Christian Burrell enjoys a moment of quiet contemplation after finishing the Wasatch Back 50. Your first endurance race will be quite an education.
For those about to suffer, we salute you.Let's pretend you're in the middle of a cross-country mountain bike race. And the race officials
go to a movie and forget you're out there. So you just keep riding and riding. Now you're dehydrated
and exhausted and cramping. But you keep going. That's endurance racing.
Surviving the Endurance Race
Checking in. Most endurance races require you to pick up your race number and packet the day before. With an early morning start, there are just too many racers and too little time to do morning-of check-in.
Endurance races may be defined by either time or distance. For example at Six Hours of Frog
Hollow you'll ride laps around the race loop. The winner is the rider who's done the most laps
when time expires. There are also 12-hour and 24-hour races. Longer races are often relays,
as team members trade off.Other races, for example the Draper Fall Classic, have a defined distance to complete. The
race is over when you cross the finish line, whether that's 4 hours or 7 hours.
Like cross-country races, most endurance races will offer categories that match you against racers of similar ability, age, or gender. There may even be a half-a-race option for those who aren't ready to go the distance.
Endurance races also vary significantly in technical requirement. True Grit in St. George serves
up some very technical rock riding. Crusher in the Tushar is more of a leg-and-lung contest
on dirt roads at altitude.By the time you consider trying an endurance race, you should be well-acquainted with your
own strengths and weaknesses.
Your legs will need to last a long time. It's hard to get the right type of training on mountain
trails. Consider training on a road bike. If you can routinely do road rides of 50 miles --
while constantly in your training zone -- you're probably ready from a leg-and-lungs standpoint.If the course is a point to point (instead of a loop with multiple laps) you may need to break
up the pre-ride. That means two or even three rides on different days. Some racers choose only
to pre-ride selected technical sections.
