I knew it I was crossing the line. Super grateful to have finished, and let alone win, such an awesome race. Shoutout to my great sponsors at Flow Formulas and Stan’s NoTubes for keeping me hydrated and without issue for the race. I definitely hope to come out for more of the NUE series in the future now.”

Finishing second was Robert Toedter (Carl Hart MTB) in 8:55:04.

Masters Marathon

Master’s Podium: 1st Amir Matityahu, 2nd Paul Arlinghaus, 3rd Dorel Stoia

Taking the win in the Master’s division, Amir Matityahu (Trail Head Racing), finished in 6:02:06.

“The Wilderness 101 race was my first race in Pennsylvania.  The location at Coburn Park and nearby Millheim, PA took me back to Med School in Philadelphia and clinical rotations in Amish Country. I stayed in Millheim, above a coffee shop, in a circa 1,800 building with rickety old wood floors and a slightly sloping deck that overlooked open-mic nights at the Coffee Bean. A surreal experience. As usual, flew in, picked up a car, went to the motel, and built my bike on the Thursday night before the race. In preparation for the race, I looked at the GPS file, watched videos, trained hard, and knew the  weather was going to be hot and humid. I’m lucky to have solid support at home from my wife and kids. My major concern was the heat.Day before the race, I went for an hour ride to check the bike with openers. The local racers were friendly, inclusive, and welcoming. This relaxed setting was in contrast to the brutal race ahead. The Wilderness 101 race was a mass start that began at 9am. The race was 75 miles with 7,200 ft of elevation gain. There were basically 6 climbs. The last of which was 2.7mi, 5% grade climb, in exposed 90deg humid weather. I dropped 3 bags with 2 bottles, gels, chain lube, pickle juice in Aid stations 3, 4, and 5. I started with two bottles on the frame and gels in my pocket. We were 20 masters on the start line. We were all nervous chit chat and introductions. It was the calm before the storm. The countdown started and we were off. The race started on a road, then onto gravel for the first 24 miles. Super-fast and with elevation gain of 2,200 ft. There was a wheel touch and accident behind me. Everyone was OK. It was lucky to be in front of it. We were in a front group of 6 riders, 3 masters, and 3 in the open field. We then did a sharp left turn into a single track climb with rocks, roots, sharp turns, and step-ups.  I was 4th in to the 25mi hole shot. Up to this point in the race, I was pushing hard to stay in front, but was passed by a couple of guys and  lost the front 3. The roots, random rocks and rock gardens on the single track section were tough as a first ride through. Finding the lines and flow was difficult for much of the single track. There were small sections of flow. But, mostly jarring rocky riding with a “thank you Rabbit Sanchez for full suspension.” The race continued through forest, rock gardens, then gravel. The heat was beginning to take it’s toll. I was in no man’s land. Could not share the load on most flat sections. There was lots of time on my own, riding with no soul in site. Luckily, I caught up to Kelly C and a 100mi rider and had some company toward the end. Somehow, the last 15 miles, I was re-energized like a horse getting close to his barn.  And, after 6 hours and 2 minutes, crossed the finish line with intense relief in masters first place. Then, there was great beer and food, as befitting an amazing mountain biking day. I would summarize the day as a fast, tough, hot, long, jarring single-track and gravel day in the humid heat of Amish Country. Super fun and will do it again. Bike: Full Suspension Specialized SWORKS Epic Evo (120 front shock) Tires: Continental Race King Protection 2.2, Tire pressure 22psi rear, 20psi front. Team Sponsors: Trailhead Cyclery, Specialized, Nuun, SRAM, Beyond Fistula, Fox  Next NUE race: Telluride, CO.”

Second place went to, Paul Arlinghaus (Crooked Creek), with a time of 6:28:03.

“With 90+ degree temps and a 75 miles course I had never ridden, I decided to ride a conservative race.  I watched as a group of 20 riders pulled away up the up Millheim Pike.  About 7 miles in, I saw George Ganoung along the road putting a tube in his rear tire.  I expected him to come flying by me at some point, but this gave me some encouragement that this would be a hard race to finish and a steady pace was a good plan.  I settled in and joined a small group over the top of Crowfield.  The single track was much tougher than I was expecting and while I felt like I was struggling just to move forward, I was slowing passing riders.  On the no name trail, I caught Dorel Stoia, crashed, and then caught Dorel again.  My dad was waiting at Sag 4.  He quickly gave me 3 cold bottles and told me I was in 8th.   I pushed hard on the Still House Hollow Climb to get away from Dorel and passed a few riders (after looking at Strava, one of those was Jason Suppan).  The single and double tracks on the top of Sand Mountain were rougher than I was expecting, but luckily, I found a few 100 milers to work with as we hit double track.  My rear tire had enough and got a slow leak at the rim.  On the descent to sag 5, I had to stop, use a CO2,  and turn my bike on its side to get the Silca Sealant to the right spot.  The sealant did its job and I was back on my way. My legs were done on the final climb up Old Mingle Rd.  I was just trying to not walk.  Somehow the climb finally ended.  The descent on the other side would normally have been really fun, but I was too tired to enjoy it.  This led to the fisherman’s hike-a-bike.  I had no idea how long this section would be, so I just kept moving.  Craig Hoddy caught me just as I was getting back on my bike.  I was relieved when he said he was in the open division so we could work together and get to the finish.  75 miles, 8th overall 2nd in 50+. Bike: Trek Supercalibler, Sram, Bontrager, and Silca. Next NUE race is Stokesville”

The third step went to, Dorel Stoia (Spin Bike Shop), with a time of 6:38:02.

Fourth place went to Roger Masse (Stokesville/SMT) with a time of 6:43:47. Fifth place was Jason Suppan (Ride on Wooster) coming in at 6:50:28.

For 101 mile results: CLICK HERE

For Marathon results: CLICK HERE

Race Bikes For The Life Time Grand Prix

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Riders are lining up in Monterey, California, for the Sea Otter Classic and round 1 of the Life Time Grand Prix.

Saturday’s Sea Otter course features two 40-kilometer laps on the super-fast, hard pack at the edges of Laguna Seca Raceway. Riders have chosen a wide variety of race set ups to get the most from their bikes in Saturday’s marathon event.

We got a sneak peak at some of the fastest rides that will be on course this weekend including top riders like: Rose Grant, Geoff Kabush, Melisa Rollins, Dylan Johnson, and many more.

Rose Grant: Juliana Wilder

Rose Grant’s Juliana Wilder

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: SRAM AXS with Quarq power meter
  • Fork: Rockshox SID 100mm
  • Shock: Rockshox SID Luxe 100mm
  • Seat Post: SRAM AXS dropper
  • Wheels: Reserve 28 carbon
  • Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.4 with Orange Seal sealant
  • Grips: Chunky ESI
  • Computer: Hammerhead

Melisa Rollins: Trek Supercaliber (Melisa is sponsored by Felt who do not currently produce a mountain bike)

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: SRAM AXS
  • Fork: Fox 32 Stepcast 100mm
  • Shock: Fox/Trek ISO strut 65mm
  • Seat Post: Bontrager Kovee XXX carbon fixed
  • Wheels: Bontrager Kovee XXX carbon
  • Brakes: SRAM Level Ultimate
  • Tires: Kenda Saber Pro 2.4

Hannah Otto: Pivot Les SL

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: Shimano XTR 12-speed with Stages Double Side Power Meter
  • Fork: Fox 32 Step Cast 100mm
  • Seat Post: Fox Transfer SL
  • Wheels: DT Swiss XRC 1200 carbon
  • Tires: Kenda Rush 2.2
  • Cockpit: Race Face Next SL
  • Grips: ESI Fit CR

Evelyn Dong: Custom Juliana SC Highball

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: SRAM AXS
  • Fork: Rockshox SID ultimate 100mm
  • Seat Post: SRAM Explr AXS dropper 75mm
  • Wheels: Reserve carbon
  • Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.4
  • Saddle: WTB Silverado

Taylor Lideen: Pivot Les SL

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: Shimano XTR 12-speed with 4iiii power meter
  • Fork: Fox 32 Stepcast 100mm
  • Seat Post: Fox Transfer SL dropper
  • Cockpit: Pro Bike Gear
  • Wheels: Boyd Trail Blazer
  • Tires: Kenda Saber Pro 2.4
  • Computer: Wahoo ELEMENT Bolt GPS

Dylan Johnson: Factor Lando

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: SRAM AXS with Quarq power meter
  • Fork: Fox 34 Step Cast 120mm
  • Seat Post: Fox Transfer SL
  • Wheels: Black Inc Twenty Seven
  • Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.25
  • Cockpit: Black Inc bar/stem combo
  • Tires Inserts: Tubolight EVO SL

Stephan Davoust: Giant Anthem Advanced Pro

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: Shimano XTR 12-speed
  • Fork: Fox 34 Step Cast Live Valve 110mm
  • Shock: Fox Live Valve 100mm
  • Seat Post: Fox Transfer SL dropper
  • Wheels: Giant XCRO carbon
  • Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.25
  • Inserts: Cushcore front & rear

Geoff Kabush: Yeti SB115

Specs:

  • Drivetrain: Shimano XTR
  • Fork: Fox 34 Fit4 Step Cast
  • Seat Post: Fox Transfer SL
  • Wheels: Stan’s No Tubes Podium SRD
  • Inserts: Cushcore front & rear
  • Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.25 EXO 120tpi
  • Cockpit: Pro Bike Gear
  • Grips: Lizard Skins 32.2 DSP

You can follow Shannon Boffeli on Instagram @shan__solo

Nash and Kabush win Moab Rocks!

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The final stage of Moab Rocks was a close one for the pro women and men. In today’s stage racers do a lollipop course that hits some of the best riding in Moab – the Mag 7 trail system. 

For the first half of the race, riders are climbing up road and single track for 14 miles.  After a challenging climb, then the fun begins as they descend the rocky and fast Bull Run Trail.  This is a rip-roaring descent that takes in some breath-taking views all the way to the La Sal Mountains.  After a long descent, there is one final road climb out and then it’s a fast coast to the finish line. 

Photo Credit @liketheglew

For the pro women, Katerina Nash (Clif Pro Team) won the women’s race by 3 minutes while second through sixth place all finished within 3 minutes of each other. 

Lauren Cantwell (Orbea/ Velocio) and Karen Jarchow (Revel Bikes) were climbing together in 2nd & 3rd position before Jarchow sent it on the Bull Run descent; gapping Cantwell.  Lauren Aggeler (Team Segment 28) caught Cantwell at the bottom of Bull Run but Cantwell fought back on the road and caught both her and Jarchow. 

Aggeler put the hammer down on the final climb out of the Gemini Bridges riding area and caught a draft on the final flat, catching Cantwell just 200 yards from the finish. Cantwell and Aggeler sprinted finish for second place with Aggeler crossing the line (2:23:49) and Cantwell 2 seconds behind at 2:23:51.

For the overall, Nash dominated the 3 days finishing over 20 minutes ahead of second place.

Jennifer Gersbach finished fifth on two of the stages but her strong race on stage 2 at Klondike Bluffs placed her runner-up overall.

Karen Jarchow finished fourth on stage 3 by less than a minute and solidified third overall for the stage race.  It was a strong women’s pro field with new women on the podium each stage.  

Photo Credit @liketheglew

For the pro men, Stephan Davoust (Giant-Maxxis-Fox) pushed hard trying to take on the reigning Moab Rocks champion, Geoff Kabush (Yeti-Maxxis-Shimano-Fox).  Davoust won today’s stage in a time of 1:56:55.  His time however, was not enough to win the GC with Kabush finishing in second only 16 seconds behind him.   Bradyn Lange (Cycle Progression) finished in third (1:59:01). 

For the GC, Kabush remains the Moab Rocks Champion winning the overall by a mere 15 seconds.  Davoust finished right behind him with Lange 2 minutes back in third place. 

The 2022 Moab Rocks race featured another year of strong competition, a great race atmosphere by TransRockies and epic Moab single track that keeps racers coming back year after year. 

Full Results: https://zone4.ca/event/2022/29F4F1AE/

Photo Credit @liketheglew

True Grit Epic 2022

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Melisa Rollins & Danny Van Wagoner Open Endurance Season with Big Wins at True Grit Epic 50-Miler

Written by: Shannon Boffeli

After two years of snow storms and mud, True Grit race director Cimarron Chacon was more than pleased to see clear skies and warm temperatures as racers approached the start next to the red rock walls of the historic Santa Clara courthouse for the 8 AM start.

Melisa Rollins powered her way to a win in the True Grit 50. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

With more than 850 starters, True Grit represents the first leg of the National Ultra Endurance series and the first mass-start mountain bike event of the season. For more than a decade True Grit has challenged riders with technical desert singletrack riding that will both punish and delight.

Offering distances from 15 to 100 miles, in the warm desert of southern Utah, True Grit is the first opportunity for riders from across the country to stretch their legs and test their abilities on the dirt.

With most riders electing for the 50-mile distance, a tough battle was on hand as idyllic conditions promised lightning fast finishing times.

Riders weave their way through the rocks at True Grit Epic. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Women’s 50-Mile

The women’s event promised tough racing with a host of elite athletes returning to battle in this early-season test.

Melisa Rollins (Virginia’s Blue Ridge/Twenty24) took the early lead out through Cove Wash and the undulating climbs of Green Valley. The duo of Liza Hartlaub and Mya Graham (Waite Endurance) chased close behind followed by Sparky Moir (Fezzari/MRP/Ergon), Nicole Tittensor (Jans/Scott), Lauren Zimmer (Bingham Cyclery/Peak Fasteners), and Jen Hanks (Pearl Izumi).

Jen Hanks flows through the rocks on Zen trail. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Despite previous crashes at True Grit Melisa Rollins rode without fear through the daunting Barrel and Zen trails never relinquishing her lead.

After exiting Zen, Rollins held just over a minute lead on Hartlaub who had opened a gap to Graham.

Now at the halfway mark, Melisa Rollins upped her pace, hammering out some hard miles through the long Stucki Springs climb and onto the final Barrel Roll trail system.

By the finish she had doubled her advantage on second-placed Liza Hartlaub, and crossed the line in a blistering 3:55:50.

Hartlaub came home just 3 minutes back with an equally impressive time of under 4 hours.

Mya Graham takes on Zen trail on her way to third place for the day. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Mya Graham crossed the line with a well-deserved third place.

Sparky Moir rode strong in fourth throughout the day. Moir showcased her desert riding skill holding off Jen Hanks, while both shed Tittensor and Zimmer through the treacherous Zen trail before settling in with a steady pace to the finish.

The final podium spot was decided in the finishing miles after Hanks flatted on the last descent of the day allowing KC Holley (Kuhl) to sprint past less than a mile from the finish line.

Men’s 50-Mile

Things heated up fast for the men as an elite group powered at the front from the very start. After a rapid opening climb and a safe pass through Cove Wash, Danny Van Wagoner (Johnson Elite Orthodontics) moved to the front as the singletrack started in Keyhole wash, a deep ravine where riders are forced to ride single file.

Chris Holley leads the chase group on Zen trail. Zach Calton crests the slickrock. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Feeling confident, Van Wagoner opened a gap and kept the pressure on throughout the opening miles. “While it felt early to roll solo,” Van Wagoner said, “I looked at my numbers and felit I was riding sustainably. I was hoping the hard pace would allow some margin for error through the technical sections of the Waterfall, Barrel, and Zen trails.”

Van Wagoner’s early pace paid off as Zach Calton (Calton Coaching) suffered a flat while trying to keep his gap to the leader at a minimum on the Barrel trail. This left Cameron Larson (Summit Bike Club) second on course dangling between 1-2 minutes from the leader.

With his flat repaired, Calton started moving his way back toward the front eventually picking up Chad Berentsen (No Ride Around). The duo focused their effort on bringing back Van Wagoner who had pulled away from Cameron Larson on the false flats of Stucki Springs.

MTB legend Dave Wiens challenged himself with the 3-day stage race in Santa Clara, Utah. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Eventually the chasers caught and passed a fading Larson with only Van Wagoner left out front.

The solo leader had gauged his efforts well and showed no signs of slowing on the final lap around the Barrel Roll trail. Attacking the final climbs and slicing his line through the technical rock features Danny Van Wagoner finished off an impressive day taking a solo win in Santa Clara.

Zach Calton and Berentsen kept it close in the final miles of the race with Calton opening the smallest of gaps to take the runner-up spot just 23 seconds in front of Berentsen.

Nick Gould attacks the rocks. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Fourth went to Colorado ultra-endurance strongman Nick Gould (Mazda Lauf Factory Gravel) who was battling in a 3-man group for the podium. After Chris Holley (Kuhl) missed a final turn to the finish Gould and Blair Perkes (Kuhl) snuck through with all three finishing within seconds of each other.  

Gwendolyn Sepp and Nick Bragg Win the 100-Mile

The 100-mile race in Santa Clara saw smaller than normal numbers as most of the 865 racers opted to compete in the 50-mile distance or the stage race that included a gravel race on Sunday.

The women’s 100-miler saw mother/daughter duo to Allyson and Gwendolyn Sepp both take on the challenge of 100-miles on their home trails in southern Utah. Gwendolyn, a college athlete for Utah State University, took the win over her mom with a time of 8:54:30.

Allyson (Red Rock Bicycle) came home at 9:26:17.

Roger Arnell takes on the 100-mile True Grit Epic. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Nick Bragg (Sycamore Cycles Collection) took the men’s title in a nail-biter over Utahn Roger Arnell (Johnson Elite Orthodontics).

Bragg’s winning time of 7:05:17 was just 2 minutes faster than Arnell, an impressively close race after 100 miles.

Brian Elander (No Ride Around)  finished third ahead of Jonas Woodruff (Next Wave Development). Joshua Tootell took the final podium spot in fifth.

Tony Rago hits the tuck position on Zen trail. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

The masters 50+ group went to local speedster Jonathan Davis (Elevated Legs) with a finishing time just under 8 hours.

Second went to NUE veteran Greg Golet (Team Chico/Carborocket). Golet finished with just over a minute in hand from Amir Mattiyahu (Trail Head Racing) who took third.

Race Notes

Massive junior numbers were on hand for the 2022 True Grit Epic with hundreds of kids under-18 taking part in junior men’s and women’s categories as well as the open.

Large junior fields were on hand for the 2022 True Grit Epic. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

True Grit Epic offers a 3-day stage race which includes a 90-mile gravel race on Sunday. Melisa Rollins and Zach Calton took wins in the 3-day event.

MTB legend Dave Wiens challenged himself with the 3-day stage race in Santa Clara, Utah. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Justin Holle doing damage to his competitors in singlespeed. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Liza Hartlaub navigates Zen trail at the 2022 True Grit. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Bob Saffell takes on the 100-mile. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Jeff Kerkove enjoyed his time in the saddle in Santa Clara. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Jen Hanks flows through the rocks on Zen trail. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Brad Keyes braved a day on the singlespeed. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Holly Haguewood puts her local knowledge to the test in Santa Clara. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Riders charge through the desert with Santa Clara in the background. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Riders navigate rocks above and below on the Zen trail. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Large junior fields were on hand for the 2022 True Grit Epic. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Shannon Boffeli grunts his way to second place in the SS race. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Tony Rago hits the tuck position on Zen trail. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Halle Britton on her way to second place in the junior women’s 50 miler. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Riders had fun while challenging themselves in the southern Utah desert. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
Bri Hoopes shows the way through Zen Trail. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic
A feeling shared by most riders at the 2022 True Grit Epic. Photo courtesy of True Grit Epic

Click Here for Full Results From All Categories

You can follow Shannon on Instagram @ Shan__Solo

NUE- Marji Gesick 100k

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NUE Series 2021-Marji Gesick 50 mile

September 18, 2021

Written by: @Jentoops

The Marji Gesick is a point-to-point endurance race located on the upper peninsula of Michigan. It starts in Marquette and ends in downtown Ishpeming. The one-hundred mile and fifty mile mountain bike races are part of the National Ultra Endurance Series. There is also a one-hundred mile run, fifty mile run and one-hundred mile duathlon option. It’s quickly gaining popularity as one of the toughest endurance races in the United States and sells out in less than twenty four hours. This GPS required race is self supported, and racers are required to collect tokens at random checkpoints along the course.

Race director Todd Poquette collecting tokens from finishers. Photo credit: Ryan Stephens

The course was designed by Danny Hill and made to push riders to their absolute limits. The one-hundred milers having around twelve-thousand vertical feet of climbing, and the fifty milers around seven-thousand.  In both courses, racers have to navigate through sand, roots, rocks, off camber climbs, drops, jump lines and technical descents, all while saving enough energy to get through the grueling last fifteen miles.

Photo credit: Ryan Stephens

Racers in the one-hundred mile course finishing under twelve hours for mountain biking, under twenty-eight hours for runners and under twenty-two hours for duathlon, will earn the coveted belt buckle handmade by blacksmith Gordon Gearhart.

Marji Awards hand forged by Gordon Gearhart. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Women’s open- Lowery gets the top step

No stranger to the Marji Gesick races, Carey Lowery of Tennessee, won with a time of 8:14:19. “The 50 started in Marquette at the Ore Dock.  The first two miles were flat, paved, and faster thanI wanted to go so early into the race so I let the front go and settled into a comfortably hard pace.  After climbing Marquette Mountain, I settled into a rhythm of attacking the climbs, recovering on the flats, and finding my flow state on the descents.  I had no idea how many women were ahead of me, but I thought maybe 2 or 3.  I did not chase them, but let my legs and lungs dictate my efforts.  I have done enough of these endurance events to know to be consistent and conserve.  I felt great heading into Jackson Park, where I stopped to grab my hydration pack. I caught Kim Heintz a little ways after the first stop in Jackson.  I elected to keep my GPS screen on the breadcrumb trail and not watch “the numbers.”  I raced more by feel and knew how far I was by distinct landmarks.  I rolled back into Jackson Park, rewarded myself with an ice cold Coke, refilled my nutrition and fluids, and headed back out for the last 15.  I had pre ridden this two days before, so it was comforting to know just how far (both time-wise and distance) I had to go.  As I approached the rock slab hike a bike, I cried out, “My favorite section!,” which helped to stoke the fires for the final miles.  I did not pass any other women.  The last bit of single track was a real bugger, as the fatigue monster was riding piggyback.  I was all smiles going up Jasper Knob, as I was smelling the barn now.  I rolled through the finish line in 8:14, not knowing how I placed.  It wasn’t until after I had gotten cleaned up and changed 15 minutes later that I realized I had taken the win.  That was just icing on a wonderfully delicious Marji Gesick cake! Sponsors:  Rescue Racing, Scott’s Bikes, Industry 9, Chamois Butt’r, Christopher Bean Coffee, Trucker Co”

Women’s 50 mile podium: 1st Carey Lowery, 2nd Amy Schultz, 3rd Kim Heintz

About thirteen minutes back, Amy Schultz from Wisconsin, took second in 8:27:09. “This was my first time racing Marji Gesick 50, my longest mountain bike event ever, and honestly my longest bike ride ever (road, gravel, or mtb!). The longest I had ridden my mtb prior to Marji Gesick was about 5 hours for a non-race ride. I do put in a significant amount of volume on bikes throughout the year, but typically focus on shorter XCO races (such as the WORS series in Wisconsin) and cyclocross races. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I would have fun as I love technical singletrack. And I was right, I just loved the course. It suited me well. I started out near the back at ~200 of 240 racers. I was worried about going out too hard and not pacing myself. So I thought this was a good idea. However, when I reached the first climb, a gravel road, and a lot of people were walking already or riding pretty slowly, I realized I should maybe change my strategy. I decided to push the effort a bit to get ahead of as many people as I could before the first stretch of single track, Off Grade, a black rated uphill. However, I didn’t quite get ahead of enough people. I ended up behind a train of ~30-40 people on the singletrack. It was painful to walk and not rip that stretch at the speed I wanted. But, it allowed me to chat with some local riders, something I never get to do in shorter, hard-effort races. I met Trent and Luke and we eventually hit some double track, passed the rest of the group, and rode the iron ore trail to Ishpeming together. Luke didn’t stop at the checkpoint and I lost track of Trent, but it was so nice having them to ride with! I stopped at the drop bags to eat and refill. I was pretty strict about eating something every 30 min and drinking 1 liter an hour. I caught the wheel of Dan in the next techy section. He asked if I wanted to pass, but I decided it was probably a good strategy to stay with people. Time went by fast when I followed a wheel and chatted, also, when I went solo I tended to go too hard up hills and I was worried about bonking. I really enjoyed loved riding with Dan. He was a good technical rider and I rode some steeper parts I probably would not have otherwise. I eventually passed him and caught a few more wheels. The next guy I rode with told me I was only about 30 min from first place female, and I thought, “no way! I started in the way back and was so slow through the first 12 miles of single track” I decided I couldn’t and shouldn’t push the pace though. I should just ride a comfortable pace. I still had a lot of miles left – about half the race left. At the second pass through Jackson park to get my drop bag for the last time, about mile 40, the lady working there told me the 1st place woman just left the stop 5 min ago. I couldn’t believe I had potentially made up some time.  I sort of wanted to try to catch her, but I was tired and knew I had a long way. I also just wanted to eat and refuel in the moment. Furthermore, I was convinced I was maybe disqualified as I had not seen any checkpoints with tokens, which are needed when you cross the finish line. I carried on and decided I would stop at all remaining aid stations (I had skipped all up until then, except the Jackson Park drop bag stops). I stopped and had brownies, cookies, licorice and even stopped at the beach aid station and took a shot of whiskey with the crew there! I think it was the pick-me-up I needed, because after that stop, I had a second wind and some fast segments on the last single track stretches. Thank you aid station volunteers!  I think next time I will start near the front next time, but who knows, maybe it will help me pace and not fade towards the end! OTherwise, I wouldn’t change much. I really enjoyed the vibe and energy from the volunteers, staff, and riders. I would do Marji again, but would also like to try the Cascades 100 (I used to live out on Mt Hood, Oregon), or Mohican 100. Thanks to Neff Cycle Service (Sponsor and bike shop) and Josh McKinney (friend) for ensuring I have a mountain bike that works well and that I love to ride!”

Women’s open finisher Kim Rudd with masters finisher Diana Munger

Taking the third step on the podium, Kim Heintz from Illinois, finished in 9:17:47. “This year’s Marji 50 was my third time racing it and my first race in exactly two years. The last time I raced was this same race in 2019.I went into this race not knowing what to expect, I was hoping for a top 3 finish. I’ve spent most of this year focused on shorter, harder efforts and also out of practice with racing. The previous two times, I had just come off of racing Leadville, so I had everything dialed.I was assigned bib #666, and normally you’d think you’ve been dealt the worst luck every, but in the Marji, it’s kind of like winning the lottery. That’s their brand – and it definitely got a lot of attention! I was hoping it’d bring some good luck for the day!When we started, we were on a paved path for a couple of miles, and then we took a turn away from Lake Superior and started climbing. It was a long and sometimes steep climb. I saw that I was in second place and worked hard to try to keep 1st in my line of sight.  For most of the first hour or so, I figured I was only about 45 seconds back.  However, I think my lack of practice in racing the last couple of years got the best of me and I think I went out too hard.I didn’t realize it for a couple of hours but then it kind of hit me.I came into Jackson Park the first time, where I had my drop bag, about 6 minutes faster than my best time there. I was still feeling good but about an hour later, I could feel my legs starting to seize up a bit and cramp. My heart rate wouldn’t come down, and that’s when I realized I had gone out too hard. I slowed things down quite a bit for the next hour or two and got a little bit of positive talk from my friend Bryan who was out there with me and tried to get my heart rate under control and to also get my legs to stop seizing up.During this time, several other women had passed me, and I assumed my run for the podium was over. So, I just spent the rest of the race enjoying the super technical trails, fun descents, and insane climbs.

It was an absolutely picture-perfect fall day in the Upper Penninsula, and what a great way to spend it!You’re supposed to pick up hidden tokens along the race course as you go. Usually these are just randomly placed throughout the course. I never saw any this time but just as we did the final climb up, which is always an out and back, I saw the first one.  I kept going up and saw another one and then another.  In total, there were 4 tokens to pick up on this short, steep section.From there, I headed to the finish line, crossing in 9:17. One of the race directors, Todd, came up to me to congratulate me. And I said I’d hoped to have done the 666 number justice by taking a podium spot but I thought I was in 5th or 6th. He said “are you sure about that?” and pulled out his phone to show me I finished 3rd.I was in disbelief and overjoyed! I didn’t know it at the time, but the tokens each had a word on them – and they spelled out “Finish What You Start”.  How fitting for the type of day I had.Marji is such a cool race. Extremely hard and makes you feel all sorts of emotions, but such a satisfying and rewarding experience. Sponsors: PSIMET Racing and Roots Racing”

A couple minutes back, Kim Rudd of Minnesota, took fourth place in 9:21:34. Finished in fifth was, April Beard of Wisconsin, in 9:42:06.

After texting #quitter in 2019, Ella (pictured left), came back more determined than ever and finished the 50 mile course in 23 hours. She is only 13! Photo credit: Ella Clement’s mom.

Men’s Open

Getting his first NUE win of 2021, Anthony Grinnell of Pennsylvania, won with a time of 6:04:30. “I travelled to Michigan’s UP with my teammate Jim Litzinger with one goal in mind- to get Litz another single speed win so he could wrap up the championship.  The race started off at a very reasonable pace on the opening flat 2 to 3 miles.  This was the best possible scenario, allowing Litz to stay on my wheel until we got to the opening climb.  As we started up the first climb, a few overly ambitious riders got aggressive.  I looked down at my Garmin and was pushing over 400 watts as I watched several riders gap Jim and I on the climb.  Two of them blew up before the first climb was even finished, leaving one racer out ahead of us.  Even though we’d never done the Marji race, we heard all the rumors of tough, grindy single track and new better than to overdo it in the early stages of the race.  Single speed or not, Litz is one of the best technical single track riders I know.  All I had to do is pull him through the early flat gravel and paved sections and then follow his wheel as he lit up the single track.  We caught a glimpse of the leader just prior to the second stop at Jackson Park about 40 miles in and I could tell he was hurting.  With 20 miles of mostly super fun, grinder, old school single track left, Jim and I felt right at home and knew we had two wins in the bag, barring any flats or mechanicals.  We ended up pulling a 40 minute gap for Jim to seal up the Single Speed Marathon Championship and for me to take the Men’s Open win.  I’ve done a lot of NUE races, but this is one of my favorites now.  What an awesome event with an excellent course and an unbelievable crew who organizes it all.  If you haven’t done this race, you need to.  Huge thanks to Pirelli tires for taking a massive beating and not even thinking about flatting.  As always, Flow Formulas kept my energy up and legs feeling strong throughout the race.  I’d also like to thank Shorkey Auto Group, Pro Bike & Run, KOO Eyewear, KASK helmets, Extreme Nano Chain Lube, Starlight Apparel, Industry Nine, Wolf Tooth Components, ESI Grips, and Horizon Orthopedics.”

Forty-five minutes back, John Burmeister of Michigan, took second in 6:45:05. “The morning of the race was no different than many other races I have participated in.  I was anxious to start and the nerves were firing.  Being my first Marji event there were a few unknowns that helped fuel the anxiety.  I had heard many stories from previous racers about how grueling the course can be.  Especially near the end..  I had put in a fair amount of training this summer, had a handful of successful races this season, and did some pre-rides of the 2019 course.  I was feeling hopeful to be in the mix for a podium position. With so many names unknown to me I wasn’t sure who the competition would be.  My plan for the start of the race was to go out with a moderately hard effort to see who would give chase.  At the gun we rolled out fairly quick but the pace quickly slowed with no attacks being made for the lead position.  My next plan was to put in a good effort on the first real climb.  We hit the Mt. Marquette road climb and the group quickly broke up. I made it up and over solo and continued on to the first “checkpoint”, Jackson Mine park, with a 5+ minute lead on the 2nd and 3rd position riders. My pace felt good and I felt like I was going to be able to maintain it going forward.Having ridden most of the course I knew things would slow a bit once we got on the RAMBA trails.  With my lead I figured I would save some energy on the climbs and make up time on the descents.  Slowly but surely, I started to get the sense that a rider may being closing in on me.  On occasion I could hear what I thought was another rider somewhere in the woods.  Sure enough the 2nd and 3rd place riders caught up to me just before our return to Jackson Park.  We all stopped for feeds and I was first to leave the park heading for the finish. The other 2 racers caught up to me fairly quickly.  Seeing how well they were still moving along I told them they were looking good and let them by without any hesitation.  At about mile 52 I was starting to feel some real fatigue.  I decided I was going to ride the rest of the race for 3rd and I was OK with that. Things started to get dicey shortly after.. My legs were feeling fine but the rest of my body and mind were suffering.  For the remainder of the race there was a lot of walking on stuff I would normally ride.  (There really is “no free trail” out there. Even the descents make you work!)  At this point I was having lots of self-thought and contemplation about the choices I had made.  The typical thoughts and conversations one has with themselves when they’re deep into a grueling event! I just kept telling myself to “keep moving forward”, and that is what I did.At the end of the race, I finished in 3rd place but ultimately was more pleased with just finishing the event.  It was more than just a race but also a challenge of overcoming physical and mental limits .  There are always things we could have done differently when thinking back on our choices but at the end of the day I can say the outcome would have been the same.  The 1st and 2nd place finishers absolutely crushed it!  Hats off to the 2 of them for an exceptional race and kudos to everyone else who completed the race and to those who simply attempted it.  Easily one of the hardest events I have ever participated in.Thank you to all of the event coordinators, “trail angels”, and my support crew.”

John Burmeister. Photo credit: Rob Meendering

Taking third was, Rick Hatfield of Michigan, with a time of 6:50:59. “I had been looking forward to Marji all year. My wife and I traveled “up-north” several times from the Ann Arbor, MI area to pre-ride some of the course. She had raced Marji in 2019 so I had an idea what to expect. My J-Tree Teammates and I rode the few miles to the starting line from the place we had been staying at in town. The weather was perfect, low/mid 50’s and bright sunshine. At the start its always the same thing, everyone looking around squaring up their competition while trying to look calm while the race jitters set in. I do a final check of my bike feeling pretty confident that Wheels in Motion bike shop had my set up correct on my Trek Top Fuel right. The race starts and it’s a pretty chill start. I stay with the top 5 leaders on the road when we hit the first big climb, Marquette Mountain. The lead rider decides to put in a big effort, the rest of us look at each other decide not to chase. I crest the mountain and enter the trail in 4th place. I am caught by the 5th place rider and we work together pacing to Jackson Park for the first aid station. My wife was my pit crew for the day and had me in and out of aid station faster than a Nascar pit stop. I dropped off my 2 bottles of infinit and grabbed camel bak pre-filled with infinit which worked well. From there is was back and fourth working with the 5th place rider. We eventually caught the third place rider, but I got separated when I second guessed a turn onto a road. At about 45 miles in we hit Jackson Park for the final leg. The 5th place rider and I leave the aid station and begin working together again. With about 10 miles to go the 5th place rider begins to have stomach and cramping issues. He pulls to the side of the trail and lets me lead. At this point I see him start to fall back a little, so I decide to burn one of my last matches and push hard to gap him. The trail is not forgiving whatsoever, you are hit with hill after hill. You think, alright this is the last climb and you are hit with another. With 5 miles to go am I am getting really worried I hadn’t seen any tokens. I pass a few of the 100 mile runners and ask if they had seen any and said no. With about a ½ mile to go the final climb has all the tokens with about 50 yards apart. At the last token is mannequin of Todd holding the last token with his middle finger out – I laughed and rode into the finish. I loved this race! I thought for sure I would get lost with all the twisty turns and on-off-on again trails but it was pretty well marked. The chunky, rooty hilly terrain is not like any other NUE race I have done in the past and Marquette is such a great town to hang out afterwards.”

Taking fourth place was, Paul Fox from Michigan, with a time of 7:02:19. About ten minutes back was, Jason Kloptowsky of Illinois, with a time of 7:12:04.

Singlespeed- Litzinger with the WIN

Placing second overall and taking the singlespeed win by over two hours, James Litzinger of Pennsylvania finished in 6:04:31. ” My first time to the UP did not disappoint.  I really wasn’t sure what to think about the Marji Gesick after reading race reports, watching race video, course reviews, and talking to the few who have earned the coveted buckle.  My gathering was that it was a load of single track that will slow down your average speed and wind you through the punchy climbs of the forest.  I have enjoyed this type of race in the past so I was all set to go.  It started at the Marina in Marquette, at a casual pace, before climbing up a freshly graded climb at 10-12% grade for about 7 minutes.  This is when the race started and there was a flyer of the front, my teammate and friend Anthony Grinnell said he is either a rocket or he will fade back to us.  Anthony and I decided to make it a day by using each other to pace ourselves.  Anthony pulled and worked on the flats and double track then I would jump in the front navigating the fun single track.  These races are so fun but they are even better when you get to have your friend there with you to push you!  Our race was uneventful until I spotted the leader at the top of one of the punchy climbs.  From there Anthony and I reeled him in around mile 38 or so.  From there we kept our pace, while enjoying the trails, which lead us to the finish just over the 6 hour mark.  It was a blast to  The Specialized Epic was the perfect race bike that Pro Bike+Run keeps in tip, top shape for the grueling demands this race has.  Flow formula in the bottles was once again top notch considering fueling was difficult to come by with the rough trails.  Thanks to Jim Shorkey Auto Group and Dr. Bryan Hooks for their support of the Syndicate to make these trips possible.”

Litzinger takes the singlespeed 50 mile win.

Coming all the way from Utah, Benjamin Modic, takes second place in 8:35:28. “After moving from Grand Rapids and living in Salt Lake City for the past 6 years, I had an itch that only the Marji Gesick could scratch. My journey back to Michigan reconnected to me with old friends, introduced me to new ones, and allowed me to ride the trails where my passion for cycling began 12 years ago. This was my first time ever doing a race on a singlespeed, so I felt like to 50-mile race would be enough of a lesson for me. For gearing advise, I turned to community pages, discussing it with previous finishers. There is no perfect gear on a singlespeed so you can’t overthink it. I went with 30×20. I knew the start of the race and paths in between Marquette and Negaunee would be a high cadence punishment, but it made more sense once I got to the good stuff. I felt strong up until the last 10 miles of the race. Shortly after the suicide hill ski jumps, I found myself walking more and more. The last few miles gave me inspiration and overwhelming joy hit me at the finish line. I love this sport. Thanks to all my friends and my family for making this trip so memorable, especially my dad (pictured below) for helping crew for this race and all the previous races while I lived in Michigan. I will be back at some point to try the 100-miler… and I’ll be bringing the singlespeed!”

Ben Modic taking second place.

Taking the last podium spot, Dan Packer of Michigan, finished in 9:47:56. “I was surprised to come in 3rd out of the single speeders.  I rode with my City Bike Shop brother who unfortunately had to text #quitter a few years ago, so the goal was that we get him to the finish.  It was such an awesome day, we were both thrilled to just keep crankin.  I rolled a 30:20 gearing on my mulletted, slacked-out RSD Middlechild.  It was perfect for a long, slow day of spinning pedals through the endless steep, rocky, rooty, ribbons of singletrack.  I can’t thank/blame Todd and Danny enough for the effort they put into these events. Kept the rubber side down (for the most part)!”

Fourth place went to, Samuel Haglund of Michigan, crossing the line in 10:05:51. About an hour back, Cory Christener of Michigan, finished in 11:06:41.

Women’s Masters

First place in the women’s masters category went to, Martha Flynn of Minnesota, with a finish time of 10:09:36.

Taking the second podium spot was, Diana Munger of Minnesota, crossing the finish line in 12:51:30. “High time for some seriously #unfinished business in the Munger household. But first- let’s backtrack – to almost 5 years ago. Our intrepid gang of friends with a peculiar taste for masochistic epic adventures convinced us to sign up for a crazy new race in da UP. Completely self supported, hills upon more hills, upon more more hills, ridiculously hard old school singletrack – what the hell were we thinking? Blame Danny. Blame Todd. What does that even mean?! Well, we trained hard together and were ready to conquer. But alas, the best laid plans of mice and men. My husband, John, suffered a horrible crash with less than a month to go. So we forged on without him. Marji 2017 was a brutal year. Heat, humidity, and endless climbs, mosquitoes and flies. That is, racers dropping like flies left and right. Incredibly, my friends and I all managed to finish. Such relief and happiness to be done but mixed with a twinge of sadness that John couldn’t be there with us to share. Next time, we all wanted him along for the ride. Flash forward four years to the present. John’s injury was slow to heal and his mountain bike mojo took even longer to return. Pandemic and just life in general also slowed our return.Same gang -ready to try it all once more. Miraculously, we were able to snag coveted race entries- ‘cause now, of course, it seems like everyone who’s anybody wants to do Marji. But even after all this finagling, my beloved spouse waffled endlessly and and dragged his feet about biking.Race time drew near. Emails were flying in.  ‘Are you in or out?’ was the question from the race director.I posed this query over and over again to my husband.
‘Maybe’ was the reply. The date to transfer to the shorter race came and went. Wifely nagging was of no avail, yet a single word from a buddy sealed the deal- just two weeks before the race. Too late for Marji camps at this point. With just 14 days to go, a high intensity training plan was instituted. Not easy to accomplish in the flatlands of Minneapolis, but somehow he managed.Race morning dawned spectacularly. Not sure why, but I actually thought it would be easier this time round- maybe because it was about 35 degrees cooler. Sheer hubris. It was much worse, of course – way more gnarly singletrack, sheer drops, hills (mountains?) that never ended. So many more rocks and roots than I remembered- where had they all come from? Lots more runners and bikers. Spectacular views and fall colors popping helped to ease the pain a bit. Not to mention a course that was so well marked, I actually started wondering why I had spent so many hours trying to load the gpx file on to my Wahoo. And at the heart of it all-  still the same race. The same camaraderie and good will out on the trails. Every racer was super friendly- all working towards the same goal- to finish. Every volunteer I talked to had a Marji story they were eager to share. Was I actually hallucinating when I glimpsed the Marji mannequin giving me the finger on the very last climb? How very apropos. The last 5 miles seemed truly endless and somewhat terrifying as night fell. Not quite believing I was finally at the finish with my friends cheering me on. And not long afterwards, my husband also triumphantly crossing the line. How could he possibly ride 100 plus to my 60 plus miles and finish so embarrassing and so damn close to me?! But never mind, we were finally able to experience the legend that is Marji, together (well, sort of, anyway).The very nice race official lady who asked for this report told me to be sure to include my sponsors. Sorry to report that no one wants to sponsor me.  But I do happen to have oodles of amazingly supportive friends and family who nicely look the other way and sweetly pretend that I’m not just a little bit unhinged when I tell them that I worked so dang hard for just four wooden tokens. Blame Danny. Blame Todd. Thank Danny. Thank Todd, and thank all those awesome volunteers and the incredible community who make this ridiculous and over the top race possible.And by the way, both my husband and I had a marvelous time. As I knew he would.Marji Gesick 2021- check.Mission accomplished.”

Diana Munger all smiles at the finish line.

Rounding out the podium and taking third was, Dawn Steinmann of Wisconsin in 14:11:51.

Men’s Masters

50 Mile masters podium: 1st Jeff Adamcik, 2nd Todd Mcfadden, 3rd Dave Jolin. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Taking the win in the masters division was, Jeff Adamcik of Michigan with a finish time of 7:49:06. “It was nice to finally come into a race this year where I felt my left knee was up to the task. I rode most of the race with Dorel Stoia, who at the time was the current points leader. We were tracking with each other until we got to the aid station.  He was always faster than me at the aid station and both times I had some work to do to catch up.  On the last leg of the race I was starting to feel it, only to come out to a small lake where “ Danny “ and his crew were enjoying themselves. One of them asked “why are you smiling?”   I asked “could you share some of your pop?”  The response was that they had diet and by my reaction they knew I wasn’t excited about that. I needed some sugar.  Shortly after I heard, “what about a beer”.  Heck ya!  I felt I was back in my college days slamming down a BlackRocks Pilsner.  Next up, was the Suicide Hill climb.  Definitely energize by the beer … I caught sight of Dorel.  However, he stayed ahead of me and I was losing sight of him in the last few miles.  I came to the finish, thinking I was #2, but to my surprise I was declared the winner.  Dorel missed the last hill climb, thus, the tokens.  Thanks to Kevin Geminder at Bicycle HQ for getting my bike ready and the transfer registration!  Also thanks to Mike and Angi Golisek for housing me for the weekend and cheering me on throughout the race.”

Finishing seven minutes back, Todd Mcfadden took second place in 7:56:07. Taking third was, Dave Jolin of Ohio crossing the line in 7:57:43.

Dave Jolin from Ohio takes 3rd in 50 mile masters. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Fourth place was, Roger Lundsten of Wisconsin, in 8:15:45 and fifth went to James Kauth of Minnesota, with a finish time of 8:32:47.

For full results CLICK HERE

Pictures from the race can be found here: Rob Meendering and Ryan Stephens

Mark your calendars. Registration for the 2022 Marji Gesick is October 15th.

NUE- Marji Gesick 100 Mile

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NUE Series 2021-Marji Gesick 100 mile

September 18, 2021

Written by: @Jentoops

The Marji Gesick is a point-to-point endurance race located on the upper peninsula of Michigan. It starts in Marquette and ends in downtown Ishpeming. The one-hundred mile and fifty mile mountain bike races are part of the National Ultra Endurance Series. There is also a one-hundred mile run, fifty mile run and one-hundred mile duathlon option. It’s quickly gaining popularity as one of the toughest endurance races in the United States and sells out in less than twenty four hours. This GPS required race is self supported, and racers are required to collect tokens at random checkpoints along the course.

Racers navigating the Top of the World. Photo credit: Ryan Stephens

The course was designed by Danny Hill and made to push riders to their absolute limits. The one-hundred milers having around twelve-thousand vertical feet of climbing, and the fifty milers around seven-thousand.  In both courses, racers have to navigate through sand, roots, rocks, off camber climbs, drops, jump lines and technical descents, all while saving enough energy to get through the grueling last fifteen miles.

Celebrating at the finish line. Photo credit: Rob Meendering

Racers in the one-hundred mile course finishing under twelve hours for mountain biking, under twenty-eight hours for runners and under twenty-two hours for duathlon, will earn the coveted belt buckle handmade by blacksmith Gordon Gearhart.

  • Marji Awards hand forged by Gordon Gearhart. Photo credit: Ryan Odell
  • 2021 One-hundred mille MTB buckle club-Riders have 12 hours to complete the course.

Women’s Open- Toops secures NUE overall win

Former NUE Marathon series winner, Jen Toops from Ohio, took the win in 12:58:22. With this win she secures the overall female Epic NUE title. ” I have a love/hate relationship with this race. How can a race so fun, hurt so bad? After completing the 50 mile Marji twice I decided it was time to conquer the 100. Although it would be awesome to get the buckle, I had one goal. To finish the race. As long as I finished I’d lock up the NUE epic overall win for the season. The start of the race was very busy and reminded me of the La Ruta de los conquistadors. Instead of a helicopter roll out we had an electric guitar national anthem, beautiful paint horse, lemans start and fire works. Just before the start, I got to meet fellow Pivot Cycles rider, Kaityln Boyle, who came all the way from ID for a chance at the buckle. After the lemans start I had no idea what place I was going into the woods. Did it matter? No. A very long day awaited. Even though I had my GPS, I still managed to blow by turns, start up the wrong trails and got turned around a lot at the beginning. Once we were on the single track I was having so much fun and was finding my rhythm. This is the part I love about Marji!

Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Just before the Jackson Park I caught up with Kaityln Boyle. We rode most of the sandy snowmobile trails and bike path together chatting it up! A welcomed mental break. The first loop out of the park I felt amazing and really was having fun on the tech singletrack. This loop went on forever! I was so focused on riding I didn’t eat enough on this loop. That was my downfall of the race and paid for it on the way to the finish. I stopped back at the park to get a back up charger and lights. This is when I saw Kaityln Boyle had DNF due to pain from a pre-ride crash. Kaityln and my support Heidi encouraged me I still might be a buckle contender. I had 15 miles to do a little over 2 hours. Feeling confident I continued to push the pace. After about an hour of riding I did the math in my head and realized a buckle was not in the cards today. My riding started to get sloppy, the fatigue had set in and I was in survival mode. I forgot how hard the last sections of trail were with non-stop punchy climbs, hike-a-bikes and just shenanigans. The last 30 minutes were torture, I wanted to lay down on the side of the trail. I wanted real food. I turned my lights on and navigated those roots and rocks walking what I normally could ride during the daylight. Jasper knob was such a rewarding sight to see on the GPS. The last hike a bike! I walked to the top collected my tokens and gave fake Todd a high five and headed in to the finish. My whole body hurt like it never has with any other race. I laid in the van post race for a couple hours before I could even function. Marji is by far the hardest hundred I have ever completed. I love it but hate it. I’m proud of my effort and learned a lot. Will I be back? You bet and next year I will have a different goal in mind! Calling all Ladies….lets go get this BUCKLE. Thank you Danny and Todd for an amazing event as always! Bike: Pivot Mach 4SL size XS. Sponsors: Pearl Izumi, Pivot cycles, Ergon, Fox, Lazer, Honeystinger, Carborocket, SCC, Stans, Maxxis.” Special thanks to Heidi for the race support!

“That was hard.” Video by: Ryan Odell

Nicky Ruszkowski of New York, took second place with a time of 16:27:54. “Marji Gesick 2021 was my second attempt at this race. In 2019 I dropped out at around mile 85 and so I certainly came at this with unfinished business. I love riding the more technical trails and Marji certainly has plenty of those. The gnarly, rocky descents in this race play to my strengths and are so much fun to ride. I think the cooler temperatures on race day were actually a little deceiving and I don’t think I was alone in underestimating the amount of fluids needed to stay hydrated. Overall this is a phenomenal race and I was delighted to come in second behind Jen.”

About fourteen minutes back from second place, Jessica Nankman of Pennsylvania, finished third with a time of 16:42:44. “For years I have heard about this race with upwards to 70% non-finisher race called Marji Gesick and decided it was time to see what it is all about. I typically race ultra endurance events, 24 hour mountain bike races, thus was looking forward to another way to test my physical and mental fortitude. With my long-distance background I was confident in my ability to cover the miles and being that I live in Eastern Pennsylvania I felt strong about my technical skills, the thing I was most concerned about was the logistics of the race.  I was concerned about the self-supported aspect, it took extensive planning and contemplating on my part about how to carry the hydration, nutrition, and gear needed. Rumors about “trail angels”, volunteers who set-up aid stations along the course, were true and they helped immensely with rider needs .  Another part of the race that takes pre-planning is the point to point factor. Just being my husband (who was also racing) and myself making the trip to Marji, we had no outside help. We opted to stay in the campground located at race start, which made for a very relaxed pre-race morning but we wondered how to get back afterwards.  A friendly volunteer drove us from the finish back to our campsite post-finish.As for the course it’s self…it was a challenging and tough 105 miles.  There were many miles of smiles; fun single track, rewarding rock gardens, flowing berms, and air-time inducing jump lines. But there were even more miles of tough trail that caused much suffering.  Near vertical ups and downs, soul-sucking sand, and sketchy washouts induced a fair amount of walking.  To add to the physical and mental challenge many of the last few miles were ridden in the dark.  Thank goodness for the great cheering and support of the spectators and volunteers along with many friendly fellow racers that kept me going strong.I have never experienced a race like this. Marji Gesick truly is as advertised, it one tough event not to be taken lightly. But the achievement of reaching the finish line, and being on the podium, is an accomplishment that will never be forgotten.Sponsors to please be included in the review: Liv Cycling USA Ambassador, Lupine Lights, Saucon Valley Bikes.”

Nankman pre-riding part of the Marji Gesick course

Taking fourth place was Jenny Acker from Michigan with a time of 17:48:38. Finishing fifth was Christina Peek from Michigan crossing the line in 20:51:19.

Men’s Open– Acker takes back-to-back Marji wins

Men’s open podium: 1st Matt Acker, 2nd Kurt Refsnider, 3rd Chad Cannon. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

The 2019 Marji Gesick winner, Matt Acker of Michigan, gets back-to-back Marji wins with a time of 10:36:55.

Just four minutes back, ultra endurance racer, Kurt Refsnider of Arizona, finished second in 10:41:38 “I made the decision to fly up from Arizona for the race just a few days before the race, so eveIrything was a very last-minute affair for me. But I had heard story after story about how technically challenging the Marji is, and that’s hands-down my favorite kind of riding. And I’m so glad I made the trip – it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a race course that was as difficult and fun as the Marji Gesick 100! I had the pleasure of riding with local legend Matt Acker for most of the race, and following his wheel for so many miles sure helped me ride efficiently (especially as I tried to keep him in sight on the longer descents). 100 milers are a bit on the short end of the races I typically do, and my legs started to fade in the final miles after trying to ride fast for 10,000+ feet of punchy climbing. Matt gradually disappeared ahead of me, and I just tried to hold it together after mile 90.I also am especially impressed by how the race organizers have created an incredibly demanding event in which riders openly embrace (and come for) that challenge. Most races with a course of this style would have relatively small fields, but the organizers have created a welcoming and empowering atmosphere around the race that’s truly one-of-a-kind.”

Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Taking third place, Chad Cannon of Wisconsin, finished in 11:34:32. Ryan Goemans of Wisconsin finished fourth in 11:39:28 and Ben Senkerik of Wisconsin took fifth place with a time of 11:43:37.

Singlespeed– Holle takes overall NUE SS win

Singlespeed podium- 1st Justin Holle, 2nd Anthony Toops, 3rd Eli Orth. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Justin Holle of Colorado wins the singlespeed division and takes 4th overall with at time of 11:39:15. With this win he has secured the overall Epic NUE singlespeed title and went undefeated this year. “Bike: 34×19 gearing on Norco Revolver HT. The overwhelming sentiment leading into Marji seemed the same from every source, ‘good luck’.  Having never quit a race I didn’t understand the high DNF rate or the fear expressed by such sources. And then…after missing my 4th turn only to see the arrow placement AFTER the turn did I realize these racers quit because, damn, that course just presses your buttons! I jumped out early with fellow Singlespeeders Mark Kransz and Scott Quiring, jockeying 1st to 3rd. Just as I passed the hilltop bagpiper I put in a gap and thought I’d race off the front. No sooner did I see myself careening over the handlebars into a pile of rocks, giving up my position. Through mile 39 we danced positions and at that Aid Station I made haste and passed through without support. Alone until mile 65 Aid at Jackson Park I learned this “race” was more an “adventure”. Staying on course demanded full awareness so race efforts sat second wheel.On the loop from Jackson Park that Singlespeed Monster: Anthony Toops closed in behind me. I guess this IS a race! More friend than foe, we chatted and grunted through the loop keeping tabs on our pace for that coveted sub-12 buckle. Back through the Jackson Park aid we knew we had enough time to finish under 12 barring any issues. We hung together, alternating position, riding, and power hiking the steeps. Near mile 94 I slowly pulled away and looking back didn’t see Toops in sight. The course became more intuitive, sign reading less challenging, and I stayed committed to ignoring my computer data. I relied on looking up to the sun to gauge my sub-7:30PM finish. With 50-milers becoming more frequent on trail I could tell we were close. Feeling confident I looked back and saw Toops! What?!?! He closed in on me AGAIN. Providing that final fire I needed! I drove my pedals, attacked the steep hill holding the precious tokens, and headed back down with enough of a gap. Passing Toops I hollered to my friend and turned onto tarmac to punch it home. I passed a final geared racer and came across the line in 4th overall position with the SS win. Marji is the hardest 100-mile MTB race course I’ve ever done. It attacks you mentally, physically, and, when you blow a turn, emotionally. Fortunately I had a good day and I attribute that to accepting MG as an adventure first, race second. Oh, and the guys making grilled cheese at mile 58, thank you sirs. Thanks to my support: Base Canp Cyclery, Norco, Shimano, Crankbrothers, ESI, and Carbo Rocket.”

Anthony Toops and Justin Holle celebrating at the finish line. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Just a couple minutes back on Holle, Anthony Toops from Ohio, took second place in singlespeed and sixth overall, finishing in 11:41:13. “Marji Gesick is always the biggest test of the year.  This year, my goal was to go sub 12hr and get the coveted buckle on a single speed.  I was able to get a buckle on gears in 2018 but it was a true test for me at the time… so doing it on a single speed had me wondering if it would even happen.  The race started with the traditional 1/2 mile run and from the beginning I was on my own pace.  My goal was the buckle and if this turned into a “race” then so be it.  I could see a few ss racers up ahead but I stuck to my plan and didn’t chase.  I was in a good group with my teammate Jeff Rupnow, who has tons of experience at this race, and I knew he could carry me to a buckle… if I could hang!  At mile 13.5 the group was flying and unfortunately missed the left turn back to Forestville.  We were heading back up to the Top of the World!  Eventually we noticed the mistake but it cost us roughly 12min, which isn’t something you can easily claw back at this race.  This caused some high anxiety until I could get my time splits back on track. Going into Jackson Park I was still up 20min on my previous sub 12 race!  Now the stress was off some but I knew the two loops out of Jackson Park are no joke. This is where the race really starts.   At this point I’m still sticking to my plan and haven’t seen another ss’r in a while.  About 15min later I caught up with Justin Holle and we rode together pretty much the rest of the race, pushing each other to make sure that buckle was ours!  Half way into loop 2 out of Jackson, Justin started to get a gap on me.  I made a mistake with my nutrition on the first loop and ran out of calories and water for almost an hour (rookie!) so I started to fade.  I made sure to get some calories in and started to feel normal again with about 7mi to go.  I would guess Justin was only a couple minutes ahead but I was solely focused on that buckle!  The last 15mi of this race is the true test and every second counts.  It’s a weird experience because this is a race where you are in a battle with the trail and yourself; racing someone else is a bonus.  No matter how well you’re doing, you’re always wondering if you’ll make it.I put my head down and went as hard as I could for that last hour or so. I WASN’T coming up short!  When I could see the last climb to Jasper Knob on my screen, I knew I had it.  BUT where the heck were all the tokens!  Of course they were on the way up to Jasper Knob (blame Todd & Danny) so everyone had that stress all day.  In the end, I finished 2nd by just a couple minutes and the buckle was mine!Marji is one of those races where you always say you don’t need to do it again… but you always want to.  Now that I have a geared and ss buckle, next year will be a new challenge!  Thanks again to my wife Jen for her motivation, my team Evolution Training Cycles/Paradise Garage Racing, and especially Heidi for all her help!  See you in 2022?! Bike Setup:Frame – Pivot LES size large. Fork – Fox Step Cast 32 100mmGearing – oval 32x19Tires – Continental cross king protection 2.3 front and rear.”

Finishing in third place, Eli Orth of Ohio, crossing the line in 12:20:44. “Marji was my fourth NUE epic distance SS race. Going into the race my main goal was to have a clean race and finish with a decent overall time. I ended up finishing 3rd.The race started great getting into one of the lead groups. It took a little hit though when our group made a wrong turn at mile 15. We were repeating a section we had went through around mile 5. Luckily Jeff Rupnow and Anthony Toops realized it once we had climbed all way to Forestville Rd. We turned back and by the time we were back on track we had lost about 14 minutes… and we were battling through other riders that we were previously well in front of. Surprisingly time was made up and by the time hit Jackson Park I was still on track to get under 12 hours. On the first loop through Jackson I was still on pace. On the last trails through the last 15ish miles I was pushing the pace and had a small crash that set me back just a little and seemed to slow my momentum a little. I made it to the finish only to realize I dropped an orange token on my way in. Soooo I had to go back and get the orange token. My finish time was 12hrs 3 min 57 sec. A little frustrated getting so close to the under 12 but falling little short. Overall happy with the race though and finishing Marji without mechanical and any physical issues is always a win. Thank to my sponsors Dean Titanium Bikes, CarboRocket, Kenda, AbsoluteBLACK, ESI Grips.Also thankful for all my family that supported me to do this race from my wife staying and watching the kids to my step-dad that ran support for me!My gearing for the race was 34×20. This was my last NUE points race for the season. My next planned race is the Cruce Del Istmo in Panama to represent the NUE.”

Eli Orth ready for the Lemans run. Photo credit: Ryan Odell

Fourth went to, Nathan Lillie of WI, in 12:45:47. Brent Pontius of MI, took fifth place in 13:37:48.

Women’s Singlespeed-First woman to complete Marji on a Singlespeed

Kristen Wade of Illinois is the first woman to complete Marji on a singlespeed. She finished in 23 hours. ” I hardly feel like I should be writing a race report considering the top female racer crossed the finish line nearly 11 hours before me but this was no ordinary race and I was in no ordinary category. The 2021 NUE Marji Gesick was my first Marji and I competed on a single speed. I was the sole female in the single speed category and much to my surprise I was the first female to ever FINISH the Marji with one gear. I rode a titanium VooDoo Dambala 29er with a 30:22 gearing and my nutrition consisted of a lot of Snicker bars, PayDays, grilled cheese and beef sticks. The Marji Gesick is more than a Hard Day, for some, it is a hard night too. I have no sponsors to thank because I am not a sponsored athlete. However, I would like to thank my husband, Al, for his continued support riding with me and encouraging me when I struggled. Next year I would like to return to race another Marji, with one gear, but faster.”

Kristen Wade is the first women to complete Marji on a single speed!

Schultz of Ohio takes the Masters win

Taking the Masters win, Brad Scholtz of Ohio, finished in 14:24:12. ” Having participated in other 906 events I knew it would be special and epic!   I had not raced Marji before, but I knew lots who had attempted, and a few who had completed the race-  and they made it REALLY clear that this would be the hardest thing you’ve ever done!  “Words can’t do it justice”! I started the race with two of my RBikes teammates as we knew that we should match up fairly well and to have some company at least for a while.   Not having any idea what I was in for, I would have been more conservative at the beginning, but my teammates were pushing a pretty spicy pace- I hung on and tried to settle in and stay on top of nutrition/hydration.  What a challenge it is pay attention to navigation, hydration, nutrition, physical effort and tackle the technical sections was crazy fun and challenging!   When I reached the bag drop(mi 65ish) I was feeling pretty good, but I also had a decent idea that the last 40 mi were the hardest!  And needless to say I was not disappointed!    The scenic views, stupid hard climbs and technical descents were my favorite- make no mistake, the constant punchy climbs really accumulate to break you down.   My secret is really to just “stay present” and enjoy/tackle the section that you’re currently doing.  Don’t even think about what’s yet to come.   The second most critical thing for me is to stay in a “positive“ place- giving and receiving positive energy from/to the other riders.   Positive engagement with everyone I can in contact with.  Thank you to my teammates(RBikes) for the pacing and to the amazing volunteers all over the course!!That was amazing!  I’m proud of my effort, but now I’m completely hooked, and already thinking about next year and how I can go faster!  I Was extremely pleased to take 1st place in the Men’s Master division.”

About fifteen minutes back, John Munger from MN, takes second place in 14:38:20. Vin Dog Mack of MI, takes third place with a time of 15:10:11. Fourth goes to, Scott Cole of WI, in 15:45:44 and fifth place to, Derrick Seys of IL, crossing the line in 16:21:30.

John Munger and Piotr Bednarski on their way to Marji

For full results CLICK HERE

Pictures from the race can be found here: Rob Meendering and Ryan Stephens

Mark your calendars. Registration for the 2022 Marji Gesick is October 15th.

NUE- Shenandoah 100k

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The 23rd annual Shenandoah 100 is the oldest race in the NUE Epic Race Series held over Labor Day weekend in Stokesville, VA. Shenandoah now includes a 100k option of racing on Saturday and the classic 100 mile race on Sunday.

100k race start

Held within The George Washington National Forest of Virginia, Shenandoah marks the start of the fall season of the NUE Series with just a few races remaining that will determine this year’s champions. Shenandoah is a highly anticipated showdown showcasing top level talent in a festive atmosphere with most racers choosing to camp out at the Stokesville Lodge and campground which is included in registration.

Womens Open- Sheldon wins 100k

Women’s 100k podium: 1st Libbey Sheldon, 2nd Carla Williams, 3rd Laura Hamm, 4th Bryna Blanchard, 5th Lauren Zimmer

No one could match the pace of Libbey Sheldon (CSHairs Devo) in the women’s 100k race on Saturday and she took the win with a time of 5:29.

In her first mountain bike race after having a baby, previous NUE epic series winner, Carla Williams (CarboRocket) of Roanoke took second place in 5:38:25.

Just a couple minutes back from Williams, Laura Hamm (Moonstomper) took third place in 5:40:22. Hamm also went on to complete the 100 mile race on Sunday with a third place finish.

Making the trip from New York, Bryna Blanchard (BMB Racing) finished fourth 5:47:37. Taking the last podium spot went to Lauren Zimmer (Bingham Cyclery) in 5:57:15.

Mens Open- Petrylak second 2021 NUE marathon win

Men’s 100k podium: 1st John Petrylak, 2nd Anthony Grinnell, 3rd Will Pfeiffer, 4th Ben Ferguson, 5th Jarod Lawver

After a major setback with course markings, John Petrylak (CarboRocket) fights hard to take the Shenandoah 100k win with a time of 5:25. Petrylak had a previous NUE 100k win at Wilderness.

“After a typical start to the National Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike Race Series Shenandoah Mountain 100K we came to an intersection that I know very well. The course arrows should have pointed LEFT ; however they were pointing RIGHT. We got off course and after an extra 6 mile loop and 37 minutes waisted we climbed back to the original intersection in question and by this time someone came and realized that the arrows were wrong and fixed them.
Later in the day it was suspected that a person or persons maliciously changed the arrows. 
Now at this point I believe we were absolutely dead last or very close to it. Without much thought I just pressed on full gas and set out to pass every rider I could. After 5 and a half hours I managed to catch every rider except masters athlete George Ganoung and take the open men’s win.Also a huge amount of respect for Anthony, Will and Stew for rolling in literally a few minutes behind me as they had just as much additional pain and suffering to deal with and still rose to the occasion. Thanks to: CarboRocket, Molly’s Bikes, ESI Grips, Kenda Tires and Athlos Sports”

Just three minutes back, Anthony Grinnell (Syndicate Cycling) took second with a time of 5:28:32.

“The racing didn’t really start until we began climbing on the initial road sections, but even then, it was a manageable pace.  Shortly into gravel, the top 8 or so guys formed a pretty large gap to the rest of the field.  Heading up the first single track climb, we had a lead group of 4 and pulled a gap on the rest of the breakaway.  But as we got to the top of the climb, we encountered a problem.  GPS said go left, but the arrows pointed right and a tape banner blocked the trail to the left.  We all figured there was an issue with the GPS or a last minute course change since there was both tape and arrows telling us to go right.  Big mistake.  About 5 miles down that trail, we all realized there were no more arrows, too many downed trees, and we should have gone left.  At that point, it was easier to keep going and complete the 9 mile extra loop and re-peat that tough single track climb to make the correct left turn at the top.  37 minutes later, we were back on course and, as Will Pfeiffer so adequately stated “pedaling pissed off”.  The even bigger downside is, while we were adding our extra miles, someone corrected the course marking issue, which ended up putting the entire 100k class in front of us.  We literally had to pass hundreds of other riders as we worked our way up.  I’ve been a huge fan of Flow Formulas products, but wow did it make a difference in being able to maintain energy needed to make up all that lost time.  Big props to Pirelli tires too…they were bullet proof and with all of the sharp rocks on the course, that was a must.  I was shocked, and REALLY happy to see that John, Will, and I were all able to put our heads down and battle our way back up to sweep the podium.  We think a hunter likely changed the markings, but in the end, it didn’t keep John Petrylak from winning his first SMT 100K race, didn’t keep me from getting 2nd, and kept Will Pfeiffer’s title hopes alive for the series.  It was a great day for the Syndicate/Flow Formulas team with Jim Litzinger getting 1st in the 100K Single Speed Class and Joe Frass getting 5th in the 100 mile Single Speed Class. Huge thank you to Shorkey Auto Group and Pro Bike & Run for getting us to these races and keeping our equipment working.”

Will Pfeiffer (Flow Formulas) took third crossing the line in 5:31:37.

“The race started like any other, with a good push up the first climb.  Five of us got away and kept a good pace on Narrowback.  When we came to a T-intersection near the top, an unexpected right turn was marked.  We figured there was some issue with the normal trail and just followed the arrows and tape.  This proved unfortunate, because it turned out there were some people messing with signage on the course.  As we realized what had happened, I’ll be honest, I was not in a good place mentally.  I have been chasing the season standings this year, and I was watching all that effort go out the window in one fell swoop.  John Petrylak, Anthony Grinnel, and Stewart Gross were instrumental in keeping my head in the game and I am very thankful to have been with those guys.  So, one bonus loop later, the lost boys joined back up DFL and all sorts of motivated.

The rest of the race turned into a 50 mile TT trying to fight through the field.  My mom was a massive help, supporting me at each aid station.  Late in the race she told me I was 10th heading into the final climb of Hankey.  I was already deep in the effort and absolutely buried myself trying to catch riders.  Pulling a third in class was a mixture of some effort and a lot of luck.  But I will say this, I’ve had a handful of races over the years that presented some physically and mentally difficult obstacles.  It sounds cliche, but never once have I regretted refusing to give in.  The mindset, challenge, and camaraderie this weekend meant so much more to me than the result.  Huge thanks to Flow Formulas, The Black Bibs, Maxxis, Industry Nine, Kask, Koo, Handup, Ridge Supply, Chris of Shenandoah Mountain Touring, and my awesome teammates who let me be a part of their super inspiring rides on Sunday.  #flowformulasfamily”

Ben Ferguson finished fourth in 5:34:09 and Jarod Lawver fifth in 5:46:37.

Singlespeed– Litzinger leads NUE marathon SS

Singlespeed podium: 1st James Litzinger, 2nd Don Powers, 3rd Kenny Kocarek, 4th Larry Miller, 5th Kasey Clark

With a second place finish at Mohican and first place at Wilderness, James Litzinger (Syndicate Cycling) took the Shenandoah win with a time of 5:32:09. Litzinger now leads the NUE SS Marathon series.

“The backcountry racing at Shenandoah Mountain always is always a blast and this year was no different!  The start and preparation for the race was very smooth and thought out.  We were put in to starting corrals of 5 and I was lined up with some hammer in the corral 50-55, teammate Anthony Grinnell (2nd) and John Petrylak (1st) crushed the course!  Coming out of the campground it was very chill until it hit the road and everyone started to jockey for position.  Dahn Pahrs and I were the only 2 single speeders  spinning and tucking our way to the front with the geared guys.  We were comfortable with the brisk pace of the opening gravel climb and taking some pulls. The biggest deciding factor in the race came at the top of the first single track climb when 2 arrows pointed right and the GPS said to go left.  Decisions, decisions…we went right with the arrows which cost us about 4 miles and 13 minutes.  During the single track I noticed the screw on the top cap of my fork was coming loose so I used my thumb to push down on it and tighten it.  After getting back on course we were faced with the challenge of making our way through a lot of riders on the tight single track.  After getting back out on the road, Dahn and I worked together on our way to the next climb which was a lot of hike a biking.  At the bottom of the climb I noticed my fork was not responding as it should, it was stiff and in the down position.  I decided to put it in the lock position to prevent it from going down but made the descents very challenging.  After the race I noticed that I changed the rebound to SLOW when I was tightening the screw.  After the long, steep, rocky, and rooty climb. 

After the hike a bike we were rewarded with a super fun descent.  To my surprise, I was able to catch a few more riders before poking out onto the dirt road again.  After completing the descent, I looked back to join up with Dahn again and he came back out on the road a few seconds after me. I decided to sit up, get some nutrition, and wait for my buddy since these races are a lot more fun with some company.  After fueling up and spinning down the road a little I thought I heard a car coming so I moved off to the side of the road and looked back to see that it was not a car but John Petrylak.  As a single speeder we are often faced with the decision to burn some matches get dragged along by the strong geared guys or rider your own race and conserve your energy.  Well, I decided to burn some matches for a big increase in speed on the backcountry Virginia road.  I was able to make up some great time spinning and tucking behind John’s wheel.  When we pulled into aid 2, I had to fill my bottles, grab grub, and by that time John was already rolling and there was no catching him.  I continued rolling the course at my own pace until the ripping descent leading into aid 3 when teammate Anthony Grinnell caught me.  It was a blast shredding the descent and getting a big pull on the road with him until I had to let him go before burning up all my matches.  I was glad to be looking at the Hankey climb for the last time before working my way down the mountain to the finish.   Special shout out to the Syndicate Cycling support of Pro Bike+Run Shops, Shorkey Auto Group, Specialized bikes, Flow Formulas, Wolftooth Components, Extreme Nano Lubes, Esi Grips, Pirelli tires, KOO, Kask, Dr. Bryan Hooks Orthopedic, and last but not least my amazing family.”

Previously winning Mohican earlier this season, Don Powers, of Pennsylvania took second in 5:41:27. Don also raced the Shenandoah 100 mile race on Sunday.

Stopping the Pennsylvania podium sweep, Kenny Kocarek (Kobby Side Down) of Ohio finished in 6:12:53. Larry Miller (Team Bikenetic) took fourth in 6:47:32 and Kasey Clark (Velopigs) finished fifth in 7:10:30.

Masters– Ganoung takes top step

Masters podium: 1st George Ganoung, 2nd Peter Schultz, 3rd Derek Dagostino, 4th ustin De Leo, 5th Roberts Moore

Winning the Masters category was George Ganoung (Otterhaus) with a finish time of 5:23:37.

” I have a long competitive road and gravel history but this was my first ever marathon mountain bike event. I won the Master 50+ and due to some strange circumstances, I came out the overall winner as well…with a big footnote though.About 9 miles into the race I was 8th in a group of 4 ~30 seconds behind the leaders and we had a pretty big gap on the rest of the field. We came across a major arrow marked intersection, but having pre ridden the course, and having the map on my GPS, they were not pointing in the expected direction. My compatriots followed the arrows so I went with them, about .5 mile in I just felt it was wrong, and told them I am turning around. They agreed and we flipped it, went the other way at the intersection and ran into course tape across the trail, it was broken, but seemed to indicate it’s a reroute. We flipped again and went back further, but with the trail getting significantly rougher and no other markers I told the other guys I think someone mucked it up and I am committing to the GPS track. By then the bulk of the race had caught up and the two way traffic on single track was chaotic and was forced to walk. I told the riders I ran into as I back tracked to make their own call but I am following GPS. It seemed like the majority turned around, and someone else had turned the arrows back by the time I got to the intersection. Fortunately it was the right call and the race markers had clearly been sabotaged. I ended up being about 30th out of the 1st single track after the confusion. Convinced the leaders went the right way and were long gone, and half the race was ahead, I just rode hard out of anger on the next fire road section catching as many folks as I could. It turned out the leaders had actually gone further off course before turning around and after the next big single track climb and descent, I was told I was in the overall lead…and somehow managed to hold on for ~40 miles to the finish. Massively impressive ride by 2nd place John Petrylak who went further off course and came back to win the open class and nearly caught me at the end. Big thanks to @shenandoahmountaintouring and all the volunteers for putting on such a cool event and hats off to the riders who do this stuff all the time, huge respect for the skill/fitness required.
In regards to NUE future, Shenandoah again and maybe Wilderness 101 next year are probably it for me because they are close. This is just a branch out as a new challenge.”

George Ganoung (Otterhaus) 5:23:37

About 10 minters back, Peter Schultz (Team Bikenetic) finished second with a time of 5:32:35. “As we charged up the first climb, I had my coach’s voice in my head to stay within myself. I was doing about 4 W/kg on the double-track climb and thought that’s about the power that would need to be sustained for 5 hours by the overall winner. So, I let about 30 people crank on past, pretty sure that they’d come back.The hitch in this plan came at the top of the first climb where the arrows were pointed in the wrong direction. When we finally got ourselves turned around, I got shuffled backward another 20 spots or so. So, I spent the entire descent in a conga line, as well as most of Lynn Trail. I tried to stay calm and stick to the plan.But things went further sideways on the Wolf Trail descent when I had a 5-minute mechanical due to a messed up jockey wheel. “The Plan” went even further in the crapper on the road to Hankey’s where I’d stashed my two bottles on little stands: someone stole one of my bottles. Whoever did that and whoever swapped the arrows on Narrowback is a complete butthead.“The Plan” started working in second half of the race where I passed dozens of people. I was able to keep my power relatively high (for me) at about 3.6W/kg. My times on the first and second Hankey’s climbs were within a second of each other. I was able to hold it all together on the descents and get back in one piece.I’d like to give a big shout-out to the OGs in this race, with the fastest overall times going to folks over 50. I had a front row seat watching Libby Sheldon (and Laura Hamm) from the rear as she nearly cleaned Lynn Trail. So impressive!I’d like to thank my sponsors — my wife, myself, and Bikenetic – and my coach, Jeremy Powers, for his attention to detail.”

Taking the third step, Derek Dagostino (Molly’s Bicycles) finished in 5:50:13. “While living and mountain biking in Richmond, Virginia, I had always heard about the Shenadoah Mountain 100 but never seriously considered participating in this race because of its difficulty. I participated in local XC races through the year in 2020 while working to improve my fitness. Going into 2021, I was looking for a challenge and made the SM 100 KM my “A” race for the year. New to endurance mountain bike racing I realized that I had a lot to learn before the race. I joined local marathon XC races for training and also to work my hydration and fueling plan. Admittedly I made some big mistakes along the way. 

3rd place Derek Dagostino

The SM was as exciting and challenging as I thought it would be! Race participants were lined up by bid numbers and in rows of five people. I started mid-pack and used the first 7 miles of fire road to move up while minding my pace. From the fire road you jump onto single track which starts the first significant climb of the day. A few miles into the climb, the riders leading the group of 15 or so stopped and mentioned that they thought we were off course. We turned around and back tracked to the proper course and I later found out that a prankster changed the course markings. The little detour added 3 miles to my race and I also found myself in heavy traffic until reaching the fire road at the end of Tilman single track. At this point I really had no idea where I was in the field because of the mix-up. The climb up the Lynn trail was as memorable as it was steep! Once back on the fire road, I was able to pace with some other riders including Eli Drooger who ended up taking 1st in U19 category. The climb up Hanky was tough but I was also able to pass other riders, make up some ground, and stay on track until the finish line! Special thanks to the SM race promoter and volunteers who pulled off the event this year. The event was well organized and not surprisingly will continue into its 24th year in 2022. Also I want to acknowledge my sponsor Molly’s Bicycle Shop and Blind Dog Brewery in Chester, Virginia. The team at the shop has played a pivotable role in supporting me with fantastic equipment (including my Norco Revolver FS1), topnotch service and an occasional beer!”

Fourth place went to Justin De Leo (Blue Ridge Cyclery) with a time of 5:55:46. Fifth place to Roberts Moore (Moore Velocity) crossing the line in 5:56:30.

Written by: @jentoops

Photos by: @Shenandoahmountaintouring

For full results CLICK HERE

Next up on the NUE Marathon Series is the Marji Gesick in Ishpeming, MI on September 18, 2021. See you all there!

The Park City Point 2 Point Returns

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Written by: Shannon Boffeli

After taking the 2020 season off due to Covid, Utah’s most-anticipated mountain bike race each year returned for its 13th edition. Taking in over 75 miles of Park City, Utah’s, world renowned singletrack and 10,000 vertical feet of climbing, the Point 2 Point is known as one of hardest single-day mountain bike races in the country. 

This year riders from across the country came to the destination town of Park City to be challenged by technical trails, grueling climbs, breakneck descents, and moose. 

Elite men start at the 2021 Park City Point 2 Point. Photo by Jay Dash

Rains on Friday helped clear out some of the smoke that has plagued the west throughout the summer and provided endless hero dirt for the riders to enjoy their P2P experience.

As the race kicked off just after sunrise it was clear both elite fields were ready to push the pace early. 

Two-time winner Evelyn Dong (Juliana/SRAM/No Tubes) took the early lead pushing what challenger, Melissa Rollins (Team Twenty24) described as, ‘cross-county Olympic speeds.’ Dong was joined early on by Caedran Harvey with Rollins not far behind. 

Riders wind through the trails in Park City. Photo by Jay Dash

The  punishing early pace broke up the women’s field and saw Evelyn Dong establish a solid gap that continued to grow throughout the day. The Juliana rider rode clear throughout the day and not even getting stung by a bee on the lip would slow the lone leader. 

At mile 55, Dong passed through the crowds at the Park City Mountain feed zone taking in the cheers from hundreds of local fans lifting her spirits to finish the final 20 miles showing strong form. 

Behind the leader Melisa Rollins had moved into second place after Harvey got off course in the mid-mountain section of the course. 

Evelyn Dong navigates Round Valley in the early morning sun. Photo by Jay Dash

Rollins was followed by the hard-charging Virginian Andrea Dvorak (Cutaway), who is battle-tested in all forms of endurance cycling.  

No one would be catching Evelyn Dong on the day as she finished the race with a smashing time of 7:30:18, well inside the top-20 of the 350 men and women in the race. 

Rollins final push to the finish was temporarily delayed as a mother and baby moose took up residence on the trail. The 25-year-old Rollins was forced to bushwhack her way around the pair before getting back on course and finishing her day at just over 8 hours. 

Despite encountering the late moose challenge, Rollins managed to stay over 20 minutes clear on third-place rider Dvorak who finished at 8:24:55.

The only way to get through the P2P. Photo by Jay Dash

Chelsea Bolton finished fourth in the open women’s field but took top honors for best quote of the day for her comment after finishing the punishing Steps trail climb exclaiming, “Before today, I’ve only ever gone up that trail by mistake!”

Courtney Boyd (Wattie Ink) rounded out the women’s podium in fifth place with a time of 8:47:14

Momma and baby Moose on course at the P2P.

The open men’s race got off to a similarly rapid pace with relative youngsters Truman Glasgow (Rouleur Devo) and Tanner Visnick (POC) pushing hard early accompanied briefly by Australian Lachlan Morton (EF Foundation) who was fresh off a podium finish at the 6-day Breck Epic and his Alt Tour De France effort where he rode the entire Tour De France course solo. 

Morton suffered an early flat before exciting the Round Valley section of the course. This left Glasgow and Visnick out front, a strategy that Visnick had envisioned. “Going out hard early is typically my move,” the 24-tear-old Visnick said. “Unless I’m marking another rider and don’t know the course well, I prefer to be in front setting my own pace on the climbs and descents.”

Never-ending single track is on tap every year at the P2P. Photo by Jay Dash

Despite throwing down early speed, Visnick was unable to shed Glasgow who worked his way into the lead by the top of Deer Valley resort. The 21-year-old Glasgow stayed clear on the following descents and through the tortuous John’s trail where a mother and baby moose forced some brief detours. 

At 50+ miles in both riders descended into the Park City Mountain feed zone just seconds apart. 

Morton was slowly working his way through the field jumping into 5th place by the Steps trail climb and taking over 4th before making his way into the feed zone. 

In front the racing was all out with less than a minute between the two leaders and Tanner Visnick now being out front, barely. 

Tanner Visnick goes for an early lead in the morning sun. Photo by Jay Dash

Despite being young, Visnick is no stranger to distance events having already won the Gunnison Growler, Emerald Epic, and Big Sky Biggie in 2021. After a quick stop at the final feed zone, Visnick used his endurance experience to hold onto a 20 second gap over his challenger needing to essentially sprint the final 5 miles of downhill to cross the line with just 39 seconds in hand. 

After almost six and a half hours of racing Truman Glasgow finished less than a minute behind the leader.

Riders get a well-deserved break after 75-miles of single track. Photo by Jay Dash

Lachlan Morton worked his way up to third place by the finish, passing another youngster, Cameron Larson (Summit Devo Team), in the final miles of the race.

Larson took fourth in what was his longest-ever mountain bike race effort.

Fifth went to Danny Van Wagoner with a time of 6:45:29. 

Race Notes

In a tradition unique to the Park City Point 2 Point, a special award is given to the final racer to finish each year’s event; in special recognition of their perseverance making it to the finish line. 

This year’s red lantern award went to Kristine Thompson, who finished, in the dark, with a time of 13:58:44. The longest-ever finishing time for the P2P.

Red lantern winner Kristine Thompson at the finish

For the first time three riders on the men’s podium were former NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) racers. Truman Glasgow and Cameron Larson both raced in the Utah league, while race winner Tanner Visnick raced in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. 

Instead of tapering the weekend before the Park City Point 2 Point, race winner Tanner Visnick, was getting married in Bozeman, Montana. Congratulations Tanner!

Click Here for Full Results from All Categories

Hitting the descents at the P2P. Photo by Jay Dash

NUE Wilderness 101- Coburn, PA

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Written by: @Jentoops

On July 24th, 2021, Shenandoah Mountain Tours held the Wilderness 101 ultra and marathon races in Coburn, PA. The Wilderness 101 is part of the NUE National Ultra Endurance Race Series. This east coast course takes you through the Bald Eagle and Rothrock state forests of Pennsylvania, and is know for pristine mountain streams, old growth forests and rocky backcountry single track.

101 Sunrise
Photo credit: Chris Merriam

Sunny skies and temps in the mid 80’s made for a near perfect race day. The gravel was fast, trails were dry, and racers put down some blazing fast times. After a hard days work, racers were greeted at the finish line with well deserved tacos and beer included with entry fee.

Post race tacos included with registration

Camping was also included with registration in Coburn Park. This is the staging area making for a trouble-free race morning and celebration at the finish line.

  • Coburn Park staging area

Thank you to the volunteers that came out to support the Wilderness ultra and marathon races!

Women’s Open– TSE winner Britt Mason gets 101 WIN

Coming off a win at the 2021 TSE, Britt Mason (Knobby by Nature) of Maryland, proves she can still navigate those PA rocks taking the win in 8:23:26.

Britt Mason fueling up at aid station 4 for the Stillhouse climb.

The 2019 Wilderness 101 women’s winner, Jen Toops (Pearl Izumi/Pivot) finished 2nd with a time of 8:31:04.

“Coming into this race I felt tired after a week long family reunion full of activities and wondered how my legs would feel. I knew Britt would be tough one to beat, especially after just racing TSE and the powerhouse she is. There was also quite a few other fast lady shredders signed up I had my eye on. I decided to take it steady on the first climb and feel it out. I found myself in a manageable pace and holding Britt’s wheel, we settled into the 2nd peloton for the first LONG gravel section. The pace line entered the first grassy downhill and I made the mistake of being 4-5 riders behind her in the pace line. There was no room to safely pass and this is where we got separated. I was told all day it was only a 3 min gap but could never quite shut it down. Around mile 45 was my dark place and I wanted to pull the plug as I was quite a bit nauseated but I’m stubborn and battled on. Still wondering if my racing legs were ever going to show up, I tried to rally on Stillhouse and closed some time. My back and arms couldn’t handle the beating of the PA rocks anymore on the downs. After I clipped a pedal at one point, went sideways over the bars I luckily managed to somehow land on my feet in a bush. This is where I decided to pedal it on in for 2nd and I was more than happy with a 30min PR from 2019! Congrats to Britt on her well deserved win! It was fun chasing all day :) I plan on hitting up Shenandoah next on the NUE tour. Bike: Pivot Mach 4SL live valve. Sponsors: Pearl Izumi, Pivot Cycles, Ergon, SCC, Honeystinger, Carborocket, Stans, Fox, Maxxis, Xpedo, MTBracenews.

The 2019 wilderness 101 winner Jen Toops (Pearl Izumi/ Pivot MTB) gets the number one plate. Thanks Shenandoah Mountain Tours for supporting women’s racing and equal payout! Photo credit: Bryan Cusick

Taking third place, Libbey Sheldon finished in 8:50:27 “So great to get back to the Wilderness 101, especially with the great conditions. I was coming back from a hard landing on my tailbone a couple of weeks back, so I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do out there. Britt and Jen took off from the start on the road sections, and it was clear that I wasn’t going to keep up with them, so I settled in at what I hoped would be an all-day pace. The trails and double track were in great shape, and the temperature never got too high, so I mainly focused on enjoying my favorite sections and seeing friends out on course. Congrats to Britt and Jen for smashing it at the front, and to everyone out there—it’s so great to be back to racing!”

Fourth place was, Tina Severson, from Connecticut with a time of 8:54:14 “No stranger to the endurance scene having done events such as Breck Epic, Dirty Kanza, Gravel Worlds and Maah Daah Hey, I was looking for something new and challenging on the mountain bike. Wilderness 101 was just that! This was my first time riding in this area and I didn’t know much about the course. It had a good amount of fast gravel sections, some chunky, rocky descents and even pitch black tunnels! At times it had a real adventure feel to it, which I loved! My goal was to charge hard and steady for the duration of the day, keep the nutrition and hydration in check and finish strong to land on the podium. I had a really great experience and look forward to trying other NUE events in the future. Sponsors: Orange Seal, Specialized, Schwalbe Tires, Voler Apparel, Pedro’s, Wolf Tooth Components, Julbo, DeFeet”

Taking the fifth step was, Julia Thumel, crossing the line in 9:07:09.

Photo credit: Bryan Cusick
Women’s 101 podium: 1st Britt Mason 8:23:26, 2nd Jen Toops 8:31:04, 3rd Libbey Sheldon 8:50:27, 4th, Tina Severson 8:54:14, 5th Julia Thumel 9:07:09

Men’s Open 101 mile- Inger gets back to back NUE wins

Coming off a NUE Carrabassett 100k win the previous weekend, Jake Inger (Ride the Whites) took home the 101 WIN with a time of 6:53:23.

Ian Schwing (Flow Formulas) rode to a second place finish, coming in at 7:06:07. “Saturday morning started off great and I was fully prepared on the starting line. As all 100 milers I’ve done, the race started up the first climb like we were full gas racing. But there was no dropping off the peloton since I knew there was still a lot of gravel and flat road before any singletrack where some big separations could happen. My good friend, Jimmy Klose and one other rider broke off the front and we lost sight of them before any singletrack. Going in 6th wheel on Lonberger trail, I wasn’t able to pass riders and front and was getting frustrated seeing riders ride away, so much so I wasn’t paying attention to the trail and hit a huge boulder, endo-ed and by some miracle pulled off the ninja move of my life and landed flat on my feet. Got back on my bike, and somehow nothing was broken, headed back up the gravel road to catch the group again. Riding into aid 2 our group of around 10 riders got split up pretty quickly with the technical trail right afterwards, to about 6 of us. Team mate, Will Lovener, didn’t stop at aid 4 and broke away from our group on the following climb. Decided to chase and Jake Inger followed and we caught him on the singletrack at the top of the climb. I would find out later his wrist was still bothering him from his insane effort at Unbound XL. Jake and I rode the next 2 hours together and caught the break of Jimmy and the other rider close to the 60 mile maker. Descending into aid 4 there was nobody to be seen but Jake. Jake dropped the hammer at a water station around the 75 miler marker and I couldn’t quite keep his pace. All I could do as a smaller guy the last hour was get as aero as I can, fight off the lingering cramps, and pray there wasn’t a strong group of riders working together to catch me. Once I hit the tunnel close to Coburn, I was stoked to know I would be crossing the line in second. Shenandoah 100 is definitely on the schedule and huge shout out to flow formulas for fueling and sponsoring me”

Men’s 101 Podium: 1st Jake Inger 6:53:23, 2nd Ian Schwing 7:06:07, 3rd Jimmy Klose 7:08, 4th Heath Thumel 7:16:10, 5th Will Loevner 7:17:15

Just two minutes back, Jimmy Klose, finished third with a time of 7:08. Fourth place was Heath Thumel 7:16:10 and fifth Will Loevner 7:17:15.

Not racing in 3 years, Ron Harding, finished 6th place with a time of 7:19. ” About 10 years ago, my wife (Kathleen Harding) and I focused (and by focused I mean raced enough races to qualify for the series, which at the time was four, I think…) on the NUE series for approximately two seasons.  Back then I rode and raced exclusively on a single speed.  I look back on those days wistfully and wish with all of my heart that someone with more age and experience had pulled me aside, explained to me how stupid I was being, and encouraged me to ghost ride my single speed off the nearest highway overpass.  Racing a single speed for 100 miles is akin to beating your head against a cement wall for 8 hours, only the wall never breaks and neither does your head.  As I sit here in 2021 with the benefit of 10 more years of life experience under my belt and the relative wisdom that comes with it, I offer this to all of the single speeders out there – there is a good reason that gears were invented.

Anyway, I’ve never raced a 100 miles on gears before and didn’t know what to expect.  I got roped into this race about 1-2 months ago by a long time buddy of mine who was going to be visiting from AK the weekend of the W101.  He asked me if I was interested in racing it.  In my head and my heart, I said “no”, but I heard myself tell him “yes.”  And I’m glad I did.  The weather was perfect (which was novel in itself as 9 of 10 previous NUEs I participated in suffered from rain the day before or the day of the event), the trails were in great shape, and the aid stations were operated by the kindest and most accommodating Pennsylvanians a guy could meet.  Chris Scott puts on a top-notch event.

Regarding the race, the lead group crushed the first climb to create separation and rocketed down the first descent at warp speed to the point where I feared for my life.  I spent the first ~33 miles of the race riding in the top 10 wondering what I was doing there.  I knew a handful of people in the race but only two other people in the group at that point, Stewart Gross (who is local to me in southeast PA and a semi-regular riding buddy), and  Christian Tanguay, (who needs no introduction).  On the climb up to Aid 2, the elastic snapped and I had to let the lead group go.  I defaulted to riding my own race.  Around mile 44 I pulled Stewart back and Christian caught us.  We rode together for a bit.  They stopped at Aid 3 and I kept going.  Riding largely by myself for the next 50 miles pulling in three more riders and finishing 6th.  I saw 5th at the bottom of Old Mingle, but was unable to pull him in.  Having since learned of the insanity that is his riding life, I understand why I saw only a glimpse of him.  Who the f*** voluntarily does three laps of the W101?  Aside from witnessing one of the Flow Formula racers go OTB, cartwheel off the trail two wheels in front of me, and land on this feet like El Gato, the race was largely uneventful. Lessons Learned – (1) you can brake all of the cardinal rules of endurance racing and still do well, (2) having no expectations is a huge asset to racing, (3) people tend to come back to you late in an NUE if you don’t overdo it early.Next Planned NUE Race – N/A – I didn’t really plan to do this one and at this point I don’t plan to do any others this year but you never know…stranger things have happened.Sponsors – Full-****ing-retail brought to you by gainful employment.  I’m 42 years old.  Who am I kidding seeking after sponsors?  Ain’t nobody got time or energy for that.  I don’t race for a team anymore, because I don’t really race anymore.  That said, shout out to Trestle Bridge Racing (if I raced for a team, they’d be it) and Twisted Cog and Shirk’s bike shops; two shops I frequent if I need something for my bicycles.”

Start of Wilderness 101. Photo credit: Bryan Cusick

Master’s 101 mile- Kogelmann wins

Newly minted 50+, Chip Kogelmann (Bikeflights.com) coming off a 50+ win in the EX2 Exterra off road triathlon, won the Masters race with a time of 8:03 (15th overall).  Multi-time Wilderness 101 winner Roger Masse who finished 8:07 (16th overall) lead the race for much of the day and was reeled in only in the last 10-miles after the final aid station.   Kogelmann lost touch with Masse in the Dutch Alvin section of single track about 45 miles in. Kogelmann, a State College local on his 12th Wilderness 100 struggled to stave of intermittent cramps which kicked in around the 55-mile mark.  Kogelmann recovered after some pickle juice at Aid 4 and made a late charge to catch Masse thanks in part to a few 101k riders who he was able to work with on the gravel sections.

The 2019 Master’s 101 winner, Roger Masse, took the 2nd step crossing the line in 8:07:36 “After a one year hiatus for this event due to Covid, I showed up this year to defend my Stokesville Team Masters win from 2019 without knowing too much about the now two new classes of “incoming freshmen” into Masters 50+. Early in the opening climb, led by Chip Kogelmann (BikeFlights), several of the top Masters guys started inching away. They were going hard. Chip was climbing strong and seemed like the early favorite. I lost sight of Chip until mile 15 or so when the chase group that I was in caught the larger group that he was in which was what remained of the peloton. Then at the bottom of Thickhead, Chip again just laid down some climbing power and opened up a sizable gap. Hours later, after emerging from New Laurel Run, I was again in a chase group that together closed the gap on Chip as he was riding solo. Together again.  I managed to climb up Bear Gap with the group that now included Chip which was encouraging. At the top of Bear Gap, out of the group of 5 or so, I dove into the Croyle single track first and tried to work some separation in the woods thinking the slower single track riders might delay his chase. The effort seemed to work as we started getting into more of that amazing Rothrock knar. Dutch Alvin, Chestnut Spring, Sassafras, Sassy Pig, Pigpile, Shiitake, Beautiful and No Name all went by with none of the original group containing Chip. Sweet! Riding solo up Stillhouse, Sand Mountain, Panther Run all the way to Poe Paddy and the last aid, I started to feel like I might be able to hold on despite being pretty tired… Alas, it wasn’t to be, Chip came rolling by me with authority on the rail trail with about 7 miles to go. He spoke some words of encouragement, but I didn’t have the legs to respond. In the end he had put 4 minutes into me and I settled for 2nd. But wow, great course and great racing! Congrats to Chip on the win and a hearty welcome to you and all the newcomers to the Masters family!”

Finishing twelve minutes back, Bruce Stauffer, grabbed third place, 8:19:44 “What a great weather day for Wilderness 101!  This was my 3rd race of the NUE series this year.  If I complete Shenandoah as planned it will be the first year that I will be eligible for series points, so I really wanted to do well but also to finish.  I figured there was probably a sharp rock out there somewhere with my name on it, so I packed two tubes and a pump instead of just the usual CO2 inflator.  Fortunately it all stayed in the saddle  bag.  I started conservative on the first big climb, but by the technical signal track descent right after the 2nd aid station I was in a pretty good rhythm.  I enjoyed the mix of gravel and single track.  Riding thru the final tunnel at the very end is super satisfying as it’s the last challenge before banging the gong and collecting the finishers pint.”

Fourth place went to Rob Campbell in 8:30:46 and fifth place Donovan Neal in 8:34:46.

Master’s 101 podium: 1st- Chip Kogelmann 8:03:49, 2nd Roger Masse 8:07:36, 3rd Bruce Stauffer 8:19:44, 4th Rob Campbell 8:30:46, 5th Donovan Neal 8:34:46. Photo credit: Chris Merriam

Singlespeed 101 mile- PA’s Vorberger gets the W

Taking the single speed win, John Vorberger (Syndicate Cycling/Flow Formulas/Sweetwater Bikes,) from Pittsburg, PA finished in 7:35:27. “Friends told me the W101 normally starts off pretty mellow for the first 25-30 miles, but right from the start of the first climb this year, some open geared guys took off and hammered. I stayed with them and by the top of the first climb, I was in the lead group of only 10-15 or so riders, and the only SS’er in the group. A couple teammates on the Flow Formulas team were in the group with me – Will, Ian, and Caleb – so it made for fun riding as we cruised along the gravel roads. The second climb was also super hot, thanks to Will Loevner pushing the pace. I hung on for that climb also but got spun out on my singlespeed on the gradual downhill after it and lost the geared guys around mile 25-30. Oh well, I was hoping I put a lot of time on the other SS’ers, so my plan changed to just keep riding hard but smart to keep my lead. I rode the rest of the race mostly solo, but occasionally with a couple friends. Toward the end I got caught by a geared teammate and another geared friend doing the 100k race. I drafted them for a little on the rail-trail, but I got spun out and went solo again. Right near the end of the race I caught back up to my buddy Ryan Johnson, who got 3rd in the 100k open, and we crossed the line together. It was a fun way to end the race. The whole day and trip to State College was a lot of fun, it’s hard to beat heading out to a race with a friend and having a good day on the bike! I used 34×20 gearing, but next year I think I might switch to 34×19. Next up is the Shenandoah 100. Thanks to Flow Formulas for race-day nutrition, Syndicate cycling for the support, Sweetwater Bikes, and Extreme Nano lubricants for keeping my chain quiet and smooth the whole race. Also, thanks for Chris Scott for another great event!”

Coming in second was, David Taylor, with a time of 8:33:12. “Wilderness 101, I came in with a new outlook and it worked out this time. I have been racing the 101 since 2016 and love every bit of Chris Scott’s events. I had a bit of redemption for my poor performance at the Mohican 100 last month thanks to a nutrition mixup and the scorching heat. I dnf’d that race. I decided to focus on a couple things this race. Do an easy but consistent taper week, mix my nutrition properly and to go out easier. This worked exceptionally well. I paced with my buddy Jesse for most of the race and just let it come to me. I was back and forth with Joe Worboy but he went pretty hard up the third climb and I refused to chase. After aid station three I caught Thad and Joe again and managed to put a good gap on the long climb. I came up on Matt Ferrari in the new singletrack section and he didn’t seem to put up a fight. I just continued nice and steady and at the last aid station I came up on second place Stephen Schwarz. He quickly took off and I followed about a minute behind. I definitely had more gear than him and caught him about a mile later and never looked back.Despite some cramping on the final stretch I was happy to PR on Stillhouse and the final climbs. By the end I had gapped third place by about 12 minutes and gained a couple more positions on the geared guys. If you haven’t raced the W101 make sure to do so. It’s my favorite of all the courses I have raced. Thanks to The Peddler of Long Branch, Rescue Racing and Hilltop Bikes for all they do for me.”

Taking the third step, Steve Schwarz, crossed the line in 8:46:30. “The Wilderness 101 was really a phenomenal experience for me all around.  To give some background, I have been away from racing for probably 10 years, and this was my first race back with any real kind of training under my belt.  Coming into the race I knew I felt pretty good, but I didn’t know what to expect as far as results. I’m also not a regular on the single speed circuit, so I didn’t really know who was who as far as the competition goes. I know Chris Scott mentioned a few names on the pre-race report, like Thad, Ivan, and Matt Ferrari, but besides that I didn’t really know who to look for.
The race started out beautifully. I had a great nights sleep with a belly full of delicious food and yummy beers from Elk Creek brewing.  I knew once we turned on the first climb that I was going to ride well, but I didn’t know where my limits were, so I told myself I’d ride my own pace and let a number of the single speeders go by. Kept feeling well as the day went on, making sure to stay on top of my hydration and fueling, and things kept going great.  I kept wondering to myself when things were going to go sideways, but they never really did.
I passed a couple single speeders right before or after aid station two and noticed I was riding the trails pretty well.  Sometime around aid station three, I passed Thad Who is walking his bike on the technical single track and seem to be in a bit of distress. That was the first time I thought things might be going OK for me. Then I passed another couple single speeders coming into aid station four, I made it a point to bust a move out of there.  On the nasty climb out of aid station four, I came across Ivan Who was  now shirtless But hilarious as always. I chatted with him briefly, but wrote a way up the hill and he yelled out “looking strong,” which gave me a boost.  I ground myself a bit to make it up to the top of that nasty climb, and then settled in with a bunch of gearies who helped me pass the next 15 or so miles.  At that point I figured I was probably sitting in a pretty good spot. I didn’t know if I was in first third fifth or what, but I suspected things were going well and just road steady and hard to the finish. The finish line came a little sooner than I expected and I was glad to be done. I didn’t know where I had finished until about 45 minutes later when I decided to roll down to the keg for a beer and I saw Ivan standing up for the podium awards and I realized I better get my butt over there for the presentation. Really good to be back in the mix in some serious racing, and no place Better to do it then at one of Chris Scott’s events.  I’m thinking more NUE events are in my future for next year.”

Fourth place was Ivan Temnykh in 8:54:00 and fifth place Scott Rath in 9:04:39.

Photo credit: Chris Merriam
101 Singlespeed podium: 1st John Vorberger 7:35:27, 2nd David Taylor 8:33:12, 3rd Steve Schwarz 8:46:30, 4th Ivan Temnykh 8:54:00, 5th Scott Rath 9:04:39, 6th Joe Worboy 9:19

Women’s 100K- Laird’s 1st NUE win

After a 2nd place finish at both Mohican and Carrabassett 100k, Teresa Laird, from Richmond VA took the 100k win finishing in 6:36:45.

Taking second place was, Abigail Snyder, finishing in 7:16:36 “This was my first time at the Wilderness 101k, and only my second NUE or 100k race. I was both excited and nervous coming into race day, having never ridden in PA before, but having heard stories about how rocky the trails in the area could be. The mass start allowed me to settle into a moderate pace for the first climb. I soon realized that I really didn’t feel strong at all, but that being a 70+ mile race, I could still just diesel on. So I kept a steady pace and didn’t get too bothered by seeing riders pull away from me on the climbs. I approached the unknown singletrack cautiously, not wanting to risk a fall. I was pleasantly surprised by being able to ride the majority of the trails, only walking a few especially technical sections. As a whole, the gravel and trails were absolutely stunning—what a gorgeous course!! Many thanks to the amazing volunteers at each aid station who helped find my drop bags and fill water—that was a lifesaver! When I finished, I really had no idea where I had placed; it was such a fun surprise to realize that I was second! Sponsors: Ronin Velosport; AMP Human; OSMO Hydration; Cardinal Bicycle Next Race: Shenandoah Mountain 100k”

Tanya Campbell finishes in third place in the 100k

Taking the third step was, Tanya Campbell, with a time of 7:56:33. “HARD HARD HOT and HARD! In 2020 the Wilderness 101 race was cancelled. I still set a goal to see what The Wilderness was all about. I like pushing myself to try new challenges. That summer I rode the Wilderness 101 unsupported, with a little help from my friends Brad Fey, Mary Ann, Bri and Nikki. I also supported a fellow rider Will Lovner on his 300 mile tourture fest when he tackled  the Wilderness 101 three times in a row this past spring. Last weekend at an after party from Mid-State Gravel Mary K and I decided that we were going to race the 101. One week out all we basically had to do was rest and recover for our next race.. Chris Scott was more than generous to us. I volunteered with registration and picked up 50 liters of cokes from Wall-Mart for the aid stations. Then this past Saturday was my very first attempt at the Wilderness 101 Marathon 75 mile distance. My performance was not spectacular but I did manage to keep moving forward all day. I was not trained for the distance. At one point I pedaled by the course marshal, a Mom and her small daughter. Her daughter said look a girl. The Mom said look women are doing it too, see you can do this too! That kept me going out on the course all day. Mary and I found each other riding the single track together which was nice. At this point it was hard to tell who was doing the full or the sort course. Evan and Helena were amazing at the last Support Station! This was the only station I stopped at all day. I also had some coke and a pickle. (THANK YOU) I really wanted hot dogs, roasted avocado and whisky but, I know what not to do during a race from experience. I caught up to my friend Ryan and It was nice to chat and ride with him up Stillhouse. The rest of the ride I was suffering. My back hurt and my ankle were killing me. The tunnel was scary and the fishermans path sucks! If you want to know more about the 101 you should just go race it! I finished third on the podium of open women. My friend Mary was actually in front of me. She registered in the 50 and over so she ended up taking 1st in her class. “

Just a few minutes back Kat Brady took fourth 7:59:50. Paula Baake finished fifth in 8:42:36.

Women’s 100k Podium: 1st Teresa Laird 6:36:45, 2nd Abigail Snyder 7:16:36, 3rd Tanya Campbell 7:56:33, 4th Kat Brady 7:59:50

Men’s 100K- Petrylak takes 100k

Taking the men’s 100k win was, John Petrylak, (CarboRocket, Athlos, Kenda, Molly’s Bikes, Norco Bicycles) finishing in a blistering 5:28:35. “It was great to see Coburn park full of NUE racers! The W101K (which is closer 120k🥵) started on a bright beautiful Saturday Pennsylvania morning. Right away I could feel the energy as the peloton moved down the road towards the first big gravel climb of the day. The pace going up the climb quickly escalated until the elastic started to stretch and I found myself in a small group with Will Pfieffer and Ryan Johnson. We all equally shared time on the front and quickly established a lead over the chasing pack. For the first 25 miles we swiftly made our way through Rockrock State Forest towards the first piece of single track. I was first into the single track and proceeded to have an absolute blast!! After some twisting and flowing though the PA single track I got a little space on my breakaway friends; Ryan and Will.Almost immediately after the single track it was AS(1) and a quick refill of a few bottles of CarboRocket. As I began to climb up the gravel road away from the AS Ryan caught back on and reported Will had a little trouble in the single track. Ryan got on the front and both of us started up yet another Pennsylvania gravel road climb. This climb was a little different as it pitched pretty good at the top. Once we got to the steepest part I couldn’t hear Ryan tires crunching through the gravel so I threw caution to wind and just went for it. At the top I established a nice gap; this was mile 30. For the next 45 miles I proceeded alone and did a LONG TT; holding off the chasers to finish in first. Next up SM100K”

About six minutes back, Anthony Grinnell, finished second in 5:34:17. “The race started at a manageable pace and picked up a bit on the last 3rd of the opening climb.  I decided I didn’t want to push my power that early in the race so I maintained my power.  Three riders pulled a small gap by the top of the climb, but I made a very big mistake in thinking they’d slow down a bit or I could pull them back.  I spent the next 40 minutes solo’ing trying to bridge until I finally gave up and decided it would be wiser to slow down and work with the chase group behind me.  Even though I burned a few matches solo’ing, that decision to wait and work with the chase group paid off.  I saved enough energy to feel somewhat fresh heading into the single track.  I caught 3rd place half way through and caught my buddy in 2nd place, Ryan Johnson, on Sandy Mountain.  Ryan and I decided to ride together for the rest of the race, which was a lot more fun than riding the next 2.5 hours solo!  All in all, it was a fun day with some great single track and good friends.  I was happy to finish in 2nd place, considering the judgement error and resulting solo effort early on.  Huge shout out to Flow Formulas.  Their products have made a big difference for me this year in keeping fueled up and hydrated.  Big thanks to Shorkey Auto Group for financially helping the team get to the races and Pro Bike and Run for keeping our bikes going.  With a SS Marathon Win, a SS Epic Win, a top 5 in Men’s Epic Open, and a 2nd in Men’s Marathon Open, the Syndicate Cycling team had a great weekend.”

Only a minute back from second, Ryan Johnson, took the third step with a time of 5:35:28. Will Pfeiffer took fourth in 5:39:42 and Philip Maynard finished fifth 5:42:20.

Photo credit: Chris Merriam
Men’s Marathon podium: 1st John Petrylak 5:28:35, 2nd Anthony Grinnell 5:34:17, 3rd Ryan Johnson 5:35:28, 4th Will Pfeiffer, 5th Philip Maynard 5:42:20

Master’s 100K- Hagen gets master’s WIN

Mark Hagen (Charm City Cycling (C3 P/B Wagner Roofing) took the masters’s 100k win crossing the line in 6:16:57. “This was my first MTB 100k of the year, first time racing the W101 and my longest ride of the year thus far. Eyeing up the pre-reg I saw some familiar names including some of the mid-Atlantic legends such as the Thummels, D Atkins, Tanguy, Masse and Rob Campbell to name a few. Getting beta on the course was surprisingly tough but settled on my Yeti SB100, running Schwaby RaRa 2.5’s on a 34 tooth front with a 9-48 in the rear, running 2 bottles, couple of gels and 2 expired/very hard Shot Blocks I found in the bottom of my race bag. My strategy was going to be like any other MTB race and try and get a good start and hang as long as I could with the lead group. The 9am start was civil compared to our 101m compatriots (7am) and the temps were in the mid 70’s, which was welcomed as this race is notorious for being about 10 degrees hotter. My strategy worked on the first 4+ mile/1,100-virt. ft. climb until about ¾ of the way up the lead group of about 12 splintered off into a chaise group with myself the eventual single speed winner Litzinger, Josh Coffman, Sunny Gil, one other Bike Doctor guy and a smattering of others from the open podium. It was a friendly but focused group and we traded pulls leading up to the first single-track which I entered last and I never saw most of them again. The first 2 sectors of ST were pretty slow going and technical with sweaty PA rock in full effect. We met up with the 100m groups at around mile 35ish which gave me (and them) riders to trade pulls with. The two middle ST sectors were fun maybe not flowy but good singletrack and each gravel section was welcomed reprieve from the pounding PA rock gardens and used the gravel zones to refuel and lick my wounds. Eventually on the second-to-last long super fast fireraod DH I caught up with the Bike Doctor guys again and we met up at the last aid station, which I left first, and thought that they would me on the final climb but never did. On the final flat trail, through a rather dark and scary tunnel, I traded pulls with fast young-gun Chase Caughey and we both worked together in hopes to drop the BD guys on the final 3-mile climb. We hit the last ST sector at the which I knew from pre-riding the final 5-miles on Friday, so I just knew to get off, shoulder my Yeti and run much of it. Super happy with my first W in a while and huge thanks to the support from the volunteers at the aid-stations (well stocked) and Chris Scott at SMT for this and the other great MTB and Gravel events he throws down on. Also shout out and thanks to my team C3 PB Wagner Roofing and Charm City Cross…cross is coming people.Next up for me is the Breck Epic and can’t wait for the Shenandoah 100!”

Six minutes back and finishing second, Dorel Stoia, finished in 6:23:35. Ohio riders, Bob Sowga (PG racing), finished third in 6:51:51 and fourth went to, David Jolin (Rescue Racing) crossing the line in 6:54:06. Jeff Adamcik took fifth in 7:10.

Masters 100k Podium: 1st Mark Hagen 6:16:57 2nd Dorel Stoia 6:23:35 3rd Bob Sowga 6:51:51 4th David Jolin 6:54:06 5th Jeff Adamcik.
Photo credit: Jen Toops

Masters 100k Women

Mary Kowalski crossed the line in 7:44:50 taking the women’s masters win.

Women’s Masters podium: 1st Mary Kowalski 7:44

Singlespeed 100K

Pennsylvania’s very own James Litzinger (Syndicate cycling) took the singlespeed win and sixth overall finishing in 5:44:01.”

Who would not like the Wilderness 101? Loads of the finest gravel in Pennsylvania with east coast rock gardens and beautiful single track. On the first climb after the neutral start the race heated up with about five riders separating themselves as the lead group.  I thought it would be a good race move to conserve some energy and continue the climb at my own pace. When I got to the flat section at the top of the climb, I jumped on the chase group of three riders who meant business.  They were putting in big pulls making it difficult to hold on with all the spinning on the flat roads. I was able to hang on for 6 miles or so before deciding it would be best for me to conserve some energy for the big climbs later in the race.  After all my spinning, I could not wait for another climb and that came were the 100-mile racers joined the course. This is the point in my race where I felt steady and strong. The race just kept getting better, at the top of the climb I was able to put my Specialized Epic to work on the Dutch Alvin trail. It was a blast! From here I started to build confidence as I began passing more 100 and 100k racers. As I worked my way through the field it was great to run into some old friends and make some new ones. 

I had a bunch of support that made this race possible to do my best. Excellent support and friendship from the team shop, Pro Bike + Run. I was using Extreme Nano Lubricants which kept my chain incredibly happy in the harsh conditions. My nutrition and hydration were on point with flow formulas. My Perelli tires were fast and durable. My Wolf tooth 34 x 20 gearing was strong and flawless. As always, I would like to give special thanks to my Syndicate family for always supporting me and pushing me to do my best.  Next up is Shenandoah!! “

Matthew Doyle took second with a time of 6:42:02.

For full results CLICK HERE

Next up on the Epic and Marathon NUE series Pierre’s Hole in WY on August 7th, 2021

Funk Bottoms Gravel 100k/200k

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Funk Bottoms Gravel entered its 10th official race excluding last year’s pandemic virtual race.  Saturday morning started early as the field has grown from three entrants in the first year to a capped 250 entrants in 2021.   Volunteers and support staff on little sleep from marking the course the night before, start rolling in around 4am to prepare for registration, a 7am start for the 200k race, and the 100k race starting an hour later.  Many familiar faces return while plenty of new faces arrive for the self-proclaimed Ohio’s toughest gravel grinder. The 100k course this year featured 66 miles and 8200 feet of vertical climbing with less than 9 miles of the course paved.  If that’s not enough for you then you can register for the 200k which sends you out for two laps of the aforementioned terrain.

The weather on this Saturday morning called for fairly mild temperatures in the 70s with possible pop-up strong thunderstorms throughout the day.   The course was in fantastic shape and some fast predictions were casually discussed among the race organizers.   The threat of storms kept quite a few riders away and there were around 60 DNS entrants in this year’s race.  However as 7am approached and the neutral roll out began, the largest field of 200k racers for FBG took to the course and an hour later the largest field of 100k racers took off after them.

Under mostly cloudy skies and mild conditions, the field looked enthusiastic and excited to tackle the course that was ahead.  The first 5.5 miles of the course are a gradual climb, which may give riders a false sense of security about what their day might look like.   After the first real descent is an almost immediate steep climb of nearly 500 feet in under ¾ of a mile, and it’s at this point you can really start to gauge what your day is going to look and feel like.   When you’re not climbing on this course, you’re descending steep gravel roads which leaves many riders white knuckled.  While it’s difficult to count the hills on the course as there is a frequent joke that FBG put’s hills on top of the hills, there are roughly 6 steep climbs in the first 25 miles before rolling into Killbuck for a much needed break at one of the local convenience stores to refill supplies on this self-supported race.

Every year the race coordinators vary the Funk Bottom course for new and interesting sights and challenges.  This year’s route included 1.5 miles of new gravel roads never ridden in previous years.  One of the favorite sections among the riders is “Bigfoot Road” where a 15-foot tall Bigfoot holding gun has been carved out of a tree.  To the surprise of the racers a few miles before the secret checkpoint, some Gravel Angels decided to set-up an oasis dressed as clowns.  This was a much-needed comical break from the relentless grueling hills.

A not so secret checkpoint this year was at mile 52 again in Killbuck where the first riders from the 200k managed to pull in just over 3 hours into the race.  With mild temperatures and a little bit of rain, most of the 200k racers opted to not stop at the only aid station provided by the race and continue to push through the final 15 miles of the first lap back into Glenmont.   A little less than an hour after the first 200k riders came through; the 100k field started rolling through the checkpoint.  The faces of the riders ranged from enthusiastic that they were nearing the end of the course, to agony and asking for the shortest bail out option to the finish line.   For the next few hours, the strung out field of 100k riders continued passing through the checkpoint.  As the last of the 100k riders made their way through the mile 52 checkpoint, the aggressive pace of the 200k riders on their second lap lapped some of them.

A group of about five 200k riders pulls in together back into Glenmont finishing the first lap.  Initially it appears that this group might stick together for the rest of the day and the race could be in for a close finish.  Shortly into that second lap however, a surge by the leader breaks that group up and by the second time through the mile 52 checkpoint, there was well over a 1-minute gap between each of the first five leaders.

Not to the surprise of the race organizers, past Funk Bottoms champion Ben Meer won the 100k in under 4 hours separated by less than 2 minutes by Paul Martin, with the 3rd place finisher just another few minutes behind.   A late entrant Julia Priet won the Women’s 100K and posted an amazing time.  For the next few hours, riders of all categories would continually be pushing across the finish line.

Jeff Pendlebury defending his title from the 2019 200K was the first 200k participant to cross the finish line set a new race record with a blazing time of 8h 32m 11s. Fresh off her win two weeks prior at the Mohican 100 Jen Toops won the Women’s 200K. All 200k participants are greeted at the finish line with a finishers award; this year being the Funk Bottoms Gravel pint glass (hopefully full of ice-cold Yuengling).

All in all, it was a fantastic day for racing for everyone involved.  Special thanks to everyone who participated in this race and makes the day what it is.   Funk Bottoms Gravel truly brings out the most determined riders for Ohio’s toughest gravel grinder

Mens 100k open podium

Mens 100K Open
1) Ben Meer* (Johnny Velo Racing) 3:55:41
2) Alex Lundbeck (Paul Martin) 3:57:36
3) Maxwell Matsanoff  (Audi) 4:03:41

women’s 100k open podium

Womens 100K Open
1) Julia Priet (Bicycle Face) 4:51:38
2) Emily Miller (VeloFemm p/b Litzler) 5:24:48
3) Christina Condon (West Coast Cycling) 6:10:02

100k SS podium

100K Single Speed 
1) Josh Kunz* (Trans-Sylvania Productions) 4:32:04
2) Nicholas Campbell 4:52:21
3) Tucker Cavanaugh 4:56:42

100k Masters men’s podium

100k Master Men
1) Nate Loman (Hammer Nutrition) 4:28:36 
2) Rudy Sroka (Lake Effect) 4:36:11 3) Tom Weaver (Summit Freewheelers) 4:42:29

100k Master Women podium

100K Master Women
1) Julie Sroka (Lake Effect) 5:28:54
2) Judy Porter* 6:09:37
3) Peggy Cook 6:10:16
4) Cynthia Berard 6:10:16

200k Mens podium

200K Men Open
1) Jeff Pendlebury* (Ride on Wooster) 8:32:11 (Race Record)
2) Andrew Boissiere (Headwins p/b Elevator Brewing) 8:41:54 
3) Brent Goetz (Think Green-Bicycle Face) 8:47:23

200k women’s open podium

200K Women’s Open
1) Jen Toops (Pearl-Izumi/ Pivot MTB race Team) 10:23:04
2) Maggie Livelsberger 11:53:02 3) Genna Brock (DNF)

200k SS podium

200K Single Speed

1)Scott Phillips* (Team Dayton-Reser Bicycle) 11:20:01

200k Masters podium

200K Master
1) Garth Prosser (Specialized) 10:18:04
2) Steve Curran (Ghisallo Cycling) 10:33:04
3) Jason Hall (Summit Freewheelers) 12:55:02 

Race report & pictures provided by: The funk masters (Chris, Marc, Paul)

Full results CLICK HERE

NUE Pierre’s Hole Epic

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Written by: Jen & Anthony Toops

The 2019 Pierres Hole 100 was once again slated to be a great day in the mountains of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The area doesn’t lack views with the Tetons in sight from most parts of the course. Grand Targhee events manager Andy Williams really puts his heart and soul into this race and it shows. With a great atmosphere and plenty for spectators and racers families to do, the resort really has it dialed.

Racers start at the Grand Targhee Resort and complete 1, 2, or 3, 31 mile laps depending on their distance of choice. The course is almost 100% single track except for a few short sections of double track to connect everything together. This can be a blessing and a curse; The trails are really fun, but they will wear even the toughest riders down.

Racers climb to the top of Grand Targhee and then turn and burn all the way down the 38 switchbacks.

Men’s Open

Men’s open podium: 1st Sam Sweetser, 2nd Jon Rose, 3rd Brandon Firth, 4th Adam Hill, Jake Inger

With the fastest time of the day, Sam Sweetser, wins the NUE men’s open with a time of 8:26:17.

Sam Sweetser leading through the Aid station

Over a half hour back, Jon Rose, pushed hard to hold off third place finishing second in 8:59:20.

“Pierre’s Hole 100 mile (actually 94) mountain bike race is in the books. It was one of the hardest days in the saddle I’ve ever had. The race took 8h59m. 
Most of the race was spent between 3rd and 5th place, sometimes as far back as 7th. I finally battled my way up to 2nd place with about 18 miles left. I could see the person who took 3rd at almost every switchback and had to go really deep to hold him off. 
Riding and racing bikes has has taught me so many things. One of the biggest lessons is that I can do hard things… on the bike and off the bike. 
Thanks to our sponsors Mad Dog Cycles/4Life Race Team Trek Bicycle 4Life Research USA #utahsfavoritebikeshop CarboRocketMad Dog Cycles”

Rose holds off Firth by a few minutes to take 2nd place.

Only a few minutes back, Brandon Firth, hangs on for a 3rd place finish crossing the finish line in 9:02.

“Pierre’s Hole is a very tough 100 miler. I was able to participate last year and landed just off the podium in fifth. So I figured going into this years event that I would take my time and ease into the race.
This years event saw very dry conditions and a hot day, which made it a hard day. I was glad at the midway point that I let the race come to me as the hot dry conditions started to rake a toll.  It was obvious that Sam was on a mission and was riding super strong. At the start of Lap two, 2-5 positions were all within 1-2 minutes of each other and Sam had about a 5 min lead.
At that point I liked my strategy and continued pushing on. I had a mistimed feed halfway through lap 2 and dropped off the group by a minute or so. I took a minute for a quick bite and a potty break. And continued  on.
At the beginning of lap 3 I was within 1.5 minutes of  2 place, and Sam was completely out of touch. I took a great feed and continued on with my strategy. By the Top of the big climb I was sitting in 3 position and making time on second. At the Bottom of the decent I overtook second position. At the midway point of the 3 and final lap I started to come unglued again and had to slow down and feed. A coke and a Banana later
I was feeling better but lost 2nd position to a rider from behind, but was confident I could bring him back on the last half of the coarse. Sadly I ran out out real estate and ended with 3rd for the day. I could see the rider just ahead of me but couldn’t close. I believe he was 1:38 up on me after 9+ hard hrs of racing.  Either way it was nice to be on the podium and to be finished.
I was a tight top five, with the exception of Mr Sweester 2-5 positions were only separated by a few minutes..
As always endurance racing it a long journey and there is always ups and downs in how you feel out there, but you just have to soldier on :)

Most likely my next endurance race will be the Park City P2P, where I will try to build a good strategy and stick to it the best I can. “Sponsor: Rocky Mtn Bikes”

Women’s Open

Toops gets back to back NUE wins

Women’s open podium: 1st Jen Toops, 2nd Becky Edmiston, 3rd Parker Tyler

Getting her third NUE epic series win for the 2019 season, 2018 Nue Marathon champion, Jen Toops (Pearl Izumi/Pivot) wins the women’s open with a time of 10:35:54. With this win she is now tied for the overall lead in the women’s NUE epic series.

“After racing Pierre’s Hole marathon last year I knew I needed to stay out of the red zone on the first lap or I’d pay for it later. On the first lap I kept a steady pace up the long climb and had a little fun coming down the 38 special. At the bottom of 38 special I saw second place catching me and tried not to let it get in my head, there was a long race ahead and I didn’t want to blow up. My husband was aiding for me and giving me updates as I came through the aid stations. I was about 4-5 minutes ahead of second coming through the first lap. The climb after the start is tough and requires mental strength but the views are so beautiful. Wildflowers and the Tetons mountains. I decided to run my Pivot mach 4 this year for a little extra cushion equipped with a 32 Rotor Q-ring to keep my cadence higher with all the climbing! I could see Becky at the bottom of the climb on lap two and I continued my own pace, pushing when I felt good and continued putting a larger gap between us. After 70 miles of single track I focused on my nutrition, riding smart and getting through the last lap. When I entered the last meadow I couldn’t see second place and cruised to the finish line ready to run to the taco bar included with race registration! Thanks to our team sponsors (Pivot Cycles, Pearl Izumi, FOX, Ergon, Rotor, Stans, Carborocket, Honey stinger, Xpedo, SCC tech, Kask, and Continental), my husband for the aid and Andy Williams for putting on such a great race!”

About 40 minutes back, Becky Edminston took the second spot with a time of 11:12.

  “The first (of 3) laps was so fun! Other than the big climb, it was awesome singletrack trail that really suits my riding style. A couple of guys even commented what a good downhiller I am :) ha! At the end of the first lap I was only 4 minutes behind the lead female and I thought “I either went out too hard, or I’m about to have a great day”. Turns out it was a little bit of both!    Starting into the second lap ~mile 35 my body was experiencing some weird pains. My forearms were sore, my triceps started cramping, my shoes were cutting the front of my ankles. And then beginning the climb after 38 Special (long downhill) my left hamstring began to cramp. I never cramp! Fortunately, engaging my quads (i.e. pedaling harder) seemed to keep it from totally locking up. This was a game I would play for the next 60 miles. I was popping salt pills and trying to hold it together. There were lots of riders around from the shorter races and that gave me people to ride with and chase.     The third lap saw me really slowing down fighting cramps and nausea (maybe I went out too hard?!). The field had thinned out and I was riding mostly alone but also knew I was “almost” done. As someone who usually runs negative splits I started getting really worried that 3rd place was going to catch me. Fortunately, the 2nd half of the lap was fun and flowy and I had to pedal to keep from cramping! So pedal I did, and I crossed the finish line in 11 hours 12 minutes, holding on to 2nd place female and in the top 15 overall. Did I have fun? You bet!      A big thanks to HoneyStinger #HSHIVE for making waffles which were the only solid food I could stomach! Also Orange Peel Bikes #orangepeelbikes and Rock N’ Roll Sports #rocknrollsports for keeping me rolling!”

Becky Edminston finishing the 100 mile race in second place

Taking the third step was, Parker Tyler crossing the line in a time of 11:44:43.

Singlespeed

Singlespeed podium: 1st Andrew Jones, 2nd Brent Cannon, 3rd Hunter Karnedy, 4th Joseph Stroz, 5th Brant Haflich

In the single speed division it was, Andrew Jones, who took the win finishing in 9:14:05. Almost a half hour back was Brent Cannon fighting hard to earn a second place finish at 9:45:30.

Cannon congraulated by race director Andy Williams

Taking third place and still managing to smile at the finish was, Hunter Karnedy, with a time of 9:59:37.

Karnedy earns a third in SS division

Masters

Smith earns the W and gets 2nd overall

Finishing 2nd overall and taking the win in the masters division, Cary Smith crossed the line in 8:48:16.

Smith with a 2nd overall and winning the masters class

Mike Baughman took second place with a time of 10:12:09. About 50 minutes back on second, Gary Gardiner finished third in a time of 11:01:32.

Click here for full results

Photos by: Ryan O’Dell and Powder Day Photography

NUE Pierre’s Hole Marathon

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Written by: Jen & Anthony Toops

The 2019 Pierres Hole 100 was once again slated to be a great day in the mountains of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The area doesn’t lack views with the Tetons in sight from most parts of the course. Grand Targhee events manager Andy Williams really puts his heart and soul into this race and it shows. With a great atmosphere and plenty for spectators and racers families to do, the resort really has it dialed.

Racers start at the Grand Targhee Resort and complete 1, 2, or 3, 31 mile laps depending on their distance of choice. The course is almost 100% single track except for a few short sections of double track to connect everything together. This can be a blessing and a curse; The trails are really fun, but they will wear even the toughest riders down.

Wildflowers in full bloom

Men’s Open

Treadwell earns the Win

Men’s Open Podium: 1st Dereck Treadwell, 2nd Joseph Goetti, 3rd Dan Mahlum, 4th George Flynn, 5th Troy Barry

Dereck Treadwell earns his first NUE win of the season winning the Pierre’s Hole 100k with a time of 5:40:12. With this win he is now moves to second place in the NUE men’s open marathon series.

Treadwell takes the WIN.

Even after a flat tire, Joseph Goetti takes second just three minutes back from Treadwell at 5:43:29

“Packing and driving up the day before, I had a great deal of excitement in me as well as some nervousness. This would be my first race on the mountain bike! I’d been thinking about transitioning into marathon mtb racing for the past year as I’ve always had a desire for the longer, more grueling races and getting out on the trails using more technical bike handling skills! After expressing my goals with Scheels, I am super grateful they agreed to sponsor me with an amazing bike, the new 2020 Trek Top Fuel 9.8! 

In the 3 weeks that I’d had the bike leading up to this race, I’d put 270 miles on it with a few 4-5 hour rides to prep for this race! I was getting pretty beat up at first in my hands, back, and neck, but that had all worked itself out and I was feeling good and strong coming into the race. 

The race consisted of 63.6 miles (100k) with about 7,700ft of elevation gain over 2 laps with 1 long climb and a few other moderate ones. Almost all of the race was on single track besides the first half of the climb on lap 1. This was on a fire road to allow us to get into position going into the single track.

Lining up along side me was other Scheels sponsored riders, Jamen Bennion and Millard Allen, both racing in the single speed category on hard tails (bikes with only 1 gear and no rear suspension (BRUTAL!))

I don’t think any of us got any quality sleep the night before, but that is normal before a big race and having slept well in the previous nights, I was confident I’d feel OK in the race! I woke up at about 5:45 to get my oatmeal in and allow it to settle. We prepared our gear, did a small warm up spin and lined up to take off at 8:10am. 

My plan for the race was to be patient for the first lap and get a feel for the lap and how the other riders were doing; however, that plan quickly went out about a minute into the race. I was expecting a bit more of a fight for position on the first portion of the climb, but just getting my heart rate into the 160’s I was putting a gap on the field. I then changed my plan to push a hard, but still reasonable pace sitting in threshold heart rate at about 170bpm to come over the top first so I could take advantage of the new Top Fuels 120mm and 115mm front and rear suspension travel on an open downhill.

The new plan went well and I came over the top with a decent gap and opened it up on the downhill. Pshhhhhhhh, ahhh $#!^…. No more than 2 minutes into the descent and I was getting hit in the face with sealant from my front tire as air spewed out. I had not yet had a flat on my mtb, so I had my Co2 taped to my tire levers and allen wrench in my jersey (not thinking there was much chance I’d need to use them) which took precious time to unwrap. I first tried putting in more Co2 to no avail as it just leaked out. My spare tube was taped under my bikes top tube which took me more time to unwrap, and many riders were now going by. But I tried to stay calm, and was able to get the tube in and tire back on till ahhh $#!^… I didnt have enough c02 left to fill the tire.

HUGE thank you to the man who came by shortly after and lended me an extra canister which filled the tube up the rest of the way and saved my race! Lesson learned: I will have a much better strategy for fixing a flat next race as this one had cost me 8 minutes.

Proceeding down hill, I was riding a bit aggressive making time when I could but now having to deal with trying to pass slower riders. I came by Jamen shortly after getting going again as he had also suffered a front flat and was dealing with traffic as well. 

Making my way onto the second climb after the descent, I was putting the power down riding at threshold again and making up places quickly. I was riding a bit higher heart rate then I’d planned on the climbs and in the rolling sections, but with descents take much longer on the mtb than what I’m used to on the road. This means there is good time to recover your cardio system in between climbs, allowing me to push harder where I could.

Joesph Goetti all smiles after a second place finish

I came through the first aid station where Jamen’s family was stationed to help us out, grabbed another spare tube and ditched my bottle for a camelbak and continued to press on. 

Coming though the start/finish line at the end of lap 1, I had climbed back into 5th place overall and was about 4:45 down on the lead. I pressed on riding at threshold again up the main climb, passing many of the 100 mile riders who had started at 7:10 to tackle 3 laps of the course (I plan to do that next year if I make it to this race again!) I was keeping my eye out for the yellow ribbons they had all open 100k  men tie to their seats, the first of which I saw after descending down from the main climb and reaching the second climb. 

He said he was pretty blown when I was passing and cheered me on to catch the leaders! Just being 1 spot away from the top 3 now gave me some extra motivation, and I continued to press on riding up the climbs at threshold. 

I came through the final aid station with 15 miles to go with 3 open men still in front of me, exchanged my pack and grabbed another bottle which I used to cool myself. Shortly after this I came around the next open rider to move into 3rd, and then with about 10 miles to go I came around the next to move into second. 

My stomach was starting to get a bit upset now. I started the race with a bottle of water, moved to a pack with Hammer Heed in it at aid 1, then grabbed a bottle of scratch at aid 2. At aid 3, I picked up another pack of heed and a bottle of water. Up to this point I’d taken in half a pro bar, a few packs of shot blocks and some maple syrup. I think next time I will switch out the 2nd bottle of scratch for water, and then my final pack may be water and have the bottle be scratch. I think too much liquid nutrition and not enough regular water was upsetting my stomach in the heat.

I backed my heart rate down to low 160’s on the climbs as I was beginning to feel the signs of cramping, but I was continuing to push hard and ride fast. For all I knew, the leader may have been feeling the same way, and I was going to fight all the way to the finish for the chance to catch him! 

The remaining miles ticked down, and I ended up coming across the line in 2nd place, 3:16 down from the leader! Although it was a bit disappointing wondering what could have been if I wouldn’t have lost those 8 minutes with the flat, I was extremely happy overall with how I rode in the race! I had paced myself well taking it out hard, and I pushed it the the entire race without fading much at all! And most importantly I had and absolute blast racing my bike on the trails of Grand Targhee! Too focused to see it on the first lap, the view from the top of the main climb is stunning, and I was able to catch a few glimpse of it the second time around, struck in awe as I cruised down the descent. I highly recommend this area for anyone wanting to ride some amazing trails a bit more away from the crowds, and I hope to be back next year in the 100 mile race! My next mtb race will be Park City Point 2 Point on August 31st! 

As always, I want to send a huge thanks to everyone supporting me, especially to my girlfriend, Kendra Nelson, who has stood by me though all the years of training, moving to Utah, and transitioning to the mountain bike! I would not have been here doing this if not for her! Also to Scheels for the bike and race, to all my family back home wishing me well! To Jamen’s family for helping us in the feed zones. And to my racing team, Above & Beyond Cancer Cycling p/b Scheels. “

About 8 minutes back, Dan Mahlum took third place at 5:51:18.

Women’s Open

Harvey gets THIRD consecutive win

Women’s Podium: 1st Caedran Harvey, 2nd Ami Stuart, 3rd Ambert Steed, 4th Anne Perry, 5th Rose Kjesbo

Taking the win in the 100k for the third year in a row, Caedran Harvey seems unstoppable finishing with a time of 6:20:11. A little over twenty minutes back was Ami Stuart crossing the finish line in 6:41:14. Taking third in the women’s open was Amber Steed coming in at 6:49:54.

Steed- “This was my first year tackling the Pierre’s Hole course at any distance, and 100 km seemed like a good goal for me. With some real challenges to contend with – elevation, stiff competition, heat, and distance – I felt nervous but excited to enter my first NUE race. I’d been racing for Sportsman and Ski Haus (MT) since 2017, so I felt I was starting to crest the learning curve of this XC racing thing. What could possibly go wrong.

I knew no one in my field of competitors, aside from the name of a prior winner who seemed to top the podium every year she’d entered. Coming from 3,000’ elevation and being a bit riper in age, I worried I might fall short – but, I also knew that anything can happen in racing. So, I focused on my own race and started with high spirits and rested legs.

The 100km course took us through two laps of Grand Targhee’s finest trails – and there was no shortage of seriously fun descending. Knowing there would be relatively few opportunities for easy passing, I worked my way up early during the starting road section. Feeling good, I kept my pace generally steady throughout the first lap, surprised to hear I was only a few minutes off the leader as I started lap 2.

This is about when my hydration and fueling strategy fell short, allowing the elevation and heat to bear down on my body. Despite my best efforts to push my increasingly heavy legs, I couldn’t muster the power to maintain the pace I’d hoped for. Crushingly, I watched as I was passed by another competitor when the course wound back through camp, further dampening my spirits. My goals for the remainder of the race shrank – but remaining on the podium kept the cranks turning and my motivation alive. Climbing those last few miles took more mental power than physical, and I managed to finish in third.

Amber Steed with a third place finish in the 100k

Every race teaches me something, and some lessons are more powerful than others. At Pierre’s, I gained some perspective about the course, how I handle the conditions, and how I can better prepare in the future. But inevitably I’m humbled by my competition, inspired by my own accomplishments, and excited to return another day. While I don’t have another NUE locked into my calendar at the moment, I’m I’ll be showing up to another. Thanks to everyone who make these events possible!”

Singlespeed

McDonald gets SS win

Singlespeed Podium: 1st Will McDonald, 2nd Millard Allen, 3rd Holden Anderson, 4th Brad Keys, 5th Mark Llinares

Getting his first NUE SS win and third overall, Will McDonald takes the top step with a time of 5:49:41.

“I raced on a full suspension yeti ASRc with 34-20t gearing.  Race was great, started off in 3rd for ss and maybe 8th overall on the first climb, I was able to catch and pass the two singlespeeders ahead of me on the 38 special decent. And caught up with the 4th place overall rider, who I road with with for the rest of the lap, I would pass him on the DH and he would pass me on the up hills. We moved into the 3rd and 4th position halfway through lap 1. Last time I saw him was at the finish of lap 1 and then he took off from me on the long ascent to the top of 38 special and went on to win the race. The climb up to 38 special was pretty rough second lap with the 34-20t gearing, but I was able to grunt up there without cramping or bonking. I caught up to Bart Flinn at the bottom of 38 special, he was in a rough place and seamed to have bonked pretty hard. A few miles later on the decent back to the resort I had some deja vu and passed George Flinn, moving me into 2nd place overall. The rest of the race went pretty well, but with my legs fatiguing I wasn’t able to hold off the rider who ended up second overall, he passed me after the underpass and was able to put some good time on me during the ascents on the 2nd half of lap 2.Overall it was a great race and I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did with the minimal amount of training I have done this year, not to mention racing for twice as long as my longest ride in the past 2 years. “

McDonald takes the SS win and third overall

About 13 minutes back, Millard Allen took second at 6:03:44.

“Pierre’s Hole is one of my favorite races, although it deceives me every year in how challenging it will be.  I chose to run 32-20 gearing because of all the climbing and not thinking I would lose too much time in the descents.  I had somewhat of a tough day but was able to finish strong enough to take second.  Holden and I rode the first lap together and we were wondering if we would be able to catch Will, who passed us on the first big descent going down 38 Special.  It felt like he passed us sitting still.  I thought his full suspension bike and taller gear would allow me to catch him eventually, but he was a complete beast.
It ended up being a race for second place.  Holden attacked going up Andy’s and Peaks Trails at the beginning of the second lap.  He saw I was struggling a bit so he took a chance.  I was able to keep him in my sight during the climb while toeing the line of not redlining too much.  I was able to overtake him about 2/3s up the climb and hold it together the rest of the race.  My nutrition was off and I suffered A LOT the last half of the second lap.  Even if I had my nutrition dialed in that day, I am confident Will was just too strong.. plus with the larger gearing he would have been able to ride away from me.  Solid race by Will, Holden, Brad Keyes and all the other racers!  Amazing event and I look forward to riding True Grit Epic next year, TBD if it will be on a SS.”

Allen with a second place finish in the 100k SS

About 15 minutes back, Holden Anderson pedaled to a third place crossing the line in 6:19:15.

Masters

Saffell on top

Masters 1st Bob Saffell, 2nd Brent Peacock, 3rd Kyle Rafford, 4th David Miller, 5th John Lauck

In a very close masters race, Bob Saffell, dug deep to take the masters win at 6:27:07.

“I had no idea what the field was going to show for the race. I was just looking forward to 100k of amazing one track. I was expeing Jon Gould to be the one to watch. He rode away on the first climb, confirming my expectation, Brent Peacock was a bit behind him. I settled in for the duration. Soon after feed one I caught Jon and got a small gap on him. I caught and passed Ami Stuart on More Cowbell and we were descending together on Perma-Grin when disaster struck. My shifter fell off my bar.  I looked for the bolt for a second, determined i was going to have to drop out, when, hmm, tried a bottle cage bolt, and it worked. I took it easy through the lap, on the Andy’s climb on lap two I started to ramp it up a bit and decided, “what do i have to lose” I caught and passed at least one other 50+ on the climb and kept pushing it. In the Quakie Ridge section I caught glimpses of Brent, so I buried myself a bit and made the pass some where in the last 2 miles on Snow Drift, 40 seconds to spare. Brent had a soft front tire, otherwise it would have been a different finish.”

Less than a minute back, Brent Peacock, took second crossing the line at 6:27:59. Only 26 seconds back from second and taking third was, Kyle Rafford, at 6:28:25.

Photos by: Ryan O’Dell & Powder Day Photography

Click Here for full results

NUE Wilderness 101

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Written by: Jen Toops

Photos by: Dave Seasholtz

On July 20th, 2019, Shenandoah Mountain Tours held the Wilderness 101 and Marathon races in Coburn, PA. The Wilderness 101 is part of the NUE National Ultra Endurance Race Series and is know for its East coast rocky singletrack, and rolling gravel roads. It was a scorcher with sunny skies and temps reaching almost 100 degrees F. Camping was included with registration in Coburn Park which is also the race start making for an easy race morning and celebration at the finish line

Women’s Open

Toops gets Top Step

2018 NUE Marathon champion, Jen Toops, Pearl Izumi/Pivot MTB race team, takes the top step in a time of 9:13:12.

Women’s Open podium: 1st Jen Toops, 2nd Julia Thumel, 3rd Lindsey Carpenter, 4th Rebecca Lewandowski, 5th Karen Talley

“After an unexpected need to fly back to Ohio (literally booked the flight Wed and flew home Thursday), I found myself racing Wilderness 101 instead of High Cascades. My mom agreed to make the 5 hour journey to Coburn, PA and spend the weekend camping at the race start.

My plan was to keep a steady pace on the first climb knowing it was going to be a long hot day. Julia quickly passed me at the beginning of the climb. I was feeling good so I held her wheel for a bit. About halfway up I felt warmed up and ready to race, so I made my move. I worked hard to latch onto the group ahead by the top of the start climb. Working in a small group we watch some gravel miles tick by. The pace of this group was a wee bit too fast and I found myself off the back.

It soon turned to singletrack and I felt at home. Having raced TSE this spring I felt confident on the PA rocks and kept a steady pace. After a few updates from fellow racers I knew I had a little cushion and focused on pacing, hydration and nutrition. It’s hard to eat when it’s 90F so I stuck with CarboRocket, plain Water, Honey Stinger gels and bananas. I wore a pack for hydration and carried a bottle of water on my bike primarily used to spray on myself to cool down on the long exposed gravel climbs.

Jen Toops trying to navigate the PA rocks

On the NoName descent I made a rookie mistake. I thought I heard someone bombing the descent behind me and I took a quick peek over my shoulder. There was no one there but my front wheel hit a rock weird and I found myself over the bars before I even knew what was happening. My left hand instantly throbbed as I landed on my left palm of my hand. It took everything to finish the last part of the descent holding tight with my right hand and hovering the bars with my left hand. I stopped took some Ibuprofen and thought about a DNF. Then I realized it would most likely take longer or be just as painful to find my way back rather than finishing the last 35 or so miles.

After riding with one hand for about an hour the Ibuprofen kicked in and I could at least hold the bars. On the Still house climb my shifting starting giving me fits and I had to stop and check it a few times but couldn’t find anything wrong. A little more down the trail I was standing and pedaling and my crank stopped completely. Turns out my thru axel was loose and had wiggled halfway out and my wheel was basically falling off. Must of came loose when I crashed. I’m lucky I got it fixed fairly quick and didn’t have a major mechanical or crash.With about 15 miles left I kept a steady/safe pace knowing the cool River was waiting at the finish line!”


Julia Thumel, Race Pace Bicycles, takes second crossing the finish in 9:55:59. With this race she is now in third in the NUE Epic series. Lindsey Carpenter, Salsa Cycles, takes the third spot on the podium 10:18:34.

Men’s Open

Bishop gets first NUE win for 2019

Men’s Open Podium: 1st Jeremiah Bishop, 2nd Dylan Johnson, 3rd Matt Acker, 4th Bobby Lea, 5th Gordon Wadsworth

It was a close race in the Men’s Open class. In the end it was Jeremiah Bishop, Canyon Bicycles/Ergon, who took the win in an impressive 7:08:53. This was Bishop’s first NUE win for 2019. Less than a minute back, the 2019 NUE series leader, Dylan Johnson, FBS Racing, finished second in 7:09:37. Only two second back, Matt Acker, Salsa Cycles finished in 7:09:39.

Singlespeed

Klose wins first W101

Singlespeed podium: 1st James Klose, 2nd Eli Orth, 3rd Scott Rath, 4th Matt Ferrari, 5th Donovan Neal

James Klose, SECT NEMBA/Wayfarer Bicycle gets first W101 win in a time of 7:50:03. Taking second and leading the NUE singlespeed division was, Eli Orth, Team Hungry crossing the line in 8:30:52.

“Wilderness 101 was my 4th NUE epic distance race of the year. Going in I knew it was going to be a tough race with the predicted temps and humidity. The heat index was upwards of 110 degrees! Keeping that in mind i set my own pace early and watched the lead group pull away which also included a couple of my competitors in the single speed class. I went into the day wanting to just stay hydrated and fueled and stay at a consistent good pace. After settling in I decided to pick up the pace a little after aid station 2. Not long after aid 2 I caught Dahn Pahrs. I was up to 2nd place and Dahn let me know first wasn’t too far ahead. While standing at aid 3 drinking coke and grabbing some snacks i turn around to see Dahn roll up. On the gravel climb and through single track Dahn and I were close together with Dahn pulling back ahead again in the single track temporarily until he got a flat. As i roll up and ask if he needs anything he lets me know he’s okay and I roll by picking up the pace even more hoping to gap him enough that i keep him from catching me again. After that I didn’t see Dahn again (later learned he dropped out somewhere after aid 4) and didn’t see any other single speeders the rest of the race. It was a brutal hot day where I felt like i was cooking from inside out. It was especially hard on climbs like Stillhouse where I was grinding up them struggling both physically and mentally. It was great once again to race with Michael Gottfried a good portion towards the end along with Roger Masse. We pushed each other and chatted keeping our sanity on this tough day.Overall I was very happy with the results as Wilderness always has a strong SS field. It was great racing on the rocks in Pa for the second time this year!My gearing of choice for the race was 34×20. Next up is Shenandoah and Marji Gesick. I’d like to thank everyone that has supported and motivated me this year. Especially my wife who has been very supportive to my busy schedule this year. Thanks to my team.. Team Hungry and Absolute Black. Also thanks to Nox Composites for quickly getting me everything i needed for my wheel build  in time for Wilderness on short notice.”

Scott Rath, Cadre Racing took the third podium spot in a time of 8:57:25.

“Heading into the Wilderness 101, my only goal was to hopefully take some of the fitness I picked up at The Trans-sylvania Epic and turn that into a sub 9 hour finish. Seeing the forecast, I wasn’t sure that would be possible. The first 30 miles had me burning matches on my 34X20 gearing trying to stay latched on to trains knowing that if I fell off the back, I’d be working twice as hard by myself. During the second half of the race, I started picking off fellow single speeders and when I passed Don Powers walking up the infamous Stillhouse Hollow Rd climb due to not being able to keep food down, he let me know that there were a few more single speeders just up ahead, and that was just the motivation I needed to keep the pedals mashing. Despite the debilitating heat, I worked my way past two single speeders up and over Stillhouse. I kept checking my Garmin and it seemed like a sub 9 hour wasn’t going to be possible but then a super long stretch of gravel had me descending and descending some more. I buzzed past a fresh off Lyme Disease, Matt Ferrari and closer to a possible sub 9 hour finish. I put my head down, grabbed my fork crowns, and pedaled the mostly flat finish always checking over my shoulder. I found my way back to Coburn Park and crossed the line at 8:57and found out I snagged 3rd place. I’m still in disbelief. I’m hoping to get to the Shenandoah 100 if my schedule allows it.”

Masters

Masse celebrates first 2019 NUE win

Masters podium: 1st Roger Masse, 2nd Hank McCullough, 3rd Jed Prentice, 4th Joe Johnston, 5th Tom Stritzinger

Roger Masse, Stokesville/SMT/Stans/TREK takes the Masters win with a time of 8:30:42. Second place was, Hank McCullough, Team Trappe Door, finishing in 8:52:07.

“I had big question marks going into this year’s W101 having not been to the race since 2015 and for that matter no NUE events since 2017, only participating in one.  The passing years have me moving to the “seasoned” end of the masters 50+ division with little intel on those who have just moved in from the open bracket.  Although I have been to W101 three times we just don’t have rocks like this down in SC and my trail work has been limited this year. Fortunately supporting Trappe Door’s road squad through the spring racing season combined with big miles at the Allegheny Mountain Loop 400 bikepacking race in late April had me ready for a long day…which it definitely was with a scorching heat wave upon us.  
To be honest my main reason for coming this year was to catch up with NUE masters regulars Mark Drogalis and W101 icon Jim Matthews, whom I have not seen for several year due to moves, and life’s changing priorities.  I intentionally set low expectations regarding the race itself with a focus on fun.   Ride sensibly and don’t get too far into the red zone and that is how it went.   I would like to say I could give a play by play but I can’t remember the names of all the climbs and trails.   A measured start had me alone after the first climb but I clawed at least a dozen back on the rolling fire roads including Jed Prentice who was in good form coming from a strong finish at the BC Bike Race.   Jed was climbing a bit stronger and definitely making it through the rough stuff quicker, but I sensed that he might be going a bit hard so I just stayed back 200m and settled into my own pace.  My strategy paid off after RS 3, as Jed admitted after that he blew before the ending two climbs.   I figured Roger Masse, a winner on numerous occasions, was well ahead but if I had pushed a little harder and avoided a few course miscues due to mental fatigue at the end perhaps his winning margin would have been smaller?   Cursing Fisherman’s, or really myself for having crappy skills through the boulders,  I sensed that a solid finish was at hand, my best NUE result to date and the satisfaction in knowing that even this old goat can still have a good day. ”

Jed Prentice, Team Bike Doctor crossed the finish line at 8:55:45.

“I was happy to make the podium. Let’s just say that 7 days of recovery after the BC Bike Race was not enough! (I finished third in the 50+ GC at BCBR). I thought the Wilderness 101 was a week later on 7/27, until I got the pre-race brief. My race bike was on its way back from BC so I had to prep my son’s bike (an old race bike of mine from a few years ago). I was tired and racing an old bike but hoping things would work out. 
I didn’t feel so great on the first climb and was dropped early by Roger and Joe Johnston. I resigned myself to maintaining a steady pace and hoping to catch them later if they cracked. I caught some riders and felt ok until about mile 50, then blew up at mile 60 or so, on the way up to Beautiful Trail. After aid 4, on the way up Stillhouse Hollow, the lights went out and I had to stop and collect myself for a minute while several riders passed me. After struggling up the climb, I passed Joe Johnston as he was cooling off in the creek at the bottom of the descent. Thinking I was maybe in second, I was motivated to salvage something so I suffered to the finish. It turned out that the guy who passed me before aid 5 was also in the Masters race; I could see him on the rail trail near the finish but couldn’t bring him back, so I ended up third. It wasn’t pretty but I survived it.”

Click here for full Wilderness 101 results

Next up on the 2019 NUE Epic series is Pierre’s Hole in Alta, WY August 3rd, 2019

NUE Wilderness Marathon

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Written by: Jen Toops

Photo credit: Dave Seasholtz

On July 20th, 2019, Shenandoah Mountain Tours held the Wilderness 101 and Marathon races in Coburn, PA. The Wilderness 101 is part of the NUE National Ultra Endurance Race Series and is know for its East coast rocky singletrack, and rolling gravel roads. It was a scorcher with sunny skies and temps reaching almost 100 degrees F. Camping was included with registration in Coburn Park which is also the race start making for an easy race morning and celebration at the finish line.

Men’s Open

Schwarm Takes Wilderness Marathon win

Brian Schwarm, Think Green-Bicycle Face p/b Sword, wins the Men’s Open in a time of 5:40:48. With this win Schwarm leads the NUE Marathon series.

“The Wilderness 101K is one of my favorite races for many reasons. That area of Pennsylvania is breathtaking, the trip to get there (through Cumberland, Maryland) is extremely scenic, and of course the race course is marvelous with the big climbs and rocky singletrack. However, the main topic of discussion among all the racers was the heat. It was hot!

The race started as usual heading out of Coburn and up the Siglerville-Millheim gravel climb. Erik Neilson, Josh Kunz (on a singlespeed), and I rode mostly together until the ridge where Josh bid us farewell and Erik and I took off with our gears. We rode the following gravel sections together, often chatting, and enjoying the slight overcast before things started heating up (both figuratively and literally). 

Once Erik and I hit the trail sections the effort intensified. This was due to the trail itself but also we were catching some 101 mile racers once the courses linked back up. They provided extra motivation to keep going fast. So Erik and I were catching riders and railing the trails. We continued this until the Stillhouse Hollow Climb just past Aid Station 4 where I was able to slide away on the climb. From that point on I was riding by myself but I was running scared since Erik is such a strong racer. I kept an eye behind but was able to roll in for the win. 

Thanks to my amazing wife Jennifer for her continued support. I am very fortunate that she is often willing to travel with me, meet me at aid stations, and take care of me at the finish! In addition, thanks to my team Think Green – Bicycle Face and other sponsors SWORD, ESI grips, Native Eyewear, Maxxis Tires, and Specialized Bikes. Next on the agenda is the Shenandoah 100K over Labor Day weekend for my final stop in the NUE Marathon series.”

Marathon men’s open podium: 1st Brian Schworm, 2nd Erik Nielson, 3rd Thad Paunovich

Taking second place was, Erik Nielson, SouthPaw Cycles, Industry Nine/Giant, finishing in 5:56:54. In third place was, Thad Paunovich, coming in at 7:02:21

Women’s Open

Sheldon gets TOP STEP

Getting her first NUE win of 2019, Elizabeth Sheldon, Cxhairs Devo: Trek, wins the women’s marathon race in, 6:44:12.

“The Wilderness 101 marathon was a real challenge this year!  I’ve done the full distance a few times previously, but was hoping to spend a bit less time in the saddle (and a bit less time recovering after!). Race day started great, with cool-ish temperatures, a bit of overcast and even some breeze when the 100-milers started at 7 a.m.  The marathon racers roll out at 9, which makes sense for the logistics, but had us nervously waiting as the late-July temps started to creep up. Once we got underway, Bryna Blanchard and I were together for the early road climbing sections, but I was riding by myself or with small groups by the time we were at the first singletrack.  At the start of the singletrack, we were sharing the course with the 100-milers after their longer start loop, so there was more company. Aid Station 1 was up to Davidson standards (thanks!). 
After the aid station, the humidity went up and my recollection gets a bit foggier.  The rocks were much greasier, and the heat kicked up a notch, and by the time I got through the second aid station and on to the Stillhouse Hollow climb I was definitely feeling the effort. The kind souls handing out ice bags at Sand Mountain parking lot saved me and after more pedaling I was ecstatic to see the Stan’s finish arch in Coburn. Many good stories from the finish area (including from my husband, brother-in-law and nephew who all rode that day), but my favorite was from my son Jonah who broke his fork at the top of Stillhouse, rode back down, and then finished the full 100 mile course on a borrowed bike.
Thanks to Chris Scott and all the volunteers for a great day on the bike.”

1st Elizabeth Sheldon, 2nd Bryna Blanchard, 3rd Brittany Spangler

About 7 minutes back, Bryna Blanchard, BMB Racing, finished second in a time of 6:51:37. Brittany Spangler, Sacred Cycle, finished third, 7:34:34.

Singlespeed

In the single speed class, Josh Kunz, Knobby Side Down, takes the win in a time of 7:13:45. Jason Zollinger finished second crossing the line at 9:53:06.

Masters

Getting his first NUE win of the season, Carroll Thumel, LRC, wins the Masters division with a time of 9:13:34. Taking the second step, Dan Mock, finished in 9:29:06.

“The 2019 Wilderness 101k can be summarized in just one word, HOT! The prediction for 93 degree temps, prompted me to create a new, one of a kind, Garmin screen with just two stats, temp and mileage. I could feel my head exploding as I watched the degrees tick higher. The 80 plus mile course does have much needed relief, if you take advantage of a dip in one of the extremely cold creeks, well worth the time penalty. Special thanks to Chris Scott for supplying lots of ice at the aid stations. It may not sound like a big deal, but that ice and the many creeks along the way, kept me going.
My usual Tortoise (that’s me) and the Hare race strategy proved to find me on the podium for third place. I’ll take it! Chris has a way of making them tough, so congratulations to ALL who finished. Surviving the heat, extra distance and hours of climbing, is more than most 50/60 year old’s could ever dream of accomplishing. Next on the bucket list, good times at Shenandoah.”

Coming in third was, Richard Hultstrom, with a time of 9:55:47.

Click Here for full results

Next up on the NUE Marathon series is Pierre’s Hole August 3rd in Alta, WY

NUE Mohican 100K

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Written by Jen & Anthony Toops

Photos by Butch Phillips

Racers assembled at 7am in downtown Loudonville for the mass start.

The 17th annual Mohican MTB100 kicked off on June 1st at 7am sharp.  Hundreds of racers from around the country gather in Loudonville, Ohio each year to take on the deceptively tough course.  Before the start riders were given some encouraging words from the Mayor of Loudonville, Steve Strickland, race director Ryan O’Dell, and a duo rendition of the National Anthem. 100mile and 100k racers then proceeded with a neutral rollout lead by the Ashland Sheriff’s Department to the steep paved climb out of town, where the race officially starts.

The first 7 miles are a fast paced paved section where racers jockey for position going into the 25 miles of single track in Mohican State Park.  After the single track is a mix of mostly gravel roads with some technical single and double track sections thrown in.  Being in Ohio, most assume this course is relatively flat.  What the race lacks in elevation it makes up for in dozens of steep, punchy climbs strewn throughout the entire distance.  The 100k and 100m course splits after aid station 3, where the 100k turns left and completes the last sections of the course and the 100mile turns right to add in the extra miles (and tough climbs!).  

100k SS podium finisher Josh Kunz, making easy work of the new rock garden.

This year, a large technical rock garden located at Mohican Wilderness, was brought back thanks to some dedicated trail crew.  This section hasn’t been included since the first race, 17 years ago.  There are also Tree Frog canopy tours, zip lines, and platforms directly overhead enjoyed by racers families. Also added was a new “secret trail” that removed a notorious hike a bike that had become known as “Big A** Climb”. Only one racer in our 17 year history has ever ridden it during the race. That racer was Jeremiah Bishop, who went on to win in both 2017 and 2018.

The water bar downhill was extra sloppy this year.

Finishers cross the line and grab a pint glass(100k) or a growler(100m) and can enjoy the post race atmosphere.  Families and friends gather for food from Smokin’ Bros BBQ, beer from Great Lakes Brewing, and live music.

Race Director Ryan O’dell.

“The biggest improvement at this year’s race was added safety for Mohican racers. The Mohican100 formed a new partnership with University Hospital of Ashland that included a much more detailed medical plan, including a med-evac helicopter at the race, medical room and doctor on call at the finish line, medical staff and tents at each aid station, and quads permitted to go anywhere necessary for rescue of injured racers. The racers who were injured this year had great reports about the speed and helpfulness of our new UH team of professionals.” Race Director, Ryan O’Dell 

Part of the medical crew on hand.

Men’s Open

1st Brian Schwarm, 2nd Eric Nielson, 3rd Jack Perry,
4th Jamie Babcock, 5th Ross Clark

Schwarm takes TOP STEP

Brian Schwarm tackling one of the many Wilderness area rock gardens.

Brian Schwarm of Think Green Bicycles took the Men’s 100k Win finishing in 4:39:28. After taking second place at the NUE Big Frog, Schwarm is now leading the 2019 Marathon Series.

” The weather leading up to the Mohican 100 was very wet with rain every day, which had me very concerned about the trail conditions.  In fact, it rained for most of the drive up to Ohio from Kentucky but as I got closer, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.  Very quickly upon my arrival, I heard the chatter that the trails were actually in great condition.  This relieved my anxiety and I was ready to roll.

The race started with the usual scramble out of Loudonville on some back roads to the singletrack.  I was sitting in a good position in the top ten once we hit the trail.  It was a brisk pace initially with everyone together except one brave soul who attacked from the beginning.  Soon, however, Dylan Johnson, Christian Tanguay, and Jeff Pendlebury (all in the 100 mile race) left our group in pursuit of the lone rider out front.  I stayed with the others for about half of the singletrack and then I lifted the pace in hopes of catching the lead riders before the road section.  I chased hard and caught the lead group on the horse trails just before the road section.  Just as I caught the lead group, the initial pacesetter, who was in the 100k, dropped from the group so it left me with Dylan, Christian, and Jeff all from the 100 mile in the lead group.  Oh, and we put on quite a show at the water bar descent…someone slipped in front of me, I fell on him, then another fell on me.  With all the spectators (and hecklers) present it made for a “memorable” experience.

Anyway, we hit the road section together and shared the workload taking turns pulling and drafting.  I made sure I did more than my fair share since I actually had the most to gain being the only 100k racer in the group.  We were hearing time gaps of three to five minutes until we entered the Mohican Wilderness section just before aid station three.  Jeff attacked just before entering the trail and Dylan gave chase.  This broke up our group and left me to ride solo through the trail, into aid station 3, and the final gravel road and trail to the finish.

It was amazing to pull off the win at Mohican especially with my family (who live nearby) present to watch the race.  Thanks to them for their support and to my amazing wife Jennifer for her continued support.  In addition, thanks to my team Think Green – Bicycle Face and other sponsors SWORD, ESI grips, Native Eyewear, and Specialized Bikes.  Next on the agenda is the Wilderness 101k in Pennsylvania in late July.”

Eric Nielson keeping it upright on the tough water bar downhill.

About ten minutes back, Erik Nielson of South Paw Cycles took second place in 4:48:05.

“The Mohican 100k was my first venture into Ohio and it did not disappoint! I had no idea what the trails would be like or the number of people doing the event but both exceeded my expectations! We had what I would consider an early start for a 100k (not so much an early morning race person) but that was due in large to combining both the 100k and 100mile start times. 600 plus riders strong, we began the race and immediately hit what would be one of many wall like hills littering the race course. I was warned ahead of time to get a good position into the woods because that could make or break your day once on the singletrack, so up I punched it entering the trails in the top 10.

From here the pace was blistering whittling down the field to 4 riders off the front including Brian Schworm, the leader of my race. and my group of 5 in chase a few minutes back. After a few hours of some seriously fun singletrack we got to the business end of the race which included the water bars of doom, a rock garden not nearly as big as that one from Last of the Mohicans but infinitely more slippery, some hike a bike, gravel, pavement, and some more of those walls mentioned earlier. At the 100k/100mile split the riders went their separate ways with the 100 milers seemingly envying my left turn to the shorter distance and me being relieved I was not making a right turn for more hours of pain. 

I settled in with my new found friend, Jim Litzinger the winner of the SS 100k class and second overall, and knocked out the last gut busting gravel climb to the final singletrack. At this point Brian had checked out and was most likely showered and changed at the finish, and Jim was schooling me again on the art of standing up and laying down the hammer. I crested the last major climb for the day and enjoyed a smooth finish to 2nd place in Men’s Open 100k and 3rd overall. 

My next NUE race was going to be Iron Mtn. Unfortunately this race is no longer happening this year but instead they are adding a 100k to Shenandoah, so here I come! Thanks to Industry Nine for keeping those big wheels rolling, Giant Bicycles for making carbon sweetness for the those big wheels to roll under, Fox suspension for making my ass not hurt, and SouthPaw Cycles for keeping all those bits together!”

Jack Perry on the heels of 2nd place.

Finishing only about one and a half minutes back, Jack Perry of La Vie Alpo took the third step in 4:49:44.

“My experience at this year’s Mohican 100 was amazing. The energy invested by everyone involved was impressive and helps put this event into a class of it’s own. The bulk of my day was spent chasing by myself which allowed me to manage my effort without having to put tactics into the equation. It also gave me the opportunity to enjoy the incredible trails that Ohio has to offer. Do yourself a favor and put this one on the calendar. 
Team: La Vie Alpo Sponsors:Miles Perry CoachingMaple WheelsSan Pellegrino”

Open Women

1st Jen Nielson, 2nd Allison Arensman, 3rd Emily Payonk,
4th Sydney Wenger, 5th April Beard

Nielson gets first NUE marathon win

Getting her first 2019 Marathon win, Jen Nielson of South Paw Cycles finishes in 5:47:35.

Jen Nielson holding the lead through Mohican State Park.

“The lore of the Mohican 100 is not to be taken lightly. It is wrought with tales of a wall of pavement littered with carnage. Its survivors tell of impassible water bars so slick with slime that no racer can ride them. There are stories of horse trails so deep with mud, all are forced to tread by foot. Slick rock gardens and webs of roots taunt the brave souls who dare to pass, as do the steep wall-like gravel climbs. So with that, the long journey was made to Loudonville, Ohio in order to discover the truth…. 

The mass start was indeed massive, with somewhere around 600 racers lining up. The women’s open field was well over 30 deep. Impressive to say the least. Pre-race jitters hit me hard that morning. Harder than normal. I lined up off to the left side of the field within the first couple of rows. My goal was to try and stay safely away from the chaos that was about to ensue. 

A “neutral” start took us out of town where we were quickly greeted by, dare I say it, a wall of pavement. It was a steep climb and as the pace ramped up I felt myself getting pulled closer and closer to the center of the pack. I tried to ride smart and focus on myself. This was a long race and I didn’t need to burn all of my matches on the first climb or risk bumping rubber with another rider. A wreck off to my right claimed several racers. I pushed on. 

Breathing heavily, I crested the climb barely hanging onto the back of the lead group, which was still fairly large. Another steep, albeit shorter, climb left no room for recovery. The leaders were hammering and the group was starting to become strung out over the next flat to rolling sections. I looked around and caught sight of a guy coming up fast from behind. I tensed up ready to jump, and grabbed his wheel as soon as he came by. In no time at all I was safely nestled back in the front group. There was no recovering though. 

A gravel climb, then on into some slick grassy singletrack. There was bottlenecking as racers break checked to avoid boggy sections and back wheels fishtailed through the wet grass and mud. Gravel, a narrow metal bridge, and then a super steep short trail. With so many women, and most being unfamiliar to me, it was hard to know where anyone was in all of the chaos. I looked back in time to see one of them about 3 riders back. I pushed the pedals hard, not wanting to get caught before the next round of single track. Up and over, across gravel, and into a line of hikers up another short steep pitch. My slow awkward remount was proof that I am no cyclocrosser. 

I pushed across the open gravel, fighting to get a few more riders between myself and the next girl before ducking into the next stretch of flowing single track. I found myself in the middle of a train of guys. The trail was fast and fun, and I knew I was pushing harder than I probably realized. I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t pay for it later. This was an incredibly challenging section of the course to do any passing on, so I knew I had to make it count if I wanted to keep as much distance as I could between myself and the others. I stayed safely tucked into the train pushing harder up some climbs than I wanted to before getting caught by the slinky effect and hitting other climbs at an alarmingly slow pace. After a super fun descent, we hit some pavement and few antsy guys from the rear of the train made their move. I jumped on and was quickly dropped by them up the next single track climb leaving me in no man’s land. 

As I approached the first aide station, a male racer warned me that another lady was not too far back. I pulled in to grab a swig of Coke and an orange slice. She slid by me without my ever seeing her. Sneaky! I continued on getting periodic time checks letting me know I was anywhere from 1-3 minutes behind her and holding steady. 

Somewhere between the first and third aide stations I found the infamous water bars. The water bars themselves were fairly dry and unintimidating. It was the deep mud in between that made things tricky. I made it about half way through before being forced to dismount and fight having my shiny new shoes totally engulfed in mud. I eventually found the muddy horse path that was not only impossibly deep, but incredibly steep. Hike-a-bike it would be for this girl and the surrounding dudes. 

There was a lot of gravel and pavement mixed in there. I feared that those ahead of me and behind me might be bigger power houses than myself, so I dug deep and was pleasantly surprised to find more engine than I expected. I reeled in several guys creating my own train before two of us broke away. The gravel climbs were steep, but relatively short when compared to Pisgah riding and racing. 

I did find a slimy rock garden that forced me off the bike, choosing my steps wisely. They made our wet rocks at home seem grippy and tame in comparison. It was at the rock garden I learned that I was the leader of the lady pack. The woman in front of me was racing the 100 mile, while I was racing the 100k. 

Aide station three was filled with all the best treats, which would be much needed before the final significant gravel climb. I had a little chuckle to myself as I slowly reeled a dismounted single speeder hiking his bike up the climb, marveling at how it seemed to take forever to finally reach him and pass, even with the advantage of gears and being able to remain on my bike. 

I was caught by a power house of a guy on the last section of pavement and pulled to the final aide station. I thought a draft was what I needed until I jumped in it and realized just how much extra work it was taking to hang onto that wheel. He was hauling! I was most grateful for it though. The final aide station was at the bottom of a long single track climb that marked the last 4 miles or so in to the finish. I offered a pass to a guy on my rear wheel, but he insisted my lines were just fine. They didn’t feel fine. They felt awkward as the fatigue set in. I enjoyed having the company, commentaries, and laughs on the way in. 

Cruising in on the final stretch of the gravel and into the finish line was a relief. What a race and what a course! A total surprise in every way and all for the best. Without a doubt, this will not be the last Mohican. 

Perhaps one of the biggest surprise was the amount of support I had on and off the course. I felt like I was hearing my name and words of encouragement all through the woods! I don’t know who all was out there (a few familiar faces and a lot of faces/voices I didn’t have time to process), but I am incredibly thankful for the boost and support. It made this race feel like home! 

As always, I couldn’t do it without the support of the best mechanic and partner in crime a girl could ask for or without a brilliant coach who also has the patience of a saint. I absolutely couldn’t do it without the amazing gear and support provided by Industry Nine, Maxxis Tires, and Giant/Liv. I couldn’t be more proud to be part of those families. 

Allison Arensman eyes up through the first 20 mile singletrack section.
Emily Payonk in the hunt.

Allison Arensman of J.A. King finished second, 6:33:22 and Emily Payonk rounded out the podium finishing third, 6:36:56

Singlespeed

1st Jim Litzinger, 2nd Peyton Randolph, 3rd Scott Williams, 4th Aaron Grabor, 5th Josh Kunz (2nd and third had a podium mixup)

Litzinger goes sub 5 hours

Jim Litzinger having a blast through the new rock garden.

Taking the single speed win and finishing second overall was, James Litzinger of Syndicate Cycling, finishing in a time of 4:47:02.

“I always get excited to head to the start line in downtown Loudonville with 600 plus riders all geared up to leave it all out there on an amazing course. I was sitting back in the 2nd or 3rd row of riders on the first time waiting for the rollers to start the chaos of wheel sucking trying to make it to the woods in good position. It was an unusually slow start for the mass of riders heading out of town. I expected the pace to pick up after the first climb like it has in the past but this year the pace just seemed to stay pretty calm until the last descent going into the gravel. I shot up the left side getting in a tucked position taking over the front of the lead group waiting for the rest of the riders to pass me. About 7 or 8 riders passed me going into the woods and I was very happy about that starting position. I was really stoked to ride with a lot of the annual winners in the 100/100k distance. I knew if I could keep their pace for a while I would in good position to win. Dylan went off the front and Bryan joined him and I knew that pace would be too fast for me to manage the rest of the race. I then joined the chase group for most of the single track. They had a pretty fast pace going too. I actually let them ride away for a little knowing that I did not want to push that hard. I wanted to ride my pace. To my surprise, I ended up catching back on to the chase group shortly after letting them ride away. I was super pumped to link up with this group of 4 and myself going into the gravel roads. After popping out onto the roads we all did a little inventory to see who all we were riding with. I was the only SS’er in the group and there was one other rider for the 100k, Erik Nielson. The rest of the riders were set up for the 100 miler. Adam Hill who came down to Ohio from Canada was a huge help! Adam and Erik were awesome to work with. Those guys would make some monster pulls on the rollers and I would pace us up the climbs and in the single track. It was a perfect storm for a fast and fun day on the bike! Going into the 100k/100 split I was riding alone after feeling pretty good about my fitness. When I rolled through aid station 3 I quickly grabbed some water and a piece of banana. Instead of rolling onto the finish alone I would it would be a good idea to spin the flat road along the river as Erik caught up. Great company really makes these races! Once Erik caught up we shared some positive comments about our positions and set a plan to finish the race strong. Valley Stream Road climb is bitter sweet. It’s a bear of a climb with the steep turn and the loose gravel which make it difficult on a single speed but once you clear it you are almost home. Since I could not down shift into an easier gear I put a small gap on Erik. Once rolling over the top he was not far behind so we quickly got back together. Erik continued his strong pulls on the road leading us to the final section of trail where I was able to set the pace. I always feel that I get an energy boost for the super fun finishing single track knowing that the finish is just over the hill. 

I was riding my Specialized Epic Full Suspension set up 30×17 and wow, did it fit the bill! It was so plush and sporty in the woods and light and responsive on the gravel climbs. Pair that bike up with my Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and it was the ultimate ride! My family, Syndicate Cycling, and PRO BIKE + RUN work just as hard to get me to the finish line!”

Peyton Randolph heading into the water bar downhill.

Peyton Randolph of Cyclist Connection finished second in 5:11:45.

“I knew it was going to be a good day when I entered the MSP single track behind 100m ss’er Dahn Pahrs. A few miles in, I felt fresh so I moseyed on by Dahn and tried to push the pace. Hearing Dahn cough, hack, and make all sorts of disgusting noises back there, I thought perhaps he was hurting a little? Unfortunately, I blew up on the covered bridge climb and Dahn blew right by before the first aid station. Fun while it lasted. Water bars this year were sloppy but so entertaining with the Ohio Knobby Side Down and Trailer Park hecklers present with mega phones and insults. Fun race made even better thanks to those guys and gals. Wilderness trails were once again in the best shape of the year. Rock garden was a sweet addition this year. Already looking forward to next year! A huge thank you to my wife Kayla, grandparents, and our puppy Nino who drove up to meet at certain points along the course to cheer us on! Thank you to Chumba USA who shipped me the sweetest USA-made titanium frame I’ve ever seen or ridden! Thank you to Ric at Cyclist Connection for ordering us up an endless list of parts/bikes and Ryan at Wheelie Fun bike shop for providing the best bike fit. 

Scott Williams in the Mohican Wilderness rocks.

Finishing in third, Scott Williams of Dirt Rag Magazine, crossed the line in 5:22:04.

Masters

1st Kevin Simms, 2nd Thomas Franek, 3rd Paul Cooney,
4th David Jolin, 5th Chris Torrance

Simms takes the Masters WIN

Kevin Simms in the lead early.

Kevin Simms of Sound Solution takes the Masters win with a time of 5:10:01.

“Thank You Mohican 100 for the epic race event! Travelling south from Canada to complete the race proved to be worth our while and then some! Glad to represent my sponsor ‘Sound Solutions – Architectural Products’ at this race! 

I lined up right behind the pace truck and loved the hilly road start to spread us out. Although there were a few tire taps and handle bar rubs, I think everybody stayed upright. I moved with the front group, dropping into the single track in top 15 riders to secure some good flow with quality riders. Lotza positive morale among the racers and the park Loop was amazing!”

After 40–45 km, I Hit the gravel section hard, knowing Lots of people would use it to try and recover. Unfortunately I didn’t have a soul to work with, spending lots of time in ghost bar position on the flats and steady on the climbs. Dropping back into the single track proved tough, especially the rock garden but amazing fans seems to keep you going! 

The final single track was a solo mental battle, hoping I had stayed on course and fighting the fatigue of a long day. Rolled across 5:10 and was welcomed with a super fun atmosphere including beer, music and awards! Love the plaques! A race to remember and highly recommend it to anybody.”

Thomas Franek flying through the Mohican singletrack.

Thomas Franek of Team Lake Effects finishes in second place, 5:15:34. Paul Cooney of Spoke Omotion gets the third spot in 5:28:05.

“This was my first time racing the Mohican. I talked a couple of other Ontario boys from the Toronto area into registering, and we drove down in my RV to check out the trails (hills !) around Loudonville.  Its one of my goals to get to all the races with the coolest names like “Mohican 100” ! 
We all get a bit stale racing local multi lap XC races on trails we have been memorizing for the last 30 years – so travelling and riding a big 100K loop on trails I’ve never seen before is exciting.  Flying around blind corner after corner and just trusting you can read, react and trust your skills to keep the bike upright is such a fun way to race.
I started Mohican a bit harder than I should have ….  but I was hoping that some fast wheels early on would help me get through the first couple hours with a good pace.  After hour 3, I was it was all about pace management.  Climbing steady, eating and drinking as much as I could to keep the cramps at bay.  Thanks to all the awesome volunteers for managing feed stations and helping me restock bottles and food in under a minute at each aid station.I had no idea what place I was in…I just kept pedaling, suffering, drooling and hallucinating until I crossed the finish and heard the announcer saying “3rd place”.  I had to go back and high 5 him !! Sponsors: Spoke O’Motion bicycle shopPeter Kraiker photography”

Paul Cooney excited to hear he finished third.

For full results CLICK HERE

Butch Phillips photo gallery CLICK HERE

Next up on the Marathon NUE Series is on July 13th in Carrabassett Valley, ME. CLICK HERE to register.

Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike EPIC- Stage One

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After the TSEpic was canceled in 2018, the race has been brought back thanks to the new race director Ryan Fulton of Trans-Sylvania Productions. The TSE is held in Spring Mills, PA at a local scout camp aka “Single track Summer Camp”, where the trails are know for their rugged east coast rocks. Racers can choose between a 5 or 3 day race and are allowed to camp for free.

Stage one of the TSE was Poe Valley and started from camp. Racers climbed 3208 feet in 30 miles. The weather was a perfect cool sunny day until the skies opened up on some of the racers. It was a mix of rocky old school singletrack and gravel roads with beautiful vistas.

Men’s Open

Brian Lewis made several strong attacks on stage one.

In the open men category a leading group formed of Kerry Werner (Kona/Maxxis), Bryan Lewis (Cutaway), Jeremiah Bishop (Team Topeak) and John Petrylak (Endeavor Cycles/ESI). Bryan Lewis made several attacks throughout the stage. Jeremiah Bishop was able to bridge the gap on the last attack near the finish. Lewis and Bishop rode the last several miles together until it came to a sprint at the finish. Bishop took the stage win with a time of 2:08:54:26, Lewis came in second at 2:08:54:38, and Werner took the third spot in 2:09:21.

Jeremiah Bishop (Team Topeak) on the hunt for the stage win.

Women’s Open

Carla Williams (CarboRocket) taking the win for stage one of TSE

In the open Womens category, Carla Williams (CarboRocket) took the lead from the start and continued to gap the other women on the first climbs and gravel sections . She held the lead until the finish crossing the line in an impressive 2:28:36. Behind her, Marlee Dixon (Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles) pushed hard but had some mechanical issues on the technical singletrack finishing 2nd in 2:39:43. Just a minute back and taking third place, was Julia Thumel at 2:40:36. Britt Mason (Joes Bike Shop) started strong but after a flat she finished 4th in 2:41:18. This is a very competitive field with 4th-6th place all within minutes of the podium and should be an exciting race to follow this week.

Marlee Dixon (Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles) on her way to 2nd place.
A rainy end to stage one.

For full stage 1 results click HERE

Written by: @jentoops

Photos: Bruce Buckley

NUE Cohutta 100 mile

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“The 2019 event was hosted by Mountain Goat Adventures, who recently took over promotion of the event from Roost Racing, LLC.  Race day weather at the Ocoee Whitewater Center could not have been more perfect with temperatures in the mid 70’s.  Similar to prior years, the race was well attended and had sold out by the Monday before the race.

One change we immediately made to the course was to make the final singletrack section nearly all downhill to the finish.  I had raced in several past editions of this event in both the 65 and 100, and every time I returned from the gravel road loops, I wished that we could just bomb down to the finish instead of winding around on 8-12 more miles of rolling (and sometimes steep) singletrack.  While the gravel road loops of the course remained the same from the 2018 edition, we configured a course that included nearly all of the Tanasi singletrack on the front end, while riders were fresh.  After leaving it all out on the course for the gravel road loops of the 65 and 100 mile, riders were treated with a nearly all downhill 4 mile mile run into the finish.  

A very close race in the singlespeed class Left Eli Orth 3rd, Center Dan Pahrs 1st, Right Anthony Toops 2nd.
Photo: Ryan Odell

Another change we made was to offer more swag to our event participants.  Big payouts are great if you can manage to land on the podium, but that only accounts for a very small percentage of our riders so it is important to me to make sure we are taking care of the other 95% of our participants as well by offering them nice swag, a well-marked course, good support at the aid stations, and overall a great race experience that they will remember.  We saw riders from all over the US and Canada, so it was great hearing how much riders from other regions enjoyed the course (albiet a tough one!)  While the race overall went very smoothly, we learned a lot in our first year of production that we can take with us moving forward to make this event even better in 2020.” -Lisa Randall (2019 Race Director)

Men’s Open  

Johnson gets FOURTH consecutive Cohutta WIN

1st-Dylan Johnson, 2nd-Christian Tanguy, 3rd-Matt Acker, 4th-Spencer Whittier, 5th-Lee Hauber. Photo Credit- Dashing Images LLC

Taking the win in the Men’s Open class for an impressive fourth year in a row was Dylan Johnson, FBS Racing, with a time of 6:57:09. Christian Tanguy, RBS Team, took a close second just two minutes back, coming in at, 6:59:08.

Matt Acker grabbed the third spot with a time of 7:05:15. Sponsors include: Salsa Cycles, Velocity USA, Industry Nine, and Grand Rapids Bicycle Company based out of Michigan.

Matt Acker 3rd place
Photo Ryan Odell

“The weather was perfect for race day and the pace started out modestly from the whitewater center. As we got out onto the highway roll out there were some attacks and Dylan and Christian got out in front. I settled in behind them with another gentleman. Their gap slowly grew through the first 30 miles of trails and 4th place and myself stayed together. Once we hit the big gravel loop we could no longer see 1 and 2. The 4th place rider pushed a hard pace and rolled ahead of me for quite some time on the gravel loop while i focused on staying true to my pace. About halfway through the event i caught him again and we rolled into the 59 mile aid together to re-supply. They told us that 1 and 2 were almost 5 minutes up the road so it became a race between us. We worked together a bit back and forth until just over 80 miles and when 4th stopped to get bottles and nutrition i kept rolling. I kept the effort smooth but hard until the last singletrack descent and rolled in for 3rd. Great event, awesome volunteers and fun course.”

Women’s Open

Toops gets first NUE Epic Win

1st-Jen Toops, 2nd-Mary Penta, 3rd-Anne Pike, 4th-Laureen Coffelt, 5th-Angela Graziosi.
Photo credit: Dashing Images LLC

Taking the win in the women’s race, 2018 NUE Marathon Champion, Jen Toops, Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles MTB race team, finished in 8:33.41.

“This was my first 100 mile race so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew Penta was a strong gravel rider from her finish at the Barry Roubaix, so I went hard on the first climb and made sure I was ahead of her going into the singletrack. Having some fun on the downhills and pushing the pace a few times uphill, I was able to make a gap before entering into the gravel. My legs were feeling good and I continued to ride my own pace. The changes to the course this year were a pleasant surprise ending the race with so much downhill. I rode my Pivot Les 27.5 and am always reminded how well this bike climbs! My next NUE race will be Mohican 100!”

  • Jen Toops
  • Mary Penta
  • Anne Pike

Taking second was Mary Penta, Think Green/Bicycle Face, crossing the line at 9:17:51. Third place was Anne Pike with a time of 10:03:38.

Singlespeed

Pahrs takes top step

1st-Dahn Pahrs, 2nd-Anthony Toops, 3rd-Eli Orth, 4th-Chris Blakenship, 5th-Joe Worboy
Photo credit: Dashing Images LLC

Winning the singlespeed class was, Dahn Pahrs of UPMC Pro Bike, crossing the line in 7:30:07.

Anthony Toops, 2018 NUE SS Marathon series Champion, racing for Paradise Garage took second place, 7:43:12.

“Cohutta was my first big test of the year so I was ready to get this one in the books.  The race started with the usual effort up the road to get to the single track as near the front as possible.  Pahrs led the pack up the climb initially until the spring over the top into the trail. I made sure to get into the singletrack as the 1st single speeder so I could hopefully use my full suspension to my advantage. This year 95% of the single track was at the beginning of the race unlike previous years where it was 50/50. I should’ve done more homework here as the full suspension wasn’t really needed due to the course changes.
Pahrs was on my wheel the entire singletrack section and with a few riders ahead, passing was difficult. He eventually passed me and we hit the first road sections together.  He started to pull away some on the climbs but I was making up time on the descents. Eventually he got a gap around mile 45 I think that would grow for the rest of the race.  I struggled some in the potato patch section of climbs, trying not to lose time because I had a feeling Eli Orth wouldn’t be far behind. Around mile 65 or so Nick Bragg caught up to me and we rode together for a while. Some good conversation made the time pass faster as we kept turning over the pedals. He would pull ahead out of aid 5 and I just kept the power down to bring home 2nd place… only around a minute ahead of Eli Orth!
This was the first race with my Pivot 429sl set up single speed. After some initial setup issues the bike was performing great. My bike selection was overkill for this course, but I kinda knew that going in. Next time will be the hardtail. 
Another great event put on by Mountain Goat Adventures. The crew and staff did an amazing job!  Looking forward to some more NUE racing coming up! Gearing 34×20″

Taking the third spot was, Eli Orth of Team Hungry, with a time of 7:44:30.

“Cohutta was my first NUE race of the year. The weather for the race couldn’t have been better. It was a little cool in beginning but quickly warmed up with the first long climb. I played it safe in the beginning on the first climb but also made sure i was in top 3 in ss going into the single track. I got into single track with Michael Gottfried and we kept a good pace but got slowed down in several areas by slower traffic. We called for the pass and started to pick up the pace. Once we got into the death march gravel loop I was hoping i was still within striking distance of “Dahn Pahrs” and Anthony Toops. I picked up the pace on the gravel loop trying to make up time if possible. Everything was going great and I still felt great but got a puncture flat on my rear tire at mile 80.. after we joined up with big frog racers. Of all places it was on gravel and i didn’t even see what caused it. I felt the tire going down so i jumped off and grabbed my plug kit from my jersey pocket. I initially put in small plug but it didn’t hold. So i put in big plug and after stans sprayed out for a few seconds it stopped leaking and sealed. A fellow teammate that was racing big frog stopped and gave me one of their co2’s to take just in case i would need it. Fortunately i didn’t need it. Unfortunately though having the plug in there and what seemed to be barely holding i started to race conservative, so i wouldn’t rip the plug out and flat again. I knew i could hang onto 3rd as long as i kept everything together.I was really surprised at the finish to find out Anthony came across the line only a minute ahead of me. Once again it was a close race between us after over 7.5hrs of racing. It was a great race and I look forward to more. I ran 34×19 gear. The gearing made some of the climbs a little tough but overall it was the perfect gearing for me on that course. My next big race will be the TSE 5 day stage race in May followed by Mohican 100 5 days after that. Thanks to my team, team mates, and sponsors Team Hungry and Absolute Black. “

Masters

Hammond gets first Cohutta win

1st-Matt Hammond, 2nd-Zdenek Fiebinger, 3rd-Rodney Reed, 4th-Alan Miner, 5th-Jeff Chalmers. Photo Credit: Dashing Images LLC.

Matt Hammond took the Masters win with a time of 8:11:34.

“My experience with the Cohutta 100 this past Saturday was fantastic! The course was well marked and overall production was great! Could not have asked for better weather and conditions for a bike race.I’m a veteran bike racer but first time winner of a 100 mile race. I will very likely participate in this event again next year. Not sure that I’ll do any more of this years series. I’m not sponsored currently but would entertain any offers!

Taking the second step was, Zdenek Fiebinger of Sonic Cycling, 8:44:16.

“After racing Big Frog few times in the past and recently turning 50, I decided that is time to try the big boys distance. I did many different races around Ocoee and love to return to this area. Plus, mountaingoatadventures.com is always guarantee of perfectly organized race. My race started slower as my old diesel needs little more time to warm up. Once in the single track, I moved up several places and felt good until about mile 30 miles when I had to back of the pace little bit after my lower back started to remind me that as rest of me it is also 50 years old. Few riders came from behind and we formed nicely working group For rest of the race I was yo-yo ing around few younger riders, passing and getting passed. I was happy to see my teammate RJ and was able to ride with him for some distance later in the race. I was hoping to see the finish line sooner but was happy with the result under the circumstances. It was hard but great race. Well organized with many super friendly and helpful volunteers. Cohutta definitely found a permanent place on my race calendar.” 

Rodney Reed finished third in a time of 8:50:08.

“This was the 8th time I’ve lined up for the Cohutta 100.  The difference this year is it was my first time competing in the masters category.  The day couldn’t have started off more perfect weather wise – high 40’s to start and getting up to mid 70’s by the finish.  Although the course was similar to last year, there were a few course changes early in the race that left me with some uncertainty but off we went.  I felt really good headed into the first bit of single track with good position and good pacing.  After the first aid station I began having some stomach issues which would come and go the rest of the day.  I had one minor mishap when I miscalculated my bunny hop over the off camber pine on Riverview Loop causing me to go over the bars.  I picked myself up and continued.  Once onto the gravel section I was caught by a couple guys who were “not racing, just riding” then they dropped me!  Probably about 5 1/2 hours in Jen Toops caught up with me and we chatted for a few minutes exchanging positions on the climbs before she took off.  After the merge with the Big Frog riders I knew I only had a few moderate climbs left so I gave it all I had to the finish.  Very much appreciated the downhill sections after the last aid stations.
A special thank you to my wife Amy and daughter Emma for putting up with my long weekend away and supporting the countless Sunday’s spent gravel grinding in Ohio.  Shout out to the Sunday Gravel Church gang – Rick, Matt, Terry, Mike and Benton for pushing me all winter!  Special thanks to Rick’s Bicycle Service and HWB Cycling for keeping my Santa Cruz Tallboy in tip top shape year after year for these grueling races.  Next up, Mohican 100.”

Click here for full results

What’s up next? Click here to register for the NUE Mohican 100 mile & 100 K in Loudonville, OH.

Written by: Lisa Randall & @Jentoops


NUE Big Bear Grizzly 100k

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NUE Big Bear Grizzly 100k

Written by @JenToops

The NUE series headed to the San Bernardino mountains in sunny Southern California for the Grizzly 100k, 75k races and Grand Fondo. This was the final NUE race of the 2018 season and determined the NUE overall titles.

Starting around 7000 feet above sea level in Big Bear Lake, CA, racers were challenge to a high altitude course with technical singletrack, loose descents, and the all famous 5 mile Radford climb.

Open Men

Trudeau takes the WIN

Open Men’s Podium: 1st-Kyle Trudeau, 2nd-Bryan Lewis, 3rd-Nic Beechan

Getting his first NUE win of 2018, Kyle Trudeau, CZ Racing takes the win with a time of 4:35:32.  

Bryan Lewis finished about a minute behind Trudeau taking second place with a time of 4:36:59.  In a battle for the overall NUE series title, it came down to this race for Lewis and Johnson.  With this win, Lewis secures the 2018 NUE Epic series title and Johnson, who finished 6th at Big Bear, takes second in the overall standings.

Claiming third was, Nic Beechan, Trek Test Team finishing in 4:41:25.

Open Women

Connors secures the NUE Epic series with her FIFTH win

Women’s Open Podium: 1st-Larissa Connors, 2nd-Hanna Muegee, 3rd: Marjie Bemis

Taking the win in the 100k was Larissa Connors, Sho-Air Cycling Group, coming in at 5:27:29.  With this win she takes the overall NUE Epic series with 5 straight wins.  

Taking second place was Hanna Muegee crossing the line in 6:26:35.

“I know little to nothing about racing mountain bikes, but after a busy pro road season racing for DNA Pro Cycling Team, I signed up for the Grizzly 100 to throw myself into my next challenge–learning how to mountain bike. Thanks to the encouragement from my boyfriend Chris Cain and my entire family, the steady support from my colleagues at the Monterey Bay Air Resources District, the steady race prep check-ins from team director/team co-owner Lee Whaley, the trust from my friend Steve Jones for letting me borrow his badass bike, and for soaking up some last minute racing tips from cycling legend Micah at Peninsula Bike Works; I hit the road running at the fun yet grueling 100k race at Big Bear, CA. I loved every moment of the race, and quickly realized how much I was out of my elements. But this is how you learn. Racing very conservatively on every technical section of the course, and trying to make up time on every uphill section, I made it across the finishline in 2nd place! There is still a lot to learn for me especially when it comes to proper nutrition for these ultra-endurance races, as well as learning how to handle a mountain bike. My Thule hydration pack filled with Asend Nutrition  electrolyte mix were a lifesaver, though I did run out of fluids and food in the critical last 6 miles and bonked terribly hard. Congrats to Larissa Connors on the win and for showing us all how it’s done! Coming into the race without any expectations, a podium finish was definitely a great reward to a wonderful solo roadtrip to Big Bear. I’d like to give a huge shout-out to all the racers and volunteers for showing me what mountain bike racing is all about and a big thank you to Derek Hermon and the Big Bear community for making this one of the most memorable races I have ever done. I will be back!”

Taking the third spot on the podium was, Marjie Bemis, Socal Devo/CCMTB in 6:31:45.

Master’s 50+

Niedringhaus gets the top step

Master’s Podium: 1st- Paul Niedringhaus, 2nd-Jiri Kozesnik, 3rd-Tom Stritzingert

In the Master’s division it was, Paul Niedringhaus of Hammer Nutrition taking the win with a time of 6:04:47.  Just about four minutes back was Jiri Kozesnik taking second place with a time of 6:08:17.  Tom Stritzinger took third place crossing the line at 6:14:30 and ends up 4th in the 2018 overall standings

Singlespeed

Wadsworth gets 4th NUE Win claiming NUE series

Singlespeed Podium: 1st-Gordon Wadsworth, 2nd-Marc Engelhardt, 3rd-Chad Davies

Crushing the competition and taking his 4th NUE win for 2018 was Gordon Wadsworth, Blue Ridge Cyclery/Pivot Cycles with a time of 5:00:25. With this win Wadsworth takes the 2018 NUE Epic Singlespeed series with a perfect score of 4.  

About forty-eight minutes back was, Marc Engelhardt, Tasco-MTB, taking the second step at 5:48:17.  Rounding out the podium claiming third place was Chad Davies at 6:16:22.

Full results CLICK HERE

What’s NEXT?!

Click here for the 2019 NUE schedule

Follow the Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles team adventures as we travel and report on cycling around the globe.

Instagram: @pearlizumi_pivotmtb_team, @JenToops, @HanksJen, @shannonboffeli @graciedaze, 

NUE Marji Gesick 50

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NUE Series

Written by: @JenToops

September 22, 2018

The Marji Gesick is a point-to-point endurance race located on the upper peninsula of Michigan. It starts in Marquette and ends in downtown Ishpeming. The one-hundred mile and fifty mile mountain bike races are part of the National Ultra Endurance Series. There is also a one-hundred mile and fifty mile run option. It’s quickly gaining popularity as one of the toughest endurance races in the United States. In 2018 it sold out in less than twenty-four hours with eight-hundred mountain bikers and seventy runners registered. This GPS required race is self supported, and racers are required to collect poker chips at random checkpoints along the course.

The Marquette Ski Hill climb at the start of the 50 mile.

The course was designed to push riders to their absolute limits. The one-hundred milers having around twelve-thousand vertical feet of climbing, and the fifty milers around seven-thousand.  In both courses, racers have to navigate through sand, roots, rocks, off camber climbs, drops, jump lines and technical descents, all while saving enough energy to get through the grueling last fifteen miles.

Racers in the one-hundred mile course finishing under twelve hours for mountain biking, and under thirty hours for runners, will earn the coveted belt buckle handmade by blacksmith Gordon Gearhart. For 2018: three-hundred-thirty-one mountain bikers started the one-hundred mile course, two-hundred-eighteen finished and only nineteen claimed a buckle.  For the one-hundred mile runners: twenty-seven started, twelve finished, and only nine buckles were handed out.

Men’s Open

Tries takes the win and leads NUE series

Chris Tries takes the win in the Marji Gesick Marathon race, finishing with a time of 5:38:05. With this win Tries is now leading the NUE Marathon Series.  “I came into the Marji 50 not really knowing what to expect. I had seen the videos and heard the horror story’s of endless relenting single track. My only race plan was making the lead group and see how things shook out from their since I hadn’t ridden any of the course.  I went hard at the first climb and got a gap and never saw anyone the rest of the day. I felt that I was riding well and had good legs all day but still heard footsteps the whole time.  Lucky I had no mechanicals and was able to take the win. The Marji was my favorite race of the year and hope to make it back again.  Thank you to my sponsor Bike Shop for your support.Matt Myers takes second place finishing at 6:33:25. “Still in disbelief that I actually stood on the podium at Marji. Hands down toughest 50 miles I’ve ever endured. I was with Eli Orth most of the race, he won the SS division and finished second overall. Anyways my best story from the race was when Eli and I came up on two riders and we got stuck behind them for a while. Finally on a decent climb Eli went for the pass, moved slightly off the trail, told the guy he was gonna pass, he didnt move over, Eli ended up hitting a dead pine tree that fell over and nearly took the guy out, Eli made the pass and just crushed. I call him Paul Bunyon, that guy is strong! Eli and I came into the final aid station together, but I never saw him again. Those last 15 miles are as much of a mental grind as a physical one. But crossing the finish line never felt so good. Amazing race, Todd and Danny are sick cats.”

Claiming third, Scott Wolfson finished in 6:50:01. “Never had I gone over my handlebars three times during a race until I met Marji. The climbing was extensive and the start straight up a ski hill a little comical, but it was a beautiful day, the trails were dialed, and for the first 30 miles I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

Then I got tied up between a couple trees and went OHB relatively slowly and uneventfully. A mile or so later I went flying over the handlebars on a fast descent after hitting a piece of fencing that was in the middle of the trail. I hit the ground very hard, but, other than a headache, I and the bike were okay. The fall a mile later sucked all the fun out of the day – it was a fast and technical descent but this time I flew onto a rock field and one squarely hit my right knee, gashing it and swelling it to the size of a softball. And my derailleur was bent two ways – I started riding again, but my chain came off four times until I figured out I could not use my two easiest gears. By that time, I got passed by at least five racers while I was repeatedly prying my chain out of my spokes. I pulled in to the 39 mile checkpoint a wreck, hoping and fully expecting my nurse wife Katie to suggest that I DNF — I planned to reluctantly agree. Instead she gave me some food and said, “Get going, you’re still in the top ten!”

A short time later on the luge hill climb I started cramping, especially when I had to get off my bike to walk it on some of the insane rock climbs. I fought like heck to make every hill from then on. With a couple miles left, spectators kept yelling that a group of racers was only 30 seconds to a minute ahead of me. But I didn’t care. I just wanted to finish. I eventually caught them and passed them up the last few climbs to finish a grateful and unexpected third.

The next NUE race I plan on is the Lumberjack 100. Thank you to KLM Bike & Fitness, Cold Stone Creamery, and my Bike Babe Katie Wolfson!”

Women’s Open

Toops gets back-to-back wins at Marji Gesick

Women’s Podium: 1st-Jen Toops, 2nd: Lisa Randall, 3rd-Ronnie Wick

Defending NUE Marathon Champion, Jen Toops (Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles), wins Marji Gesick 50 with a time of 7:17:17. She now leads NUE Marathon Series going into the final race at Big Bear, CA next weekend.

“This was my second time racing the Marji Gesick 50 mile and I felt prepared.  I just finished a training block and had previous knowledge of the course. I was ready to race and chose to race my Pivot Mach 4 with Continental Cross Kings.

The race starts out on the Marquette ski hill and positions are sorted out early. It was much colder than last year and the conditions were perfect.  On the first downhill I dropped my 100% speedcraft glasses, but I wasn’t about to stop and get them.  I kept going and tried to stay on pace winding through the singletrack and at one point washing out on some loose sand.

Jen Toops crossing the finish line. Photo by Ryan Stephens

About an hour or two into the race a group of guys caught me and were going at a fast pace.  I tried my best to hang on for the ride up the bike path, knowing that any energy saved here would greatly benefit later in the race.  Eventually most of the guys took off and fellow Ohioan, Chuck Boyle and I decided to work together for a while.

Chuck and I rode over half the race together and helped each other navigate and keep each other sane.  The second half of the Marji 50 is by far the hardest. Any matches burned at the beginning of the race will catch up here.  I continued a moderate pace playing it safe on the downhills and pushing the pace on the uphills. The end of the race has a lot of climbing and I saved enough energy to move up a quite a few placings and ride into the finish taking the win in women’s open.

The Marji Gesick is a race not like any other.  The trails are fun, technical and challenging and that’s why I keep coming back.  It’s an adventure and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans Todd and Danny have waiting for next year.”

Photo by Ryan Stephens

Taking second, Lisa Randall crosses the line with a time of 7:54:02. “I did the 100 in 2016 when I was actually in pretty good shape but I’ve had a hard time the past 2 years with my health/personal life so haven’t been able to really train/race again, nor really get back to even what “normal” fitness was. I love this race though, and wanted to just come up and ride the trails because I really enjoy this type of riding. I didn’t want to push too hard for fear of melting down, however just keeping moving this year was tough for me. I’m hoping I can get my health in order so that I can come back and do the 100 again.”

Just a few minutes back from Randall, Ronnie Wick places third in 7:59:59.  “I’ve only been riding bike for 3 years but long enough to have heard about the Marji Gesick.  After checking out the website and watching a few videos, I wanted to ride it.  And I say ride it because other than what I’d seen on social media, I had no idea what to expect.  My goal was to finish  it – intact.

Ronnie Wick takes third place

I thought the 50mi was a great course.  I rode conservatively all day, unsure of what lay ahead.  I had heard a lot of different stories. I dig most terrains to ride and was happy the Marji had a bit of everything.

I’ll be back next year for sure! Being familiar with the course, I’ll be in race mode and leave it all out there! I’m sure, it being the 5th year anniversary, there’ll be some fun challenges!

I don’t have any sponsors.  I’m married with three kids.  I work shift work in an Emergency room as an RN.  I ride my bike whenever I’m able; it makes me smile.”

Master’s 50+

Lundsten takes the win in Master’s

Lundsten wins the Master’s race.

Roger Lundsten gets the top step in the Master’s category and finished with a time of 7:39:08.  Almost an hour back was Paul Tepp taking second in 8:22:39.  Rounding out the Master’s podium was Robert Zimmermann  with a time of 8:47:43.

Singlespeed

Orth takes the WIN and gets second overall!

Singlespeed Podium: 1st-Eli Orth, 2nd-Joshua Blum, 3rd-Yianni Pimenidis

Eli Orth gets back-to-back wins at the Marji 50 mile and takes second place overall with a time of 6:17:43.

“With Marji Gesick being my last NUE race of the season and one of my favorites i was really looking forward to race day. With cool temps i knew there was a good chance of improving on my time from last year. Up the first fire road climb i was surprised to find myself all alone up front with only Chris Tries catching up and passing me before the single track. During the race a wrong turn was made a few times but i quickly realized it and was able to catch those that had got in front of me.

During one of those passes a very memorable moment was when i was going for a pass on the right and my handlebars clipped a tree. I stayed up and kept going but the tree came crashing down next to us..narrowly missing me and at least one other rider!
The majority of the race i spent it just enjoying the trails and the perfect weather and staying consistent.
At the finish i was actually surprised i was 2nd overall on my single speed.. just like we started the race. My goal going in was sub 6:30 with last years time being a 6:50. I easily got it with a 6:17.
This is my last NUE race this year and this off season I’ll decide if I’m going to race the 100 milers or 100k’s next year. More than likely I’ll definitely be doing 100 mile at Marji Gesick next year no matter what.My bike in the race was a Pivot Les with 32×19 gearing using an Absolute Black oval. It was a little changeup from my normal gearing but it worked out good.

About twenty minutes back, Joshua Blum took second place with a time of 6:37:38.  “Ah the Marji Gesick, perhaps the most feared race in the galaxy, or at least the Upper Midwest. How the race took shape for the Half Marji. Metallica was playing at the start, the National Anthem was belted out via Electric Guitar, and we were off up a steep hill (which is fitting). Eli Orth sprinted his SS to the top of Marquette Mtn. We all then descended and settled in. Knowing the course from 2017, I was reluctant to do anything but ride my own pace in fear of the final 15 miles… (Note, staying redlined in the first 40 miles isn’t wise). Unlike 2017, the weather was perfect. Once stopping at the unofficial aid station (Jackson Park, around mile 40) I was greeted by an awesome group of volunteers, known as the “Suffer Crew” they helped refill water, and then I was off for the final 15. At this point I felt great, and knew I was in position to race the final 15 instead of survive the final 15. Upon leaving the Unofficial Aid Station, I was told that I was in 7th place overall for the Half Marji. Awesome! Time to pedal and push the bike. I was able to pass 3 more people in the final 15, and cross the finish line. Crossing the finish line at the Marji might be the best feeling one can have period. My goals for this race were a top 10 finish, and no mechanicals. Both were accomplished, the bonus was a 4th overall, and 2nd in SS. The gearing that was chosen for this race was a Wolftooth Oval 32 tooth ring, and Wolftooth Stainless 20 tooth cog.Thank You’s go out to my wife Rachel for taking care of our kids while I’m gone, Smith’s Bike Shop in La Crosse WI, NOX Composites for building very durable carbon hoops, and having an awesome crew from La Crosse to travel to this race with.

My next planned NUE race is likely the Marji Gesick in 2019. Time just doesn’t allow for more NUE races, as most of my free time away from my job is spent as a volunteer, building & maintaining local trails, and hanging out with my wife & 2 young daughters. At some point I would like to venture east to do another NUE race, as this style of racing is becoming more appealing than the standard XCO type of racing.”

Taking third was Yianni Pimenidis with a time of 7:24:03.

For full results: Click Here

Want to register for 2019 Marji Gesick? Registration opened Oct 13th and sold out in under a few hours. Don’t worry plenty of people back out so Click here to get on the wait list. Danny and Todd are looking to get more women racing. Any women on the wait list get moved into the race automatically! So get registered for 2019!

What’s NEXT?!

On September 29, the NUE Series heads to California for the NUE Championship race at the Grizzly 100k and 75k in Big Bear, California.

Follow the Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles team adventures as we travel and report on cycling around the globe.

Instagram: @pearlizumi_pivotmtb_team, @JenToops, @HanksJen, @shannonboffeli @graciedaze, 

 

NUE Marji Gesick 100

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NUE Series

Written by: @JenToops

September 22, 2018

The Marji Gesick is a point-to-point endurance race located on the upper peninsula of Michigan. It starts in Marquette and ends in downtown Ishpeming. The one-hundred mile and fifty mile mountain bike races are part of the National Ultra Endurance Series. There is also a one-hundred mile and fifty mile run option. It’s quickly gaining popularity as one of the toughest endurance races in the United States. In 2018 it sold out in less than twenty-four hours with eight-hundred mountain bikers and seventy runners registered. This GPS required race is self supported, and racers are required to collect poker chips at random checkpoints along the course.

100 mile bikers starting the 1/2 mile run to their bikes. Photo Ryan Stephens

The course was designed to push riders to their absolute limits. The one-hundred milers having around twelve-thousand vertical feet of climbing, and the fifty milers around seven-thousand.  In both courses, racers have to navigate through sand, roots, rocks, off camber climbs, drops, jump lines and technical descents, all while saving enough energy to get through the grueling last fifteen miles.

Racers trying to stay warm at the cold race start. Photo by Ryan Stephens

Racers in the one-hundred mile course finishing under twelve hours for mountain biking, and under thirty hours for runners, will earn the coveted belt buckle handmade by blacksmith Gordon Gearhart. For 2018: three-hundred-thirty-one mountain bikers started the one-hundred mile course, two-hundred-eighteen finished and only nineteen claimed a buckle.  For the one-hundred mile runners: twenty-seven started, twelve finished, and only nine buckles were handed out.

 

Men’s Open

Jeremiah Bishop goes sub ten and takes the WIN!

Men’s 100 Podium: 1st: Jeremiah Bishop, 2nd: Matt Acker, 3rd: Tinker Juarez

The first racer go sub ten hours and take the win in the 100 mile was, Jeremiah Bishop,  coming in at an impressive time of 9:57:05.

“Marji ate my lunch last year, this year I came loaded for Bear.  I had a much smoother race and made all the selections early on, Matt Aker drove the pace. I put in a dig after clearing the most technical climb of the day and got clear. Legs ached but they answered the call. I nailed the last hour and took back my pride.
It was a honor to take down my last NUE 100 Win on Canyon Topeak Factory Racing.
It’s been a killer season.”

Photo by Ryan Stephens

Following second place finishes in 2016 and 2017, Matt Acker of Salsa Cycles, took second place coming in at 10:06:54.

“I’ve done Marji Gesick since the first year and have good knowledge of the trails so I used that to my advantage to stay on the front and keep the pace quick through the first 40 miles. Our group dwindled shortly after the first aid station and after a well placed attack there were only 4 of us going into the biggest climb of the day. Around mile 50 it was down to just myself, Jeremiah and Tinker. We rode together into mile 65 aid station where i stopped to refuel and the other two got out quickly. Chased them down and the three of us continued to roll until around mile 85 where Jeremiah made a move on a technical climb that Tinker and I got gapped on. We chased into the last aid station at mile 87 where he held about a minute gap. I was the last one out again, and all three of us rolled the last 15 miles solo until i caught Tinker with a mile or so to go at the last climb.  Great race with some fast guys, always a pleasure racing against some legends!”

Finishing less than a minute back was, Tinker Juarez, claming third in a time of 10:07:10.

Women’s Open

Williams gets her first win at Marji Gesick!

Defending NUE Series Champion, Carla Williams, takes the top step with a record time of 12:25:51.

“It was around mile 50 when I knew that my best effort was not going to be good enough. I asked the guy riding next to me through the sand what our chances were to break 12 hours and he shook his head. “Maybe if you gun it through the next 50 miles, you might have a chance.” I knew that it was going to be near impossible to “gun it” through the tight, twisty technical singletrack that lay ahead, and I also knew that the 2nd half of the race was going to be harder and only slower than the 1st half.

I had prepared as best I possibly could for this race. I had read about every blog post out there. I had talked to as many people as I could who had done this race before for advice. I knew that I had to go out hard at the start and hammer every easy trail because I needed to bank time for all the technical slow trail in between. My mom flew out from New Hampshire to spend the weekend with me and run support. She met me at miles 30, 50, 64 and 87 with food and water so I could minimize time stopping. I had the course loaded onto my wahoo, I had a back up charger for the wahoo, I had lights, I had food, I had tools and tubes for all the possible mechanicals that I knew how to fix. I guess it is fair to say that even the best preparation doesn’t really prepare you for this race.

Photo by Ryan Stephens

I didn’t reach my goal of 12 hours, but I am still really happy with my ride. I felt like I pushed the entire way, my legs felt strong, I never mentally broke down or entered a dark place, even when I got lost. I actually had a lot of fun working my way through the trails and was pretty happy with how I rode a lot of the technical stuff. It was awesome having my mom out there, and I kept looking forward to reaching the next spot out on course where I knew she would be. I think that if you accomplish all of your goals in a season, that means you are setting the bar too low. So I am ok with setting myself up for the challenge, giving it my best shot, but coming up 25 minutes short. It was an incredible backcountry adventure and a great end to my 2018 NUE season.

Taking second place, Chelsea Strate, finished in 15:07:30.

“Some of the recurring advice that I heard from past competitors that stuck with me was how it was very important not to get caught up in the fast start of the race, so I took it easy during the LeMans start, and even forgot where I put my bike. I just stood there for a few moments, wondering where the heck my bike was, when finally, my red grips caught my eye. I had actually forgotten I put red grips on, and thought my bike was all black. Oops! I hopped on, pushed myself a little bit, but I didn’t get caught up in where the other women were. There was still 100 miles of racing to go!

All day, I kept thinking to myself, “is killing this uphill or catching that person ahead of me worth burning a match over?” The answer most frequently was a solid “nope.” My matches are a precious commodity. I kept a solid pace, and just tried to keep moving. I hiked my bike up a lot of hills, and didn’t clear all of the technical sections that I probably could have on a shorter ride, but I was in a good headspace, and really enjoyed the constant challenges. By mile 40 I was probably in 5th or 6th place, but by the end I had secured 2nd. I was just a bike throw (2 1/2 hours) behind Carla, the 1st place finisher, with Heidi on my tail (45 min behind), so it sure was a close race! (But in all seriousness, this is why we need to work on getting more women out!) Thanks to Teravail Tires and my friends for the race support!

Rounding out the podium and taking third was, Heidi Coulter in 15:53:35.

“Last year I signed up for the Marji Gesick 50, I was in the running for placing 2nd overall in the NUE Marathon Series.  All I had to do was have a good race.  That slowly slipped away when I got lost, went without water for 3 hours, ate apples from a tree on a long lost farm and finally found my way back to the finish. It was the first and only DNF of my life.  It didn’t sit well with me, so much so that this year I put on my big girl pants and signed up for five 100 mile races!

The day started with the National Anthem played Jimi Hendrix style by the Grim Reaper, fireworks signaled the start of the race and then we were led out by a princess riding a unicorn.  Seriously how could the day get any better!?  I’ll tell you, it actually was incredible until it wasn’t and then it was amazing and then it was painful, gut wrenching and then It was the best day ever all over again.  The day went in waves like that and continued into the night.  The last 18 miles I ended up riding and sometimes walking like a zombie with my friend James Knott. I hadn’t seen him all day and by some sort of unicorn magic he saved the day with his spare light when mine died and helped keep me on course since my Garmin and phone had both been dead for about half the race. Finishing was a huge accomplishment and getting third was a great way to finish my season.  Will I be back? Yep. I’ve landed on my head a lot lately so it’s hard for me to think clearly! The Marji Gesick 100 is truly what dreams and nightmares are made of.”

Master’s 50+

McFadden takes the top step

Todd McFadden wins Master’s 50+

Winning the Master’s division was Todd McFadden with a time of 13:04:35. Taking second, Greg Gentle crossed the line at 13:27:47.

“In 2017 the heat kept me well off the buckle pace with a 14+ hour finish.  My friends that know me were confident I could buckle if I could keep a strong pace, follow a solid nutrition plan and keep the demons off.  Honestly this race isn’t so much about the terrain, but keeping your PMA and  mindset in-check.   I made some smart choices starting dropping 5 pounds off my ride by going with a Canyon Lux CF 9.0 instead of the Ibis Ripley I rode last year.  I was on pace and things were humming well until I left Ishpeming. I could feel the wheels start to come off at about mile 80.  Todd McFadden caught me just before we got back to Negaunee.  I was happy to see him doing well this year.  By the time I started the last section back to Negaunee I realized my buckle aspirations were gone so I decided to finish the race with my buddy Jason Kunisher.  Once I took the pressure off I could simply enjoy the ride and have fun.  Thanks to my bro Jay Henderson from Hollywood Cycles and my Team Hollywood Cycles (THC!) mates for the support throughout the year.  I look forward to crushing that 12 hour limit in 2019.  As for other NUE plans.  I raced the Tatanka in 2016 and plan a return to the Black Hills for an early season prep for the Marji. ”

Just a  minute back from second place, Tom Stritzinger finished third with a time of 13:28:22.

“Marji Gesick is one of my favorite races.  This year the conditions were perfect and I was hoping to have a shot at a belt buckle.  As fate would have it, around mile 48, my seat broke off on a rocky descent.  At first I thought my race was over, however, I was able to fix the seat back on but there was only 1 rail to hold it.  That lasted until mile 55 where the second rail broke off and I was left with no way to secure my seat to the seat post.  I began walking off the course with the seat in my hand, dreading the “quitter” text I would need to send to the race promoters.  A number of racers passed me, saw the seat in my hand, and expressed their encouragement and disappointment to me.  A racer named Justin Michels saw me carrying my seat, stopped and asked me if I wanted his seat so I could finish the race.  He said he really wasn’t feeling it.  We took his seat off and fixed it to my post.  It wasn’t perfect so we had to use some tape to make it fit better.  Finally, I had a seat, thanked Justin profusely and set off to finish the race.  The seat came loose about 10x over the last 45 miles but I was able to finish and somehow managed a 3rd place finish.  I feel like I still have unfinished business at Marji Gesick and will be back next year to take care of it. I did 8 NUE races this year and Marji Gesick is both the most fun and most difficult of them all.  I want to again thank Justin Michels for lending me his seat to finish the race!”

Singlespeed

Fuhrmann takes fifth overall and WINS Singlespeed

Brian Fuhrmann takes fifth overall and wins the Singlespeed division with a time of 10:49:21.

“After several years of not competing on bicycles I decided to drag my lazy carcass off the couch to try out a race called the Marji Gesick 100.  Since I was unfamiliar with the trails and the area I relied on past race results, reports, and word-of-mouth for how to plan my training and bicycle build.  The pre-race consensus was that the last 35 miles were not for the faint of heart and I would need to treat that as the true halfway point.  As such, I adopted the mantra “smooth & steady” for the race and routinely mouthed the words to myself to keep from going too hard early on.

Following the LeMans start, I was sitting around 10th place overall and stayed there for the first 25 miles before latching onto the wheel of Chris Lowry from LaCrosse, WI.  Chris and I were both riding smooth and we helped each other to keep an eye out for the trail markings. When we got to the trail magic station at mile 40, I realized we were already 30 minutes ahead of schedule for my goal of getting a belt buckle… decent!  Chris and I trucked on together until a few miles before the 65ish mile drop bag location when I stopped for some electrolytes and let him continue on with his gears and derailleur.  At mile 65 I reloaded my food reserves and got a quick bite to eat before learning about what the last 35 miles was going to deliver.Much to my surprise, these trails were very similar to my local stash of trails in Decorah.  Where other people were struggling, I found that I was able to thrive. The trails were tight and less flowy such that I had to be a scavenger of momentum.  Around mile 80, I once again met up with Chris along with another chap he was riding with at that time.  I think they both realized I was enjoying my time on these trails and let me by.  I pulled through Jackson Park for the last time at mile 85 and did a quick fill-and-go with the bottles.  The last 15 miles contained many climbs that forced me off the bike, but I continued to think about staying smooth and steady, especially since I was buckle-bound unless something catastrophic was to happen.  Somewhere in these trails, I passed a couple more MG100 racers before making my way to the finish line.

My bike setup was a Trek Stache Carbon 29+ singlespeed with rigid fork.  Gearing was 34:20 with a 29×3.0 tire.Thanks to Route 66 Bicycles in Rolla, MO for help with bike setup, Oneota River Cycles in Decorah, IA for 11th hour wheel building, and my wife Melissa for encouragement, race support, and keeping me from stepping in another racer’s vomit at Jackson Park.”

Joe Worboy finished second with a time of 13:07:48.

“The day started with a Unicorn and the National Anthem.  We started with a Lemans start which I paced myself, I was prepared to start the day at a slower pace than my usual NUE starts.  Marji is a long day and the last 30 miles of this race is tough.  The day started out with the perfect temperature and I quickly settled into a nice 10 mph pace, as planned.  The course is fun at this point and it is the perfect day to be on the bike.  The first 40 miles of the race has plenty of challenge but rewards you will some flow sections.  I split the day into small goals, this helped maintain a positive mental attitude versus thinking about the finish line.  Nutrition was spot on, I use infinite which always gets me through long days in the saddle.

Everything was going great, and then boom!  I hit the ground hard.   It was techy descend after the ski slope climb.  This is where I lost focus for a split second and I went straight over the bars in a techy downhill rock garden.  It felt like I just got hit by Connor McGregor.  This is for real, I am not sponsored in any way by Oakley.  The Oakley Jawbreakers saved the day, without that protection I am pretty sure my day would have been over.  They took the majority of the blow versus my face and cheek bones.  However, I did have some cuts around my eye from the frame impact that caused bleeding and my hand took a big hit, later to find out it is only a deep bruise.  I asked a passing rider if the cuts looked ok and if he thinks the bleeding will stop, he said, “Can’t see the bone so you should be good, but I am not a doctor.”  This was refreshing to hear….  So I kept going,  I must have looked like Rocky after fighting Apollo because there were a lot of comments.   I knew to complete the day I must stay focused and push through.  I was still riding but at a much slower pace trying to actively recover on the bike, this is not easy at the marji and hit the ground a few more times because I was not riding my usual speed.

Finally I made it to the Aide at mile 65 about one hour off my pace goal.  One of the volunteer nurses cleaned me up, thank God for her.  I am very appreciative of this because she confirmed my hand was ok and cleaned up my cuts.  Mentally I was back to 100% and feeling strong again.  I also saw my son, Mikey Worboy.  This was awesome!  We had a waffle, peanut butter, whip cream sandwich together.  Totally coincidental, he just happened to be coming through the same aid for the 2nd time to complete the 50 miler.  It was so cool to see him and knowing he is doing well was refreshing.

My energy was really good now, I was back on pace and caught up to single speeder, Joe Stroz, my NUE rival this year.  We chatted for a minute to compare battle stories then separated.  To his defense, he had some bike issues with  that caused him some time and riding on a broken saddle is not easy.  He would of never let me leave his sight otherwise.

I finished the day in 2nd overall in Men’s Open SS on my Pivot Les 34:21.  I will be back in 2019 for my third attempt for the Buckle.  I would like to thank friends and family that supported all the my training efforts. Especially my wife, Nicolette.  So hon, doing this one again!  She is so supportive, big thanks to her.  Warp Speed Training coach, Steve Clement, Wheelie Fun Bike Shop, Trailer Park Racing Team, North High Brewing, Grandview Pro Fitness, Hatfied RV that provided support.”

Taking third was, Regis Ricketts, finishing at 13:17:44.

For full results: Click Here

Want to register for 2019 Marji Gesick? Registration opened Oct 13th and sold out in under a few hours. Don’t worry plenty of people back out so Click here to get on the wait list. Danny and Todd are looking to get more women racing. Any women on the wait list get moved into the race automatically! So get registered for 2019!

What’s NEXT?!

On September 29, the NUE Series heads to California for the NUE Championship race at the Grizzly 100k and 75k in Big Bear, California.

Follow the Pearl Izumi/Pivot Cycles team adventures as we travel and report on cycling around the globe.

Instagram: @pearlizumi_pivotmtb_team, @JenToops, @HanksJen, @shannonboffeli @graciedaze,