2008 Landmine Classic MTB Race Team Report
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Conditions:
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Mostly sunny, and calm with temps in the upper 70’s. Overall, excellent weather save the hurricane and multiple inches of rain the night before. Despite the rain the trails were slick, but remarkably barren of standing water for the most part
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The Course:
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The short track course was a relatively short loop that had some field, some roots, some rocks but was mainly fast and flat.
The XC course was a single 26 mile long loop of torture and despair for Sport/Expert/Pro and a shortened 11 mile single loop for Beginner. There were no huge climbs but lots of technical rolling terrain with countless wet slippery rock gardens, bridge crossings, rooty madness and some short road section connectors thrown in for fun. All in all the course was more than capable of pounding you and your equipment to pieces if given the chance.
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Results:
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Once again, NEBC had a solid presence at the race in the various Short Track, XC and even Marathon XC fields.
Short Track results:
- Janet Ramos – Beginner Women 35+ – 2nd
- Wayne Cunningham – Expert Men 35+ – 5th
XC Results:
- Janet Lorang – Beginner Women 19-34 – 4th
- Kristen Lukach – Beginner Women 19-34 – 6th
- Catherine Womack – Beginner Women 35+ – 6th
- Don Seib – Expert 40-49 – 4th
- Mike Rowell – Expert 40-49 – 7th
- Wayne Cunningham – Expert Men 40-49 – 10th
- Chris Smith – Expert SS Open – 4th
- Cathy Rowell – Expert Women 35+ – 3rd
- Oscar Jimenz – Sport 19-29 – 5th
XC Marathon Results:
- Greg Brown – Marathon 35-99 – 21st
http://www.root66raceseries.com/results/index.php
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Reports:
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[Janet Ramos]
A few years ago I was told by fellow NEBCer Dave McElwaine that the pro mountain bikers who race cross do a lot of short track racing so I figured that I should try it too to get ready for the upcoming cross season. :) Since this was my first short track race I Googled ‘how to warm up for a short track race’ and one person’s advice was to show up to the start line “sweaty” so I did 5 warm-up laps (each was 1 mile) complete with 1 crash to get rid of my pre-race jitters.
Dummy me missed my start but only by about 20 seconds—as the race went on I was told by the officials that I was gaining on the rest of the riders in the beginner field but since I was on a dual suspension bike I got really tired with 2 to go and I wasted a great amount of energy just fighting the bike and its squishiness (my cross bike would have been perfect). I really enjoyed the course since it was very cross-like despite the 2 logs that I could not jump (wimp) and the small baby-head rock garden that was covered in moss. I got lapped by the leader of the men’s 35+ race 2x which sucked, normally that does not happen to me but oh well, that’s what happens when you don’t train/race for 2 years. But overall, I must say that I am hooked on short track! My 2009 racing season already includes doing more short track races with bunny hopable logs and mossy baby-head rock gardens. :)
[Catherine Womack]
I had ridden the course with some folks the week before the race, which really helped, as the terrain varied between super-technical rock gardens and fast, big-ring hammer sections. Just knowing where I was likely to be off the bike made my race ride much smoother and also reduced my frustration level (did not keep trying to ride something that would be done faster on foot). This race went very well for me for several reasons:
1) I did not allow myself to overdo at the start and get barfy (nauseated, sick, wanting to quit). I paced myself, let people go ahead, knowing I could catch some in the woods (which I did). This really helped keep me focused and clear.
2) I purposely ran or hurried the bike through some super-technical sections instead of trying to get back on the bike and being frustrated when I could not ride a section.
3) I had company/competition throughout the race. I raced with 2 other women, with one of my team mates in sight, but I could not quite catch her. I made sure I did not get dropped, and in fact got away from them twice (got caught once), but made it stick the second time. In my group, 4 women all finished within a 1-minute period.
4) I kept my head in the race the entire time, which made the race more fun and safer.
side note: I went to Saturday’s NEMBAfest and did an MTB clinic with Jimena Florit, a Lunachix mtbiker and former Olympian. We went for a ride afterward, and I got in behind Jimena and rode on her wheel, following her lines and practicing being smooth through gnarly sections. And she took me personally thorugh a couple of do-overs on a few downhill off-camber parts—this was a huge help and confidence-builder.
[Don Seib]
Haven’t raced in a couple months so decided might as well go do a really hard race and bump up to expert. Course was a great mix with lots of wet technical rock, roots, bridges, some smooth flowy terrain and small sections of pave. Lined up and decided to go hard for a couple miles and then settle in. Off the line was in 3rd and decided to go to the front and push the pace. That lasted till the first little climb when 7 people came by. I would catch up in the rock sections and get dropped on any grade. Lather rinse repeat for the first 7 or so miles. I knew I couldn’t go that pace for the whole 25 miles so settled into a 85% grove for the next 10. I passed a few 30-39 experts but didn’t see anyone in my category till near the end. At mile 23 Mark Stotz came up from behind but I couldn’t hold his wheel. He had crashed pretty hard early on and was riding with out a front brake. Ended up with a 5th place. A good finish but not something I’ll be able to repeat unless the course is very hard/technical. I need to work on going up-hill a lot faster or I’ll be pack fodder in the 40-49 expert category. Typical top notch Root 66 series organization and plan on getting down to ride Wompatuck for fun soon. Time for CX season.
[Mike Rowell]
Cathy and I headed down to Wompi on Labor Day to pre-ride the course after a long weekend of riding at KT. The plan was to do one nice easy loop. Going EZ on the loop meant slow, then we got off track and looped back to the start. OK, back out and ride some more of the loop. A couple hours in and we’d only done like half. Yes, this is going to be a long race. Fast forward to the weekend. I decided it would be a good warmup to race Topsfield Saturday and work really, really hard, then race the single speed on Sunday so as not to muck up my good race bike in the muddy, nasty conditions. Solid plan, right?
The start was fast, then Don goes ballistic and lays a pace that everyone can barely hold onto. It’s mayhem for the first couple of miles, then we hit the rocks and roots. I try and pass Sam Morse blind and into a mudpit/boulder field. All the while I’m spinning like a gerbil just trying to make pace. The long stretch of technical finally weeds things with Brian Rutter (series leader) off the front a bit and Mark Stotz, Sam Morse, Chris Borello and I chasing and fumbling. I was finally able to get to the head of group and just start chasing Brian. Until about mile 15 I was just behind or with him but he managed to gap me on a road section and I never saw him again, regardless of what I did. About that point my legs had all but seized up with cramps every time I stood to pedal. My poor choices were coming back to haunt me. If I could just maintain I’d be OK.
At about mile 20 in a rock garden I got passed by Bob Bisson. I jumped on and went with him for a while but we were in a technical slightly uphill gas/powerline section and I didn’t have the goods. Chris B. soon came by and I followed them both a bit but was floundering for sure. Shortly after that I found myself off course. Not happy. Go back and get on, then the front tire is feeling ‘odd’. It couldn’t be going flat. Afterall, I’m running fat, heavy casing tires on wide rims at 60psi. The thing had been sliding out on the road corners all day it was so hard. Within a short time I could tell it was indeed going flat. I nursed it to the final feed zone and decided to just pump it up rather than change it as it was a slow leak and there were only a few miles left, right? Struggle to get the hand pump out of the Camelback then 70 pumps later I’m off. Ride another couple miles and its flat again. Ugh, 70 more pumps and I’m off for the final mile or so. Well huh, the final mile is actually the final 2 miles and those miles are the nastiest rock gardens of the day. Half way in I’m flat again. Start to change it finally then give up in utter disgust at my own stupidity (of having not changed it in the 1st place) so now I don’t care. Ride the rim, run, walk, swear, repeat. I finished, mainly because I had no choice, but it wasn’t pretty. Lesson(s) learned, stupidity doesn’t pay. To top it all off I had to miss my buddy Jaime’s excellent BBQ and beers after the event because I wasn’t exactly feeling all that fresh, lets just say.
[Wayne Cunningham]
I went into this weekend of race on the tired side. I think from all the riding we did at Kingdom trails last weekend (60 hills mtb miles) and then adding running to last weeks work outs my legs were not in the best shape.
Saturday: Short track event. From the start I could tell my legs were not in to this but in is only a 30 minute race and good prep of cross. I struggled at the back and loosing ground each lap. I wash out in one of the turn and hit a tree. I got up and kept going. In the end I was 5th of 5.
Sunday: The course was my least favorite type, rocky and rooty.Going into this race I had two goals, don’t be last and try to stay with in 30 minutes of the winner. At the start of the race I felt better then I thought I would, for about the first 2 miles then the rock gardens began. I fumbled my way around in them loosing contact with the group and then left to my own. I do better if I have someone to follow in the rough stuff. In the early part of the race when I reached un ridable sections I would shoulder my bike and run cross style. As we got to the middle part of the race I have been paced my rider from the fields that started after mine and would ride with them as long as I could. There were some rider that I would ride away from when the rock sections would let up only the be passed latter when it got rough. The last 2 miles seamed to be the worst. By this point I was so tired I was walking the rock I could not ride and letting anyone how wanted to pass go. I made it to the line in 2hrs 48mins for 25 miles. That put me in 10th out of 14 and 32 mins down. So I at least met one of my goals. I think for next year if my skills don’t improve in the rocky stuff this course and Brierlee is off my calender. There just no fun. See you at the cross races.
[Chris Smith]
I felt compelled to do at least one mt bike race this year and with cross around the corner the Landmine race it was. I liked the one lap twenty five miles. Having done a 20k trail running race the day before I was just planning on taking it easy. I signed up for single speed and found out there is an expert ss and an open ss, what’s up this that. In my opinion there should be a men’s ss race and a woman’s, no classes, no age groups. There were only six of us in my race. Off the start two guys went clear. I was sitting comfortably in fourth. I pulled into third after a couple miles. I was just taking it easy, I took a little spill on one of the many tech sections and another ss’er passed me. There were mile makers every mile, at mile sixteen I decided I should pick up the pace. Mile sixteen to eighteen had a lot of swoopy stuff which was fun. I continued to push the speed through an out and back with a nice power line climb. Mile twenty four brought a tough section I picked my way through trying to keep up my speed, lapped beginners added to the challenge. What’s this mile twenty five, where’s the finish… mmm I smell bbq… I see the field… where’s the finish… back into the woods for about a quarter of a mile then finally the finish.
I liked the course, it was a good mix. It could of used a long killer climb but you can’t have everything. The course was in good shape considering all the rain we got from tropical storm Hanna. And you gotta love on site bbq.
The last challenge of the day, getting out of the parking area. Mud bogging in a honda civic so much fun.
[Cathy Rowell]
Here it is in a nutshell – OUCH! Mike decided we should do the race on our singlespeeds given that the course would be pretty muddy, and I agreed since I didn’t want to have to do the maintenance on my good bike afterwards ;).
There were four of us in my field, and two of us were on SS. I got a good start, but lost a place when I stopped for a bridge that was really slippery about a mile in, putting me DFL in my field. After that, it was 3.5 hours of non-stop pounding on some of the most technical MTB trails I have ever ridden – rock gardens from h*ll, roots, bridges, puddles. OOPH. I did pass the other SS racer at about mile 8 or 9, where she was changing a flat. Sadly, I never saw her after that, but was worried that she would catch me for the remainder of the race (only after the race did I learn that she didn’t finish – she was the smart one!).
I went through every emotion you can possiby imagine in a race. When I was passed by the leading Sport women, I told myself I sucked and didn’t belong. When I saw the mile marker for mile 24, I told myself I did a good job for hanging in there so long, and only had one more mile. Between mile 24 and 25, I used every curse word I know, and some that would have made a sailor blush. This was the MOST technical section of the race, and I was BEYOND tired. I ended up crashing in the skull & cross bones section – the only place on the course where that happened and it was at mile 24.5! At mile 25, the curse words doubled – this was advertised as a 25 mile race, and I wasn’t done!!!! I ended up finishing 3rd, and the only female SS’er, 30 mins behind the two other women in my field.
On most of the courses we have raced this year a SS wasn’t a handicap, and in some cases was an advantage. Not this course, though. Every part of my body hurt afterward. And I am NEVER racing my SS again! ;). Two days later, I still can’t pinpoint any part of the race that was fun …
BTW – getting on a plane at 6 am the next morning was also painful, especially as my back and legs started to tighten up. I think this will be a good week to be off the bike ;).
[Oscar Jimenez]
I agree! that was as brutal as they can possibly come. My hands still have blisters and my kidneys are still recovering from all the bouncing around on those endless roots. I think we had about fifteen people for my race, but I don’t think they all finished, since I only saw ten finishers. I should probably start by mentioning that when I got to the parking area the grass field was turning into a soup of mud. Prompting me to think it was going to be an epic day.
In true racer form, I made sure I was lined up at the front. Right from the gun the pace was high and the terrain was wet but not too technical which kept the top five all together as we are trying to size each other. We continued to do this for the next mile or so, to my surprise I was still with the lead group, that was now down to three. I started to think may be I can pull this off if I distance myself from the other two. When the opportunity came I gave it gas on one of the early little climbs and got a gap. hoping I could put some time on them, I kept on going. My lead lasted probably around two to three miles, then I started to see that the terrain was getting more and more technical. Not too long after that I started to have problems keeping my momentum and started to bubble all over the place, shortly after I was passed by the second and third guy and they just disappeared from view. At this point I couldn’t see anybody else, so I thought I could just hang on for third. The course at this time was just brutal with no end in site. I started to get passed by guys and I couldn’t tell who they were, so I wasn’t able to keep track of who was racing with who and who should I stay with. At one point I stayed with this guy for a while thinking he was fighting me for third only to realized later that he was on a single speed. By the end I had clocked two hours and forty three minutes for 25.7 miles ten minutes back from the winner, but some how my third and fourth spot had slipped by and I had no idea where it had happened. I had a blast though. Thanks to Jenne for cheering and Mike R. for trowing the idea of doing this race last week.
[Greg Brown]
I came into this race pretty underprepared on two fronts. First I was only just getting over some painful cracked ribs (courtesy of a brutal Pittsfield Peak666 race a few weeks ago), and secondly I was riding a loaner bike (thanks Cycle Loft) while mine is being repaired… Anyway, I’ve been trying to get as many enduro/marathon races done as possible, so here was a great chance to do one in Boston’s back yard.
The first lap was pretty, no, make that very tough. Got caught up in some inevitable bottlenecks then struggled mightily through the rock gardens and roots at around mile 2 or 3. Wow. A long way to go… I think being on a bike too small for me, and it also being a 26” (I’ve only ever raced a 29er before) made my efforts though the technical sections, that is to say, most of the 25 mile lap, pretty miserable. By this point Mark McCormack was well off the front so it was just a case of survival for the 50 miles. There are no Root66 points for marathons, so overall time was not an issue – just making the time cuts.
I kept moving, sometimes pretty darn slowly, and suffered a lot between miles 15 and 20 which had some particularly rocky/root sections. At around mile 20 Mike and Don (in the 25 mile Expert XC race) passed me and I envied the fact they were just about to finish their race…
The course was particularly nasty in that the hardest technical section was in the last mile and a half of the lap. So my first lap was done, and I headed back out for 1 more.
With the riders now all spread out it was much easier to find a rhythm and I’d also started learning how to ride rock gardens on this twitchy 26” bike :) i.e. be aggressive! I cleaned much more of the course the second time around than the first, and felt stronger as it went on. Hour #5 came and went, and I still was churning away. There weren’t many sections for rest (other than the feedzone!)
so seeing that I was well inside the time cut I did take advantage of a couple of stops to change bottles, fill the Camelbak, stretch and clean the muck from the derailleurs.
My second lap was around 3 hours, and felt much better than the first. I was very happy to finish with bike and body intact (might be a first for me!?!)