Marathon series #2 - Mansfield

[jcr1]

It's on for #2 race in Mansfield on Sunday June 14th. Who's in?

[thedumbopinion]

JC, as you know I’m in for sure. Do you think we can get Tom to drive us again?

I’ve been feeling great on the bike lately so I believe that I can have a good result (good for me). Obviously not a podium spot (or anything close) but I’m going to try and be aggressive.

[jcr1]

Good for you Jeff. The opposite for me, I have not been feeling really good on the bike lately. This wednesday 8 X 12 will determine my physical status. I will talk to Tom on wednesday and see about car pooling. See you on Wednesday

[nogearshere]

the TECHNICAL GUIDE that details starts and other stuff is still HORSESHOE...anyone care to confirm that the times and details of the clocular sort are accurate?

[Matt 24 solo]

Nothing updated on the site at this time. I had it on the schedule but I'm going to pass this weekend and spend time down at Albion on the 24 hour course. Looks like the weather will be perfect for the race. Complete opposite of the first race. Have fun

[osokolo]

i wanted to race this one, at mansfield, but the lack of info is disappointing... i may have to pass and spend the time in the road saddle...

[menard]

Ill be there with bells on. I may even eat properly during the race so I don't blow up, Horseshoe completely destroyed me.

[serious]

I think I am going to give this race a shot. I may not be really ready for 70km rides, but I am not that far off either. So I sent an e-mail to Dan last week about the race and here is his response:

Hi Tom, the final stats on the course will be available for Monday as we are improving the course a little from last year. It will be around 70km, and around 3000-5000 feet of climbing for the full marathon. The schedule is the same as the one posted for the first race under technical guide. Hope that helps. We look forward to seeing you at the race.
Dan

So to answer nogearshere's clocular question, looks like the stats are the same.

[nogearshere]

thanks serious.
i am in...in so much as i plan to show up and register day-of.

craig barlow can suck it.

[Ricksom]

Originally Posted by serious

So I sent an e-mail to Dan last week about the race and here is his response:

Sometimes you have to put more faith into a person than into a website......

[nogearshere]

Originally Posted by Ricksom

Sometimes you have to put more faith into a person than into a website......

Skepticism is the beginning of faith.
Oscar Wilde

[Pizza_Royale]

Originally Posted by nogearshere

craig barlow can suck it.

Ooohh...biting off a piece of the Original "Big Ring" (as opposed to one of his many degenerate poseurs) with a bit of late 90's pop culture. Nicely spoken.

Mr. Barlow, you got served. Would you care to respond?

[substanceprojects]

Hey everyone, sorry about the delay in posting the technical guide, but my web guy is apparently a little slow....

here it is.
Sorry the formating will be crap, just a copy and paste from the original, but I want the info out there.
See you at the race. If anyone wants to help there are a few trees down and some leaf blowing going on. Let me know
Dan


2009 Ontario Marathon Challenge #2
Mansfield Outdoor Centre Technical Guide

Contents

Schedule
Course Description
Medical / Hospitals
Event Rules
Equipment Rules
Directions


Schedule

8 am Registration opens
9:30 am Registration closes for both races
9:45 am Rider briefing
10 am Marathon start
10:15 or 10:30 am Half marathon start
12:30 pm Anticipated first finish half marathon
1:30 pm Anticipated first finish marathon
3:30 pm Awards
5 pm Course closes


Course Description

Marathon: The marathon course consists of a 15km start loop, followed by a 63km loop with approximately 4000m of climbing and descending for a total distance of 78.5km. It is fast flowing and fun all the way. There are a few sustained climbs; however the course is mostly rolling. Feed zones will be at 18.5 km, 37.5 km and 60.5 km.

Half Marathon: The half marathon course will consist of a 38km loop with approximately 1000m of climbing. Skipping the long sustained climbs and technical descents of the full marathon course, the half marathon will be fun and filled with single track. The feed zone will be at 21 km.


First Aid/Medical

The Emergency Action Plan Co-ordinator will be responsible for first aid/medical decisions. She will be located at the timing area near the start/finish.

If you are injured on course and need assistance, please notify another competitor. If you see someone in need of medical assistance, please stop and lend help as you are able and note the location on course and notify the next course marshal (located at each feedzone).

Substance Projects staff are prepared to assist the evacuation of an injured participant. If the injury occurres in a single-track section, the rider will be carried to the nearest appropriate double-track area and brought back to the start/finish area via an all-wheel drive vehicle, and then transported to the nearest hospital.

The nearest hospital to the race site is the Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston on Fletcher Cres.


Event Rules

The race will be held under the event rules of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) and the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) with the exception of inclusion of a start loop. For a full list of rules see the Ontario Cycling Association (OCA) web site.

All riders must follow the course as marked and must not cut any single track sections. All riders must respect the venue and the trails and endeavour to not damage or pollute the venue.

Riders who do not complete the race must notify an official of their withdrawal from the event. Any search and rescue costs will be the sole responsibility of the rider.

Riders must respect other trail users. The course is not a closed race course.

There is no mechanical assistance during the race.


Equipment Rules

Bikes must meet safety criteria as defined by UCI standards.
Riders must wear a helmet at all times.
Any riders needing specific medication (e.g. for asthma, allergies, etc.) are advised to carry it with them during the race and to take any necessary precautions.


Directions

Take Highway 400 to the exit at Highway 89 (Cookstown). Proceed west on Highway 89 through the towns of Cookstown and Alliston until you meet Airport Road (also known as Dufferin County Rd 18). Turn north and go approximately 10km to the sign for Mansfield Outdoor Centre on the right side. Turn into the driveway and continue to the end. Registration is in the main chalet.

[serious]

I don't know about the rest of you crazy people, but when I saw 4000 meters (13,200 feet) of elevation change for the marathon I nearly fainted. We don't do this kind of climbing in the hardest O-Cups. And this is much harder than the 7000 feet of elevation change over 55km that Horshoe had.

Any comments to calm me down?

[substanceprojects]

Don't worry. That is based on Garmin. those things catch every ripple. Also, there are a few tough climbs, but it is mostly rolling. Keep off the brakes and you will roll up the other side most of the course. I rode it and it is fun. You will feel challenged and be able to brag, but it is a fun ride. I loved designing this course.

If you are really concerned, the half marathon avoids the major climbs and has a lot of fun flowing single track. Give it a try. the course is one lap, but it loops back close to the start a few times. you can bail if you need to. (I admit I am biased though!)

[thedumbopinion]

Marathon is a different animal then OCup. Its a completely different kind of pain.

After Horseshoe I'm loving the 4000m with rolling hills. Sustained climbs are fun. It'll be a great day. Bring the Misfit and get ready to party. Mansfield is a great SS track.

[Barley]

Originally Posted by nogearshere

thanks serious.
i am in...in so much as i plan to show up and register day-of.

craig barlow can suck it.

[nogearshere]

Originally Posted by Barley

pffft

good one Francis...

[serious]

Thanks guys for the encouragement. I am ready to party. I will do the full marathon on the SS.

Hopefully Barley and nogearshere will take each other out and let me move up 2 places. KIDDING !!!

[Barley]

Looking forward to seeing the dark (ahem . . . gay) lord this weekend

[nogearshere]

Originally Posted by Barley

Looking forward to seeing the dark (ahem . . . gay) lord this weekend

VICTORY BARSOLOW!

[thedumbopinion]

Who says there's something missing from these forums?

[racergurl]

Originally Posted by serious

I don't know about the rest of you crazy people, but when I saw 4000 meters (13,200 feet) of elevation change for the marathon I nearly fainted. We don't do this kind of climbing in the hardest O-Cups. And this is much harder than the 7000 feet of elevation change over 55km that Horshoe had.

Any comments to calm me down?

Serious, you slap those arse cheeks of yours on that bike seat and get to that start line on Sunday. If I can't ride it, you have to and I want to hear all about it after.

[serious]

racergurl: Serious, you slap those arse cheeks of yours on that bike seat and get to that start line on Sunday. If I can't ride it, you have to and I want to hear all about it after.

Now I could not back out of this thing if I my life depended on it.

[want to ride]

This series sounds like fun....
Sooner or later I'd like to test myself on a race like this.
This kind of event suits on me ,I'm not a really fast rider but I can climb (hopefully I'm not overrating my abilities ) , I think I have the endurance..
My bike is a Specialized Enduro '08 weights around 29 pounds so it's not the lightest.
What do you think guys?
Am I thinking wrong?
Should I start somewhere else?

[nogearshere]

Originally Posted by want to ride

Am I thinking wrong?
Should I start somewhere else?

take your longest ride and multiply it by 1.25...if you're around either the half or full...have at it!

[Pizza_Royale]

That's way too much math. Just hop on the bike and see what happens. At Copeland, there were some that were treating it as an adventure rather than a race. Bring your camelback, fill it with beer and twinkies, and see what happens.

The way I figure, it you race it hard and finish in 3 hours it's going to hurt. If you take your time and ride for 5 it's also going to hurt. So, either way it's got the makings of a great day on the bike.

[serious]

nogearshere: take your longest ride and multiply it by 1.25

Yes that should definitely do it. I am not quite there, but it is close enough. My longest ride this year is 50km off road (no road rides at all this year). Not ideal, but manageable.

I wonder what gearing I should use. Right now I am set on 32:19 (29er), which worked well for me on O-Cup courses, What are other SS riders using?

[nogearshere]

Originally Posted by serious

I wonder what gearing I should use. Right now I am set on 32:19 (29er), which worked well for me on O-Cup courses, What are other SS riders using?

being that my inherent laziness is stronger then my desire to truly 'compete' i will be running 32:19 onnacounta that's what's currently installed.

[serious]

Thanks Peter, I think I will stick with the same. I am a poor spinner, so 32:20 would drive me nuts.

[want to ride]

Originally Posted by Pizza_Royale

That's way too much math. Just hop on the bike and see what happens. At Copeland, there were some that were treating it as an adventure rather than a race. Bring your camelback, fill it with beer and twinkies, and see what happens.

The way I figure, it you race it hard and finish in 3 hours it's going to hurt. If you take your time and ride for 5 it's also going to hurt. So, either way it's got the makings of a great day on the bike.

I'll do that!
Right now I don't have fork and shock on my bike...
My last ride was more than 3 hours at 3 Stage with 25 km overall and I would say 95 % of that was on singletrack.
I'll see...

[thedumbopinion]

Not a great race report but I'm exhausted.

I'm not really sure what to say to open this up. It was painful thats for sure. It was tougher then Horseshoe, maybe not as mentally taxing but the distance made it tougher. About 90 minutes into the race I realized it was going to be a 6hr. day in the saddle. My plan from that point forward was to cut as much time from that as I could. I finished 5hr 32min just a but more then an hour behind the leaders (or so they tell me).

The opening climb was the typical Mansfield opener. The same one I had climbed about 6 times in one weekend not to long ago. On the way up I was feeling good, the confidence was there as larger packs were formed. I passed an SCCC rider right at the top, settled in, caught my breath, then attacked a few riders to try and move up early. It worked well as I got ahead of about 6 in the next 1k. For the next 30minutes I managed to found a nice rhythm and began to focus forward on the long haul.

I'm not sure what happened at the 10k mark. Suddenly I had no energy, I had nothing in my legs to push with. I was having trouble with even the smallest grade, I was off my bike often and had 6, 8 10 people passed me. I think maybe the heat was getting to me as I was having trouble breathing. Leaving the first feed station I stayed with 3 riders for a bit but let them go. No energy.

At around 22k I was ready to call it a day. I was sick of it, I didn't want to suffer for 4 more hours. If I actually knew where I was and how to get back, I would have gone. The only thing I knew to do was ride to the next feed station. Along the way I remembered something young Andrew Decal told me in the car on the way up. "In a long race like this, even if you are feeling bad, things can turn around". And that was exactly what I was hoping for. I needed energy and reached in the pocket to pull out the highly recommended Berry Blast Fruit Smoothie Powerbar. If it wasn't for this bar I might be dead right now laying in the woods. It hit the spot perfect and I began to ride strong.

I had great flow. I had power for the climbs and I was getting hungry. It might be strange to think hunger in a race is a good thing but it helped me feel normal. Beside I had a s**t load of food in my back pockets. I just ate as necessary and kept rollin'.

I arrived at the 2nd feed zone to find the three riders that dropped me as well as three more. Filled the water and was off. Sitting here now I still can believe how strong I was riding. It was 40 straight km of pushing, getting out to the saddle and CX'ing log obsticles. More importantly I just had rhythm, I was in the perverbal 'zone'.

I crossed a marshal who said 15k to go and felt a light splatter of rain, then a littler more and more still. Then it began to pour which only meant wet hands and faster ground. I love riding in the rain and I threw on the gloves so I would not crash due to a slip of the hands. I also remembered to keep eating and drinking the last 15k ain't gonna be easy.

The closing 15k loop was nearly the same as the opening 15k loop. The same one that I found so difficult and began to feel like **** on 5hrs ago. I challenged myself to finish strong and was almost capable of doing so but I got a sharp pain in my achilles (must be the bike setup). So sore that I could barely turn the pedal over. I had a few tough km's in there. The long gradual double track climb was painful but I found the secret when the trails became steep. Getting out of the saddle to push. This helped me get up the short and long, steep climbs.

Same finish as the 8hr, down the gravel path to the start finish line. I zipped up the new Trailhogs jersey and crossed the finishline with my hand in the air. Unfortunately the photographer was sitting down chatting and was late in getting the photo opp. Oh well. Theres always next weekend.

Highlights include:

1. Andrew Decal coming in 3rd overall
2. Climbing, twice, the long gradual climb with the steep ending followed by that technical climb that was used at the end of the 8hr. loop. JC loves it more then ever.
3. Recovering the $200 glasses I left at feed station #3.
4. 500m (at least) walk-up through a narrow, leaf covered trench. Ouch.Why?
5. Electrolite tablets.
6. Not only no mechanicals but my bike arrived home almost a clean as it left. I don't know how thats possible but it is.

I guess I finished mid-pack. At least thats where they told me I was at the last feed station. We'll see what the standings say.

[Dgage]

I know the leaf covered trench that your talking about. I rode it Saturday and I thought the same thing. WHY?

[jcr1]

Good race report Jeff. Race started really well for me, stuck behind the lead group for a while and after they dissapear kept riding fairly strong. I think at about 30km, I took a wrong turn and went down a long downhill, at the bottom I started to notice arrows coming the other way, kept going for a few minutes and turn back to the bottom of the climb where I noticed a rider with a cycles solution jersey coming down the same hill. After a brief chat, we decided to go back up that hill and hopefully find our way back to the course. We did get back on the course and later found out I Iost about 10 spots.

I was done mentally, I was so pissed off however I started telling myself that I still had 45km to catch up and got riding a bit better. I start passing whole bunch of peoples that I did not remember seeing earlier and finally reach some familiar faces (or jersey I should say). From there, kept riding strong on the wide open section and suffered all the way to the finish line. It was a hard race physically, some fairly long climb and push a bike section. Got to the finish line in 7th place

Congrats to everybody and hope more rider will show up for the next race in Ganaraska. Dan congrats on the course, it was once again fun and challenging. I now have to go stretch because I can barely move.

[serious]

I was a little disappointed with the race. I was disqualified for missing part of the section between the first and second feed station. I was not alone, since 2 other guys I met had the same problem.

I (and another lost soul) arrived at the second feed station leading everyone. Except that we had only 21.5 km and it was the 37.5km feed station. I was very disappointed, but I decided to make it a training run and go for the remainder of the course. The person who arrived with me decided to wait for his friends. Maybe I should have waited too, but I was feeling great and wanted to just ride. Therefore I spent the rest of my day all alone. I passed 2 other riders that told me they were also lost.

The rest of the race was incident free, although I often wondered if I am going in the right direction. Fortunately the arrows appeared before my panic took over.

Finally I came to the last feed station and felt really good about doing the last leg of the race. There I was passed by the leaders of the race. These 2 guys were a full hour ahead of me. WOW.

Although I screwed up, I did manage to cover 62km and I was out there for a bit over 4 hours. I would have need more than one hour to cover that extra 16km, so I am sure I would not have finished the full course in under 5 hours (which was my goal).

As for the course, it was a little tougher than I expected. Some of the doubletrack sections were very rough on my rigid bike. There were some singletrack sections that were beyond amazing. And there a couple of hike-a-bike sections that left me gasping for air. Best of all, the weather was fantastic!

[racergurl]

Nice race reports all!

That sucks that you got lost, serious. At least you kept a positive attitude about it though. It was still a great day to ride! Think you'll do another one?
I'm glad I sat this one out. I've got no "legs" left at all right now.

[serious]

racergurl,

I am not sure I will do another race. When I race, I don't like to worry about getting lost, seing nobody for hours, wondering if I am ever going to reach the feed station because I am running out of water. I prefer racing to be predictable, not an adventure.

Nevertheless, I might do Ganaraska because I am a sucker for a challenge.

[garage monster]

About how many racers were out there? It sounds like the course marking could use some improvement if that many people got off track.

[g-t-]

I thought the course markings where good, in pretty much every enduro I have ever done there are a few people that get lost ( happened to me at Horseshoe ) but I think that is a combo of me not paying attention. Although I did hear that a marshall on Sunday may have given a few guys the wrong info on course ?

The only thing I did not like on yesterdays was all the double track. I would prefer the shorter mostly singletrack one loop ( no starting loop x 2 ) course.

Dan is very open to ideas and I think he would listen to comments people have. I was pleased to see such a large turn out for this and some of those trails where magic. It is hard to tape mark that much trail if not near impossible given the multi use forest. I liked the 2 arrow and the x format. Some of the downed tape was a bit confusing though and should have been removed.

I liked the W.O.W Pine River Ramble Mansfield course over yesterday's offering.

[serious]

garage monster,

I think the course was generally well marked as g-t- said. Unfortunately all it takes is for an arrow/tape to be knocked down at some intersection to create confusion. Not much one can do about that. I cannot blame Dan or anyone for what happened.

The turnout was on the low side but not bad. Unfortunately I was riding about 1 hour ahead of the majority, which is why I was mostly alone. Personally I found it distracting to keep looking for arrows, hoping that I am still on track but that is the name of the game in this type of racing.

Still, I found the course to be fantastic. The start/end loop were more challenging and technical than some O-Cups. The combination of hard climbs, long, flat double track and lots of sand, made it hard for singlespeeders. But that is our challenge, right?

I have to admit that my reservations about this race format really reflect my fear of getting lost.

[ccaddy]

Is there a map of what we rode yesterday ?
I'd like to retrace how ( yeah , good luck )
it was routed .

[nogearshere]

great.
i really enjoyed this format. the long'ish distance (more than ocup less than 8) was just right.

didnt really phase me on the looping bit, lets face it, its so infrequent that i ride mansfield and the forest that its always exciting.

as for the course marking...i thought the number and frequency of the arrows was adequate.
but i did think there were a few places where it was obvious the arrows were not placed with a race pace in mind...i could see how taking a gel or eating at the wrong moment could lead to a missed turn...in fact i witnessed it...

this is a small thing (maybe cause it didnt happen to me).
the course was good, the volunteers great and the atmosphere easy going.

congrats substance, looks like a good thing happening.

[Barley]

I enjoyed the race. I'm digging the marathon format - mostly because I suck at the all out sprint, O-cup type race dealie-o - takes me about two hours to warm up. For the most part I think Dan has done a stellar job putting this together. A one man show. Maybe he needs more help? I'd love to see more people at these races - how can you (Dan, you, me, everyone) get the word out there? Where can you advertise? What more can you motivate people to show up?

Part of racing is keeping your head up. It's easy for me to say that, cause I didn't get lost. But I almost did and the only reason I didn't was I saw a couple riders coming towards me who figured out that they were going the wrong way. A large course like that is likely to have it's small blunders. Live and learn for both racer and promoter.

I heard some grumblings about repeating parts of the course two and even three times. Repeating some of the sections may have led to some confusion for riders wondering if they were going the correct way or not - I thought it a few times myself. I don't know how big Mansfield is and if it's even possible to lay a course down that's 78 km long without repeating a few sections. Meh. I bet the next race at Ganaraska won't have repeat sections - so much trail to choose from (at Paul's Dirty Enduro you only repeat about 7-10km of the entire 100km course).

my $1.27 worth
cheers

[g-t-]

This is the topo for ( the partial ) Mansfield Marathon. In retrospect I should have given it to my buddy who ended up finishing the full course but as you can see I bailed on that idea and headed back for just over 44 km. The Forest is huge and there are many areas that we did not even come close to riding.

[thedumbopinion]

RESULTS

[garage monster]

Originally Posted by serious

There I was passed by the leaders of the race. These 2 guys were a full hour ahead of me. WOW.

Now that I've seen the results, I can say without reservation that you have nothing to be ashamed of being passed by these guys. Kyle is a super-quick Elite rider and high-level CX racer. Tim is another Elite rider and represented Canada at the Marathon Worlds a couple of years ago. These are top-shelf guys.

[nogearshere]

Originally Posted by garage monster

Now that I've seen the results, I can say without reservation that you have nothing to be ashamed of being passed by these guys. Kyle is a super-quick Elite rider and high-level CX racer. Tim is another Elite rider and represented Canada at the Marathon Worlds a couple of years ago. These are top-shelf guys.

well, kyle is a douglas and the matt of douglas' got spak'ed at the last one...

[serious]

garage_monster: Now that I've seen the results, I can say without reservation that you have nothing to be ashamed of being passed by these guys.

But I will always be amazed at how strong these riders are. I had a 16km jump on these guys and they still caught me. Can you say MACHINE?

It is strange to see DNF besides my name. I suppose it is kinder than Disqualified.

[ccaddy]

I finally finished my account of my ride .

Warning --- Kind of novelish

http://www.londonmtb.com/phpbbforum/...t=1852&start=0