Race Reports
Long time, no post… I say post vs write as I’ve started writing something multiple times over the past few years and then just never finished them up. There are a few race reports in there that I should circle back to. I may circle back to them still, along with a few other thoughts…
Note: I did something a little different than I have in the past… After a short intro, I provide some recap notes on topics that are likely of most interest based on questions I get about races; such as the course conditions, gear, nutritions, etc… that can be more useful in planning for future races.…
The Wilderman Offroad Triathlon was my first swim, bike, run triathlon and it is a full IronMan distance. I’ve actually only done 2 other triathlon races, both being the Grantsburg Adventure Tri which is much shorter and in the form of bike, paddle, run. The Wilderman was something I had known was out there and…
The Grantsburg Tri is a fun, low key adventure triathlon in the small town of Grantsburg, Wisconsin. The main event is a 19 mile bike, 1.5 mile kayak and 8 mile run – in that order. Last year I took 4th place overall after leading the bike, dropping a place on the kayak and then…
This was my second Fatbike Birkie and I had a little better overall finish than my previous. That being said, I felt fairly miserable for most of the race. I just couldn’t get my legs moving… They felt heavy and I just couldn’t get warmed up and moving. I felt like I was in trouble…
This will be a new one for folks that have been following along here… The American Birkebeiner was my first ski race, so this will be my first ever ski race report… I got some classic skis when I moved to Minnesota 5 years ago and used them a handful of times. I borrowed some…
This one is short, but I like documenting all these events… I wasn’t sure what the Fatbike Enduro Runs were going to entail, but I had the opportunity to stay in Marquette for another day and figured why not… I’m glad I did, because it was a ton of fun and the 3rd run pushed…
This was the best Polar Roll yet. This was my 3rd one and I think maybe there has been 4 total, so I can’t speak to the earliest of them. The trails were dialed and I really liked the course layout. I know the snowmobile trail is not very popular, but I think it provides…
Podcast Audio version available on the Podcast: Ep 18 – 2018 Solstice Chase Race Report Solstice Chase Fatbike Race Venue The venue was really awesome for a fat bike race or really any race in general. One of the biggest issues with most fat bike races is having a warm place to hang out before…
This was my second attempt at the Marji Gesick 100 and definitely not my last. The course was tougher this year and unseasonably high temps made for a brutal day out on the trail. The report is a little long, so you might have to bookmark the page and come back to finish reading. Enjoy!…
Even though the race didn’t go quite as expected (I was planning a little faster race time)… Shenandoah 100 Mountain Bike Race is probably now one of my favorites races. I only wish it were closer to home. It just had a great mix of riding, awesome venue, good sized race field and definitely hard.…
This Wilderness 101 mountain bike race was on my to-do list, but I wasn’t planning on it for this year. I was thinking I could fit it in next year with a family trip out east or something. Anyways, after doing a bunch of shorter races this spring and then getting through the Lutsen 99er,…
Another Lutsen 99er race weekend and another muddy mountain bike… There is always some water or mud somewhere on the course, but this year was the wetest and muddiest Lutsen 99er that I have personally done with rain coming down almost all day. This race has been growing every year and I believe this year…
The City of Trails 10k Trail Run in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin was my first true trail running event. I ran a little cross country in High School in the 1990s and have done a few other offroad events, but none of them consisted of true singletrack hiking trail like The City of Trails 10k…
I had actually heard very little about the Borah Epic mountain bike race in the past, but it looked like a great race once I started looking into it. I’m suprised I don’t see more about it floating around the social media and internet. I had a good race overall aside from a minor crash…
I knew the weather forcast was looking rough for the Detroit Mountain Shakedown race, but I still failed to plan accordingly for the cold temps and rain. I don’t really have the proper cold rain gear set up to begin with, but it has now moved up my priority list. Regardless, I hadn’t packed anything…
I have been wanting to mix things up from just mountain biking and had the opportunity this past weekend to do so with a bike, paddle, run at the Grantsburg Adventure Triathlon in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. I had a strong bike ride and then dropped some time in the kayak and more in the run to…
I was back on the dirt this past weekend at the Woolly MTB Race in St. Croix Falls, WI where I raced the Marathon 4 hour lap race. This was the season opener race for the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series. I did 2 of these 4 hr races 3 years ago when I was getting…
Here is my race report from the Ken Woods Memorial Road Race last weekend. I had better results this time around, but still have a lot of room for improvement. That being said, I think I am getting more comfortable with the pack and getting a read on what is going on to race smarter…
Well… I decided I would like to try road racing again. Not that I was ever into road racing seriously in the past, but I did try a few road races 2 years ago, along with a few crits and time trials. The THK road race in Avon, MN was the first road race I did…
All signs were pointing to a hike a bike event with the warm temps coming in, but the trails held up amazingly well and the 2017 906 Polar Roll was a great event. I know there was a ton of effort put into prepping the trails and creating a solid base that would hold up…
The Freezer Burn Fat Bike Race was a small low key race that turned out to be a fun little event. The race fields were small and included a mix of folks from all race and ride experience levels. The Freezer Burn is also part of a 2 race series that includes the Fat Bike Vasaloppet…
I put together a quick run down of my race highlights from 2016 and some lessons learned. I had some new experiences as I dove into fat bike racing. I raced multiple 100 mile mountain bike races and backed out of a couple others after a rib injury. I had some good races and some…
There are so many thoughts that go thru my head as I go to write the report for my first Marji Gesick 100 mountain bike race. So many lessons, successes, failures and new experiences on the trail. Riding terrain, drops and jump lines I’ve never ridden before. Hiking down sections of trail that I was…
The Ore to Shore Epic Mountain Bike Race has been on my race to-do list since getting back into biking a few years ago, but was kind of sitting on the back burner until now. I had rearranged my summer plans after injuring my ribs back in June and was no longer going to travel…
This was my first Mohican 100 mountain bike race and my second race in the NUE series. I was not targeting the NUE, but I am always looking for a good race and the opportunity came up for me to go out to the Mohican 100, so there I was… Pre Mohican 100 Race Getting…
I arrived in St. George Utah on Friday afternoon with plenty of time to go for a ride and check out some of the course. I had never been to St. George before and heard that some of the True Grit Course was really technical and I wanted to see some of it before the…
The Fat Bike Birkie would be the end of my first season of fat bike racing before immediately jumping into my first 100 miler. The Fat Bike Birkie turned out to be a really great event and one that I hope I can make it to every year. Pre Fat Bike Birkie Race My buddy…
Oh, where do I begin? The 2016 906 Polar Roll fat bike race was a knock down, all out brawl and slugfest of Fat Bikes, die hard bikers, mother nature and trail conditions. I was watching the weather reports come in a couple weeks before the race, that were reporting a warm up. When I…
The Fat Bike Frozen Forty was the first time I really contemplated pulling the plug mid race and reporting a DNF. But, I decided to hang in there and finish things up. I went down a couple times and a few other moments of bouncing my bars or shoulder off a tree that kept things…
I’ll start by saying that Cuyuna Whiteout was one of the most fun races I have done. I have built up an interest for endurance races recently, because I like point to point or single lap races. I get bored easily and like to keep things new and I just do not get too excited about…
I was excited for the Solstice Chase as it would be my first fat bike race. I swung by Cyclova in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin on Friday afternoon to pick up my race number and t-shirt. I had forgotten that t-shirts were included in the race fee, which was pretty impressive for a $35 race…
You couldn’t ask for better racing weather for the Chequamegon 40 in mid September. My Garmin showed that it was in the 50s for the entire race and then it warmed up real nice for the afternoon. It was about 20 degrees warmer at the start line than it was the year before and I was…
I looked around at the rest of the starting field to realize my hairy legs were sticking out like a Sasquatch in a nudist colony and asked the guy next to me if this was in fact the Cat 4/5 group and not the Cat 1/2/3 group. I had done some Crit racing and 2…
I had heard that the Maah Daah Hey 100 was one tough race, but I was not prepared for what I had gotten myself into. A pre-ride of the opening parts of the trail a few days before the race was a big wake up call for what was ahead, but I still had no…
I’ll start off by saying that I kicked my last year’s ass and improved my Lutsen 99er race time by over 2 hours. That being said, I didn’t start the morning off great and didn’t really know how things were going to go until I was headed to the starting gate. So let’s get to…
Race Prep I’ll start out by saying that I am really glad that I pre-rode the course on Saturday. I’ve never ridden Mt. Kato before and there were a few technical sections on the Comp course that would have taken me by surprise. We hauled our camper down to Mankato Friday evening and camped at…
I’ll preface this article by saying that this race was a mechanical disaster for me with a couple other mishaps, but I still finished. I started out the morning by not even planning to head to the race, when I woke up to thunderstorms. As I kept watching the weather and after getting a text…
I am a little late in getting this post out, but better late than never. As I posted previously, I decided last minute to enter another race before winter sets in here in Minnesota and I break out the cross country skis. I had competed in the St. Croix Falls Woolly Mountain Bike Marathon Race…
My other Chequamegon Race Reports and/or Results 2013 No Report – 1132nd place in 3hrs 12 min 2014 Keep Scrolling – 538th place in 2hrs 39min 2015 Chequamegon Race Report – 187th place in 2hrs 34min 2018 No Report – 160th place in 2hrs 48min 2021 No Report – 81st place in 2 hrs 39min…
The following report is from my first Lutsen 99er race in 2014, but if you would like to see the reports from later Lutsen races, here are the links for those… 2015 Lutsen 99er Race Report – 81st place in 6hrs 58min 2017 Lutsen 99er Race Report – 43rd place in 6hrs 49min As mentioned above, this…