Due to the abysmal winter we have been having here in South Central Alaska and pretty much the rest of Alaska too, thanks El Nino. This years Su100 course was fast, very fast. Where as on last years course we ended up walking longer sections at the start and middle, this year there very few walking sections, I think in the whole course I may have walked maybe 1/2 a mile.
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| Lining up for the start |
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| Me at the start, row 3 I think. - Photo credit Amanda Blades |
From the book of faces about the above picture "Mmm? Game face, game face,did I leave the stove on face, do I have enough food face.... Oh there's Nick. Go get 'em, Tiger!" ~ Brianne Irons
The race started off fast on some well used trails out of Happy Trails Kennels (HTK). Martin Buser, owner of HTK, was unable to be there personally this year due to a tragic family situation. He has been, and remains a huge supporter of the Su100 (happily letting hundreds of people overrun his property for days), and if you would be interested in helping his family out, everyone involved in this race would be very grateful (link to help). Due to the low snow, the trails were a little bumpier than last year but had more ice in the make up of the trail surface and as such were even faster.
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| Paceline |
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| more pace line |
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| Yes thats a helicopter with someone taking photos of us. |
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| Me and the line ahead - Photo credit Ryan Greeff |
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| And me with the line behind me |
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| Ryan on one of the short pushing sections |
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| Andrew pushing one of the hills, one off all off |
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| me looking ahead again one off all off |
Due to the fast trail conditions after 20miles of racing we were all still in big groups when we arrived at the first checkpoint at Point Mackenzie Road, we actually had to que to get into the checkpoint, I really should plan my bathroom breaks better as I stopped pre checkpoint (Lesson #1).
After leaving the checkpoint ahead of some but behind a train of people I wanted to ride with and realising I may be on my own for a while (last year it was 80miles solo) I tried to put some music on, after attempting to do this whilst riding I eventually stopped and found my MP3 player, the player decided it didn't want to work grrrrrr, frustrated at the loss of time I jumped back on the bike and set off again only to realise I was hungry so I ended up stopping again a little further up the trail to get some food which was reluctant to come out of my bag. I really should know better and have sorted this out whilst at the checkpoint (lesson number 2 learned).
I continued along the trail and caught up with Andrew who had leap frogged me whilst I was messing around.
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| flat and fast before the turn onto the seismic line |
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| cruising with Andrew |
Realising we were riding at different paces I chose to push on and let Andrew ride his own race.
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| On the seismic line, onto the next people see you later Andrew. |
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| The next two people to catch |
I arrived at Flathorn checkpoint just as Marc, Christina, Stephen and Andy Pohl were leaving, I planned to try and catch them up by the finish of the race.
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| Me arriving at Flathorn lake checkpoint - Photo credit Oscar Lage |
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Chuck and Oscar there who came to see some of the racers, after a quick stop Oscar and Chuck joined me for the ride to the Susitna.
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| Chuck and Oscar, Flathorn lake |
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| Chuck and Oscar following me |
I caught up a couple of guys going across dismal swamp and then took a comfort break before dropping onto the Su. Here the two guys I had passed overtook me again, then before I got going again a train of 5 people passed me. I set off onto the Su river and was very thankful I was able to ride it all rather than like last year push most all the way to Scary tree, I worked really hard to catch the groups ahead of me.
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| the seven people in sight |
The group of two I caught fairly easily the group of five not so much.
I seemed to be riding around the same speed then I saw another group ahead of them. The group picked up the pace and caught up with the other group and their pace went up from around 12mph to over 13mph. I was sure I wouldn't catch them, then some of them took a comfort break after some soft snow, I seized my chance and made it up to them and actual ended up rolling into 5* checkpoint in second position in the group. A quick refuel for me and I left most of the group chatting and refueling.
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| Andy and Marc who I rode the next 20miles with |
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| Rolly Creek trail |
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| Willow Swamp Marc setting the pace. |
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| Willow Swamp following Marc |
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| Willow Swamp |
Next stop was Eagle Quest where I had my groupies waiting for me, thanks Amanda, Angie and Fiona. It really lifts my spirits to have them waiting for me, even though I only see them for a couple of minutes. You girls rock.
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| Fiona coming to see me - Photo Credit Amanda |
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| Kisses for Daddy - Photo Credit Amanda |
Another quick stop and I was into the final 40miles, I rode with Andy Pohl and Marc for around 4 miles then were joined by Stephen, Christina and one other. As we turned on the Big Swamp I took a much better line than everyone and continued my pace, looking back I realised I had dropped everyone. I continued on to Cow Lake checkpoint at a lower pace thinking I people would catch up with me. Most did, although only as I was leaving the checkpoint.
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| Big swamp riding |
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| a steady 10+ mph |
Whilst riding on the Su river on my own before I caught up with Christina, Marc and Andy P at 5star tent camp I had been doing some maths and realised if I really tried I could potentially break 10 hours for the ride, I chose not to push the pace too early and see what time I arrived at Cow Lake checkpoint. Just after the Cow lake checkpoint the 100mile route joins the 50km route and the first 4ish miles of the trail tends to get pretty chewed up, its hilly, not well used and then a lot of traffic of all abilities travel through during the 50km race, I had been warned this was the case this year. Fortunately for me the rim and tyre choice and my light body weight allow me to ride where some others can't without airing down. I set off at a steady pace and amazingly only had to walk one hill. Between Cow Lake checkpoint and the final checkpoint I passed four people, two of whom rode with me to the finish.
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| playing chase the rider |
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| on the way back before the last checkpoint. |
From the final checkpoint I pushed the pace as much as I could to ensure I would make sub 10 hours. The two people who joined me were Gary Baumgartner and Brian Waite, although I didn't learn their names until we finished, yes I was trying that hard.
Gary thanks for the kind words,
"Nick, thank you for the support!!! You could have finished even faster, but you stopped to give me a salt tablet when I was helplessly cramping and then pulled me and Brian into the finish. You Rock!!! You are my pick for the sportsmanship award.. Thank you.”
I really hope if the situation was reversed you or someone else would do the same for me, what goes around comes around.
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| Hugs from Fiona, I love this :) - Photo Credit Amanda |
That was my Su 100 for 2016 - I finished in 9hours 42min and 17seconds, which is 5hrs 44min 30seconds faster than last year, I also finished two places higher overall.
I am super happy with that time!
Could I have improved it?
Possibly
By getting into and through checkpoint #1 a little smoother and perhaps linking up with some people instead of riding solo for a good chunk from checkpoint 1 to 5 Star tent camp I could have potentially shaved a little time from my overall time however I may also have blown up by riding too fast too early.
My food and water strategy this year seemed to work out really well, I planned to stop as little as possible at checkpoints and only really get water from them, for the time I did I had way too much food however if conditions had been like last year I think my food would have been about right.
Congratulations and thanks
Firstly congratulations to all the winners your times were seriously fast. Well done Tim, Megan, Cole, Jan, Dave and Teri.
Next well done also to all who completed the event, even though the conditions were favourable you all rode, skied or ran 100miles which is outstanding!
Finally for the event side, thanks to the organisers and volunteers who make this event what it is, see you all next year.
From a personal side I don't think I can ever thank my wife enough for all that she does to help me with the riding but she does way more than she realises.
I also wouldn't be anywhere near as comfortable as I am riding these long distances without all the rides my friends join me on, so thank you all!
Thanks for reading all, Cheers!
