2014 Wildcat Epic race recap

June 28th, 2014 Wild Cat Epic

Another turn at the Wildcat Epic.  I did last year's 100 km that featured hours and hours of rain, peanut butter-like mud, apple orchards of death, and a general feeling of wet misery and doom.  I managed to finish it last year (barely) at 8 and a half hours.  It was certainly challenging, but also in a great spot (the Shawangunk range in New York).  

This year's 100k race featured a course redesign and riding in both the Lippman park area and Lundy estate in the southern portion of the Catskill mountains.  We also lucked out weather wise: there was no rain, and the temperatures actually went as high as 87!

My race was a very awesome experience, but also a very tough one!  The race started at 6:45 am so at least the first couple of hours were comfortable, after that it got balmy.  The parts of the course that were exposed to the sun were hot but luckily most of the course was in the woods. 

I finished very strong with a good race overall and really enjoyed the challenge and difficulty and adventure that the course provided.

It was hilly.  The total elevation gained over the 63 miles was 6,500 feet. When I recall the course I don't remember any flat sections (elevation profile: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5121378 ).  There was one section of about 17 miles that we rode that was some of the best single track I've been able to ride during a race; it was so much fun!  The guys at Renegade mt bike club have done a phenomenal job at building the trails at Lundy.  if you get a chance to get there, don't miss these trails!!! (http://www.bikekinetix.com/t_ny/ny_county/lippman_park_trails.php).

I was in Mt biking bliss once I got to the Lundy section.  It was such a treat to have this in the race.  The trails were very tight, smooth, flowy, roller coasters with lots of S turns and you really had to balance your line properly but if you did, it was a blast!

After the flowy single track we started a very steep climb on another section of single track that rode over several rock walls and logs.  Then we came out to a dirt road and then a paved road that began a very long and steep climb.  This climb section was hard!  But somehow I managed to stay strong on it.  When we finally crested, we began our descent on an ATV trail that was actually very tough trail-wise.  It was surprisingly technical. This section was not easy, especially after the fatigue from the climb up.

We came down this trail and followed a stream and crossed it using a bridge that was adjacent to a very nice waterfall.  Then we proceeded down a dirt road that crossed this river about 6 times.  The river crossings were a lot of fun.  Some of them were shallow (inches) and others were deep (feet).  At one point I had to carry my bike over my head because the water was waste deep! 

After that we began one of the last big climbs.  It went up on a dirt road adjacent to a power line (that we rode down).  It was on this dirt road that I screamed so loud that my shout echoed off of the entire forest.  The reason why I shouted so loud was because as I was riding up, I all of a sudden heard this weird noise.  It sounded like someone shaking a box of tic tacs, when I saw something move down by my foot as I was pedaling.  The thing that was moving was a timber rattle snake!!!!  

I almost ran it over, and was inches away from the thing.  It started to rattle like crazy and curled it's neck and I was so startled that I shouted: LOUD!!  

I felt my shout bounce off the ground and I think the snake did too because he took off.  It was so scary though because those things can kill you! (good thing I signed the race waver)

After my experience with the snake I was a bit shaken, but determined to finish strong.  I was starting to get fatigued though when I entered the same flowy Lippman single track from earlier in the morning.  I managed to muster up my last bit of strength to get another fun roller coaster flow going.... until I mis-managed my line riding through a clump of trees and hit one with my knee cap going about 8 mph.  My legs were too muddy to notice the damage, but my knee essentially started bleeding (mixed in with mud and dirt) and swell to twice it's normal size.  I wouldn't realize this of course until I finished, washed it off, realized it was screwed up and then got an ice pack for it. 

Overall though the race was fantastic!  It was sooo damn hard, but sooo damn rewarding at the same time.  

I finished in 8 hours and 7 minutes, 16th place out of 28 finishers and 33 total racers (full 100k results here: http://www.wildcatepicevents.com/results-wc-100-/2014-wc-100-50-results/ ).  I was very surprised with how strong of a finish I had too.  My nutrition went perfect, I never felt like I was going to bonk: and I finished well.  I remember being dizzy for the first 45 minutes after but that was probably from being so hot and hungry.  I managed to consume 3 cheese burgers and a ton of pasta salad within about 10 minutes!

I was psyched for such a hard course, but a lot of my peers were displeased that the course was so hard.  One guy had said that the race was harder then an ironman he had done.  It was certainly not an easy course, but it was rewarding, beautiful, and a ton of fun!