ROOTSTOCK RACING
by Karyn Dulaney Michelle and Liz, the event's race directors, promised a “rugged and remote” course, and this race lived up to this. In the pre-race meeting, we were forewarned that the race “will be harder than it appears on the maps.” We were reminded of this throughout the 29.5 hours of racing, although in the end, we concluded that “it wasn’t that bad.”
It all started in a land called Shoeshow Village. After a short prologue through the town square, we seemingly stepped into a fairy-tale forest. This course was indeed one for the senses as we traveled by house-sized boulders and across soft carpets of Shrek-green moss. Dark trees with brightly colored leaves poked their way through the clouds. Of course, every enchanted forest also has its looming dangers and darkness. We encountered mazes of rhododendrons, that tried to trap us with their endlessly tangled limbs catching our hair, packs, arms, and legs as we crawled through them. Smelly bogs and marshes, fit only for an Ogre, tried to swallow us whole. Dense fog wrapped the woods at night, causing our headlamp and bike light rays to bounce helplessly ahead. “Roads” were often abandoned trails, with tree limbs and branches haphazardly strewn about, waiting to catch the wheels and spokes of those who dared ride it. Trees groaned in the howling wind gusts, and rain from Hurricane Helene thoroughly soaked us. It was intense yet mesmerizing, and we persevered against the obstacles, somehow keeping our spirits mostly high. Our team worked well together, with Nicki navigating on foot (occasionally trying the tactics of Hazel and Gretyl as she sprinkled goldfish along the trail 😂) and Britt on the bike. Some early nav bobbles were quickly corrected, and it was reassuring to see some of the top teams having difficulties similar to ours. There were a lot of options for strategy and route choice during this race. We picked up points we thought we wouldn't get and left a few on the course we had planned for but couldn’t find. We saw many of the known top teams on the course but noted that we never saw others. All of this left us with no sense of how we were doing as compared to other teams. My favorite way to race is to keep racing our own race, which, in the end, turned out to be the right strategy for us. Ultimately, we came in 4th place overall and 1st in the all-women division. We also won an award for the fastest time on the last bike section, the climb up Snowshoe Mountain! This race was surely one for the books! The best part about racing is that if you pay attention, you will learn more about the sport and yourself and, more importantly, find meaning in how these messages apply to daily life. The top things I learned in this race are as follows:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2024
Categories |