Shenandoah Mountain 100

Race Report from Aaron Albright:

I raced the Shenandoah Mtn 100 on August 31st and had a blast. I have done many road bike rides that were 100+ miles in length and involved over 10,000 ft. of climbing, but never anything like that on my mtn bike or in a race situation. I had one attempt at another National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series race at the Wilderness 101 just a month prior to this, but unfortunately crashed out at mile 30 and had to get a few stitches in my face to get fixed back up. So going into the Shenandoah my first goal was to simply stay safe and finish the race, but my day had much more in store for me!

As with any race, the start is a little hectic with everyone scrambling for position near the front (especially when there are over 500 riders). I stayed mid- front of the pack, just conserving energy and finding a group with a pace that was comfortable. I tried to hold my efforts back for the first half of the race, then burn my matches in the second half, just to be sure I wouldn't end up "cracking" before the finish. (there was over 13,000 feet of elevation to be climbed throughout the race) The strategy proved to work out well, as I made a lot of passes going up the 18 mile "Death Climb" as they call it, around mile 60-80. The pack was very spread out by this point, and I rode mainly by myself from the top of that climb back to the finish. I rolled in at 8 hours 30 minutes, for 30th overall and 25th in Open Men which I was very happy with!

The most valuable thing I received this weekend was experience, as with these 100 mile races there is quite a bit of strategy involved. Now that I know what to expect for future 100 milers, I can better prepare myself and finishing results will keep improving. The next thing on my schedule is the Pisgah Stage race in North Carolina, September 22-27. It is 5 days of mtn bike racing totaling 140 miles and over 20,000 ft of climbing! Ride on!