Breckenridge 100 Report

Nate and I traveled down to Breckenridge, CO this past weekend with our friend Gabe for the Breckenridge 100, the 4th event in the National Ultra Endurance Race Series. I had only decided a week prior that I was crazy enough to do this race on a whim. I have been training for and very much enjoying the NMBS series (xc and short track) so this race was simply for the "experience" and for "training."

When I started to get into the nitty-gritty of planning, that's when it hit me: I miss this type of racing! Geeking out with maps, planning for each loop, packing feed bags, totaling calories, carbohydrates, protein and electrolytes for each loop brings out the ultra-nerd in me. My game plan was to not have a game plan. I didn't know the course, I hadn't trained for the distance and I simply couldn't predict what was going to happen over the 100 miles. I just had to see how my body felt and work with it.

5:30 am gathering at our support tent before the start. Yes, everyone is smiling for a reason.

The race kicked off at 6am and sent us off on 3 loops around Breckenridge. The scenery was stunning, especially topping out on Wheeler Pass (about 12,400 feet) at 7:15am, and the riding was challenging. All in all, it was just shy of 14,000 feet of climbing. There were endless sections of rocky and rooty singletrack all over the course which made for slow going. What made for even more slow going was the lack of course markings.

I have a lot of respect for race organizers and all the hard work they put into their events. Yet I must say, this was the most poorly marked course I have ever ridden. There were countless times where I was not sure if I was lost or not for 15-20 min. at a time. The worst sections were during loop 2. There were screaming downhills where, had they been marked or if I had known the course, I could have opened it up and made up some time. Instead, I spent all that time on the breaks, slowing for every intersection, wondering if I was still on course. Not so fun. This happened frequently throughout the day. Course knowledge would have been an advantage in this race. But I digress....to my other complaint, the pro women's payout.

If I sound like I am complaining, I am. Not about the amount but about the fact that the men and women were not paid equally. This is all too common in this sport. We were paid less and the men were paid 5 deep and the women were only paid 3 deep. The race website had the audacity to post an update one week before the race saying "Come on women, there is $$$ to be had!" trying to encourage more of us to sign up. I think the # 1 way to tell women that a race doesn't value their participation is to tell them in advance that you are going to pay the men more to win.

Here's the easy solution: start the base payout to both sexes as equal, then do a scaled percentage of payback of entry fees based on how many people show up. This way, men will always get paid more (duh) but it tells the few of us ladies that do show up that we are, in the race promoters mind, working just as hard out there over 100-miles as the men and that we deserve to be rewarded just like the men. Okay, I digress again....

Going along with my conservative approach to this event, I chose to ride my full suspension Racer-X, a set of 2.1 UST Kenda Karmas, a set of Ergon GX1 grips and carry a 70 oz. Hydrapak. I was going for comfort and happily took the weight penalty. My Racer-X with UST tires is a full 3.5 lbs heavier than my Fireline, but I never once regretted my choice. This bike is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me. I cruised through all the technical, gnarly sections and though it was more to carry on all the long climbs, my body has never felt this good after such a long, tough event. I had the usual soreness in the balls of my feet, lower back and of course, in my legs, but it was nothing like past races where I chose to ride a hardtail. Racer-X, I LOVE YOU!!

Me and the best bike on the planet at the finish!

I'll save you all from the play-by-play of a 100-mile event, but here's the important stuff:

• I finished in 10hours 21 minutes 49 seconds. It was good enough for 14th place overall, 2nd place female (by 13 minutes....grrrrr, being lost on loop 2 stunk) 1st place in my age category.

• I felt good the entire time. Really good. I felt the best from hour 7-10, which was a huge surprise to me. I rode conservatively the entire time and in retrospect, could have ridden harder, earlier. Oh well. I was just nervous not knowing what my body would do at hour 6 -11.
  

• Nate, as always, was the best support person ever. Although he missed my first go-through at the 1st aid station, it was totally my fault. I came through a full 25. min faster than I had predicted. He helped more racers throughout the day than he could count, packed up the hotel room for Gabe and I while we warmed up and even got in a 2 hour ride on the Peaks Trail in the afternoon. Then, he bought a case of 24 oz PBRs and kept Gabe awake until 2:15 am with my brother in law finishing it off. THANKS hubby!

• It was the first endurance race where I had not a single digestive issue the entire time. It was also the first endurance race where I never bonked or had a significant dip in energy. I fueled entirely on Powerbar products. Power Gels, Endurance Drink and Powerbar Performance bars kept my engine running cleanly the entire time. In the past I had relied on a variety of Hammer products and they just never worked quite correctly for me.
  

• The course was hard, but not the hardest 100-miler I have ever done (that's between the E100 and the Creampuff). The most challenging part was stressing about staying on course.

• Did I mention how I am totally obsessed with my Racer-X? It is the PERFECT 100-mile race bike!

I can't wait for the next one!