Scott Thomas
Saturday Oct. 12, 2013
Prescott, AZ
So this race is pretty self explanatory like my last one (12 hours at Night), except this one being 6 hours during the day. This race is very similar to the 12HAN. It is located at the same park in Prescott (Miller Park) and has several parts that are shared by both races. This is a 9 1/2 mile loop and you have 6 hours to do as many laps as you can. Note you can't finish until after the 6 hour point or you have to be out on your last lap prior to 5:59:59.
Coming into this race I did a little research. I knew Ryan Geiger would be there again. He is defending champ from last year. I had never raced against Ryan head to head (or that I know of). I watched Ryan race a few years ago at 24 Hours of Fury at McDowell Mtn Park. I knew he was fast then. Outside of Ryan racing it I wasn't aware of the field coming in. I was very surprised when showing up Saturday morning and seeing the crowd of racers.
As typical I got there early enough to set up a transition area, warm up and not feel rushed. This race was a mass start. About 8:50 everyone started to line up for a little pre-race meeting and get their place for the start. I think there were about 70 or so of us total starting and I found a good little spot in the middle.
The race starts with a modified 4-1/2 mile loop and then a full 9-1/2 mile loop. So 9am hits and the whistle blows. We are off. Knowing the area from 12HAN I felt really good. Then in this modified loop there is a long climb. Everyone is gunning for their position and I knew I had to get into a decent spot, because after this climb it goes into a long tight single track area. The elevation of Prescott that morning wasn't helping me find that spot, but I did okay.
Coming in from the modified loop you cross the start line and head out on your first full 9-1/2 mile loop. Again knowing this course from 12HAN I knew this was heading into my fast fire-road section and the grind of the incline would be my friend all day and were I would make up ground. Pulling off the fire-road area we hit some single track for a ways and then into my worst enemy from 12HAN and that is Rocky Road. I used this to my advantage as much as I could as I feel I am a stronger climber than many.
Coming off of Rocky Road we hit a fast decent and then comes the hard climb. This was not part of 12HAN, and it was an Ass-Kicker of a short climb. Once we hit the top of that it was where the 4-1/2 mile had tied in, so I was back to some good single track.
Lap 1 came easy and then 2. Lap 3 wasn't to bad and then leading into 4 Rocky Road was wearing on me. Coming in from 4 I was dragging for sure, but knew I needed one more. I took a quick 2-4 minute break and fueled and headed out again. Lap 5 was tough. I hadn't ridden all week leading up to this race and I should have.
Lessons learned this race: Train up to the day before the race. No matter what your brain is telling you, you can do more. And again the best outlook from my daughter "At least you weren't like 100th place Dad."
Great race. I'll do it again.
Thanks to all of our sponsors and everyone else's support. POC Sports. Geigerrig. GU Enengy. Yankz! Mike's Bike Chalet. Stan's NoTubes. Polar Water Bottles. Geax.
