'24 Xterra Oak Mountain Race Recap

 

Greenville crew

The last race in our 3-week (15 day) racing block was Xterra Oak Mountain. For several years, we always dedicated this weekend to IM 70.3 Chattanooga (one of our favorite events) but with Xterra Oak Mountain being the same weekend, we went to Pelham, Alabama instead. Karel participated in Xterra Oak Mountain in 2021 (his first off-road triathlon) and in 2022 they didn't have the event. In 2023 we both participated (my 4th Xterra event) and I placed overall female amateur. When Xterra announced that Oak Mountain would be the home of the North American Championship, we knew that we couldn't miss this event. We love the trails at oak mountain, as well as the lake. It's a place that makes us super happy. The trails are proper mountain bike trails with rock gardens, technical turns, roots, climbs and descends but the trails are also nicely made with good rhythm and flow. 

As for training going into Xterra, we had intentions of riding our mountain bikes on Tuesday and Wednesday but it rained both days. On Monday we did a morning swim (3200) and an evening easy spin on the Swamp rabbit trail (1:06, 17 miles). We swam again on Tuesday (3650) and in the early evening I did a "system check" workout on Rouvy (1 hour) and followed it up with a feel good brick run (25 minutes, 3 miles). My legs felt surprisingly good just three days after Gulf Coast 70.3. Karel's legs were feeling heavy and he was not sleeping so great so he was careful not to overdo it in the bridge between Gulf Coast and Xtera. On Wed morning I did a 6.73 mile, 53 min run with a main set of 4 x 6 min tempo efforts w/ 90 sec EZ between. Again, my legs felt really good. I just got the Saucony Endorphin Pro at Run In and I really like them (I wore them at Gulf Coast 70.3). My other (and long time) favorite shoe is the New Balance Fuel Cell. In the evening I rode the trainer for an hour and did a mix of big gear and high cadence intervals to keep the legs sharp.

On Thursday we left our house around 8:30am to make our 5 hour drive to Pelham (we gained an hour) and arrived a little before 1pm. We paid $5/person to enter Oak Mountain State Park and when we arrived we noticed several professional Xterra athletes as well as professional triathlete Eric Lagerstrom.  

After we changed, we went out on the bike course and rode the 21-mile bike course (~1650 feet elevation gain). We rode easy and took note of certain sections of the course that may be difficult on race day. The weather was predicted to be 100% heavy rain on Fri and Sat which made me nervous about a repeat of Whitewater off-road triathlon where I had a lot of falls due to the slippery roots and tight turns. It took us ~2:17 to ride the course (~8.4 mph). I had a lot of difficulty in the tight turns and a few rooty sections as I felt like I had no confidence or skills. Karel helped me through these tough moments and as the ride went on, I felt better and better. When we got to blood rock (the most technical part of the course) we spent a little time looking at the trails to study the best line, even though I knew I wouldn't be riding all the way down blood rock. Karel didn't feel comfortable riding it all in training as we didn't spent a lot of time sectioning it. After blood rock, there is a super rocky downhill and then my favorite part of the course, Jekyll and Hyde. It's super flowy and covered in pine needles. I was really happy that we rode the entire course because I forgot about two drops that require the proper line choice so I was glad that we experienced that in our recon. 

After the ride, we went for an open water swim in one of my favorite lakes. I love how clean the water is and the water temperature is perfect.  Karel wore his short sleeve swimskin for the first loop (which he said felt really restrictive on his shoulders) and I wore my swimsuit. We swam two loops in 25 minutes (~1700 yards, 1:30 pace). We finished our swim a little before 5pm and I ordered Chiptole to be delivered to our hotel (Sleep Inn). We unloaded the car into our hotel room, ate dinner and worked on the computer until we were ready to go to sleep around 9pm. 

We expected rain all day on Friday but the radar was looking like the rain would hold off so we went to the park around 9am so that we could ride the first few miles of the course again. I felt so much better than on Thursday. After our ~30 min recon ride (4.3 miles) I went for a 10 min, 1 mile EZ run on the trails and Karel went for a 33 min (3.66 mile) shake out run with his friend Darren. Our athlete Danielle joined us for the bike. Although it was cloudy, it was very humid. We made a quick stop at Publix grocery before heading back to our hotel. 

We returned to the park at 2pm to pick up our packet and to meet up with our athletes who were racing for a course chat. Thankfully no rain all day which was great. We were excited for our athletes and team members who were participating in their first off-road triathlon. 

In addition to working on the computer all day, we got our things ready for the race, filled up our hydration packs and run bottle and went to bed around 8pm for a good night of sleep. 

With a 8:30am start, we didn't have a super early alarm. We woke up around 5:30am and ate around 6am. I had a bagel w/ PB and honey and Karel had oatmeal and OJ. We also each had a cup of coffee (Karel brought his aeropress). We did some foam rolling in the room and Karel went for a short jog. We left the hotel at 7am and drove the 2 miles to the race venue. There was a line to get into the park but it went by quick as there were two rows. We paid our $10 to enter. and parked around 7:15am. 

With ~400 athletes in the full and sprint distance, parking was easy. We found a spot on the racks for our bikes (first come, first serve) and set up our transition area. We picked up our chips and swim cap and spent the next hour getting ready for the race start. I watched our athletes in the swim for the sprint race (which started at 8am) and then put on my wetsuit (water was 75 degrees according to the officials but it felt warmer) to go for a warmup swim. I spent ~20 min in the water warming up, which I feel is one of the reasons why I am able to swim so well at this venue (or anytime I can do a swim warm-up before the race start). Karel also did a swim warmup. I watched the pros start at 8:35am and then we got ready for our start after the pros started their 2nd swim lap. I had a Never Second gel around 20 min before the start. Karel's wave started at 8:51 (49 and under males) and my wave (everyone else) started at 8:52am. 

I positioned myself in the front and to the far left and I was able to take out fast when we started. I had clean water for most of the race as I was able to swim past many of the guys who started in front of us. I went out really hard and tried to hold this pace until the 2nd turn buoy. I was able to settle into a strong rhythm for the rest of the loop and when I got out of the water to start the second loop, I was 2nd in my wave. I continued to pass the guys ahead of me and felt strong the entire swim. Sighting was easy in the lake. I wore my Roka goggles with a light tint. 

As I got out of the water, I saw Karel right in front of me. He said he felt good in the water but his perceived effort didn't match how he was swimming. He felt like he was swimming strong but he felt like he wasn't able to move up in the pack or pass other athletes around him. 

We ran to the transition and I gave Karel a big cheer. We racked our bikes on the same rack row but several bikes down and we both left transition around the same time.  

SWIM
Marni - 23:26
Karel: 24:21

T1
Marni: 1:50
Karel: 1:51

When we got on our bikes, I tighted my shoes (which I put on in transition with my socks, along with my helmet, sunglasses and USWE hydration pack) and then started working to keep my lead on the swim. I was first female out of the water but I wasn't sure how long this lead would last. 

The course can be broken down into 4 sections. 
The first section is a few miles and very twisty, tight and up and down. True single track. Karel has fallen in this section twice (last two times he raced here) as it's easy to ride too fast and take the turns too quick. My goal was to ride controlled and to make sure I kept my hands light and moved my body to offset my weight in the turns. I was passed by a few guys but everyone was very nice when passing. I would move over and let them pass. 
The second section is a ~3 mile climb on a jeep road. However, it's rocky and has a few dips. I locked my front suspension on this section and rode as strong as I could up the climb. My legs felt really heavy but I kept on pushing for ~18 minutes. When I got to the top, I looked behind and didn't see anyone. The next few miles were back on single track and a little more rocky but flowy. 
The third section is Blood Rock - which is the most difficult part of the course. I rode 1/2 of it and then got off my bike and walked the rest. Two guys passed me in this section but otherwise, I had been riding by myself for well over 20 minutes. 
The fourth section is my favorite - the last hour is so much fun. I didn't want it to end. I did have one spill where I took a tight left turn a little too fast and my weight was to much in the inside and I washed out but I got back up right away. I finished the ride with 2 other guys and they were really nice, letting me stay ahead even though they were better with their skills. I was really happy with my bike as I rode 5 minutes faster than last year. 
Karel felt like his fitness and skills were good but his hand cramped neart the top of the jeep road climb and he had to spend a few minutes unlocking his fingers so that he could hold the bar (and brake) before Blood Rock. This is a common issue for Karel in his wrist where he had surgery (and now has a plate in it). Karel was planning to ride the entire blood rock section but the guy in front of him (who he had passed on the climb but passed him as he was fixing his hand) got stuck on blood rock which caused Karel to get off  his bike. No biggie. Just a quick run down with the bike. 
I filled by USWE pack with 1 bottle + 3/4 bottle, each with 1.5 scoops INFNIT Fructose (~70g carbs per bottle). Karel filled his pack with 1.5 bottles (~37 ounces) of Maurten 320. 

BIKE
Marni - 1:50.35 (10.9 mph)
Karel - 1:38.30 (12.3 mph)

I was having so much fun on the bike that I didn't want it to end. I was careful in the final 2 miles as it was a tight and twisty single track section and I didn't want to crash. I was still leading the female race (I passed one female pro) and I wasn't sure how big my lead was so I needed to keep pushing it until T2. 

I heard some cheers from our athletes who raced the sprint which made me smile. I couldn't wait to hear about their race. I had a quick transition, put on my New Balance Fuel Cell shoes and grabbed my bag of my stuff to put on as I was running (flask in back tri kit pocket, bib number belt and hat). It was warm and humid but I was happy with the weather. 

T2
Marni -:40
Karel - :44

Karel and I don't wear gloves in most Xterra races (if it was raining or cold we would) and we have recently been running on less technical trails in our old New Balance shoes (road shoes). Karel actually wore his new New Balance Fuel Cell shoes for this race. It's a rooty up and down run but not too technical that you need a lot of grip. We were both planning to wear our trail shoes if it was wet/rainy. 

I really pushed myself on the run from the start on the road. I love bumpy trail runs and I couldn't wait to get into the trails. It was hard to push myself and not know how far my lead was. And after the first mile, I was all by myself for the rest of the run. I really pushed myself and had several moments where I thought "wow - 6 miles is loooong." I sipped my flask (1 scoop, 120 calories Never Second) throughout the run when I could get my HR lower on the downhills and I grabbed water at all three aid stations to sip and cool myself. 

Karel felt good to start the run and he was excited for the trails but as soon as he stepped foot on the trails, his legs felt very heavy and tired. He really struggled on the run but he never gave up. 

Run
Marni - 50:33
Karel - 47:34

RESULTS
Marni: 3:07, Overall female amateur 
Karel: 2:53.02, 1st AG

I crossed the line with relief as I gave it everything I could for the entire race. I felt very accomplished and I had so much fun. I was listening to a podcast during our drive and they mentioned that it's hard to have fun when racing because it hurts so much. Although off-road racing does hurt (it's challenging!) it is so much fun to race in the woods. You are in nature and it almost feels like you are playing. I ended up winning the overall title by 11 minutes. 

Karel and I received jerseys as North American champions. We each received a slot to Xterra World Championship in Molveno Italy but we won't be going this year due to our other planned races. 

We chatted with our friends and athletes and took a dip in the lake to "clean up." After the awards we changed and hit the road so we could return home to our furry crew. 

It was a fun and exciting racing block. Now time to recover and get ready for our next training block as we get ready for our upcoming XTRI events. 

'24 Whitewater off-road triathlon recap

On Saturday 5/4 we kicked off the first race in our racing block:

💫Whitewater Off-Road Triathlon (Charlotte, NC)

💫Ironman 70.3 Gulf Coast (Panama City Beach, FL)

💫Xterra Oak Mountain (Pelham, Alabama)

Three races over three weeks.

We define a racing block as 2+ races within a 4-ish week time frame. Although we've completed racing blocks in the past, this race block approach is unique in that we have been training on three different bikes (road, TT, mountain bike) and running on road and trail. Preparing for events with different skills, terrain and physiological demands has been fun for us as it adds variety to training and keeps our body and mind sharp.

We love racing blocks as it is the culmination of several months of periodized training and intentional overload. Knowing that there won't be much "training" between each race, arriving to a racing block healthy, fit, strong and resilient is the goal.

Within each race of the racing block, we will recover quickly, sharpen and race again. This allows us to get familiar with the dynamics of racing: understanding race intensity, managing nerves/emotions, nailing sport nutrition, execution, perfecting transitions, stretching the comfort zone. After each race, the confidence and excitement builds for the next race.

After this racing block we will recover from three weeks of racing and then build into our next training block as we prepare for our XTRI events:

⭐Karel: 6/29 Stonebrixiaman (Italy)

⭐Marni: 8/3 Norseman (Norway)

We drove to the Whitewater Center around 9am. We got stuck in a little traffic and arrived a little after 11am. We quickly changed into our cycling gear and I rode the first few miles of the race course and Karel rode the last few miles. We regrouped at the parking lot at noon to meet with four athletes attending our MTB skills clinic. 

We started in the gravel parking lot, working on skills like stopping, balancing, cornering and "rowing." We then headed on to the race course. We spent the next few hours riding the race course and stopping at specific sections that required a certain skill set. Karel rode in the front and I rode in the middle to help call out advice for certain sections, like "seat down." 

We were really impressed with the skills of our campers as they showed great awareness and ability to make quick decisions. It was also a great opportunity for me to recon this course as the Whitewater Center trails are extremely technical. Although there are some challenging sections requiring a lot of power and skills, the most challenging part for me is the tight turns on roots and between trees. The single tracks are really narrow and filled with jagged rocks or roots. I have improved a lot with my ability to go over rocky and rooty sections but my struggle continues to be tight turns at faster speeds. 

After the ride, it started the drizzle and we finished the session around 4pm. We changed and waited around until packet-pickup at 5pm (they opened early so we were able to check in at 4:45pm). We drove ~20 min to our friend's house to stay for the night. Karel had sushi and mashed potatoes and I had leftover spaghetti w/ veggie meat sauce and mushrooms. We were both very tired so we went to sleep around 8pm and slept great throughout the night. 

We woke up at 4:50am, at our pre-race meal (bagel + PB and jam for me, oatmeal for Karel) and got ready for the race. We left around 5:55pm to drive the 20 min to the venue. It was wet outside from overnight rain and the forecast was showing heavy rain around 10am. 

Thankfully no rain when we arrived. This was a small event with first come first serve in the transition area. We set up our transition and then gathered our swim gear to make our way to the water. This race is unique in that there is a half mile run from the swim to T1 on a gravel path so it's advised to leave shoes by the water for after the swim. 

The race meeting was at 7:15am at the dock and the race started a little late, around 7:45pm. 
The water was fresh (around 67 degrees) but felt great after a short warmup. I have been experiencing some anxiety around open water swimming ever since ICON XTRI so this was a good opportunity to work through some of those negative thoughts. 

When the race started (in water start) I went strong for several minutes and then settled into a good rhythm. I was 3rd out of the water. I have been swimming a lot so I was really happy with how I felt in the water. There were two buoys for sighting (one on each far end of the out and back course). I climbed out of the swim via the dock ladder, ran to my shoes, took my wetsuit off and put my socks and running shoes on and ran up the big hill to the gravel road, carrying my wetsuit around my neck. I was able to get in and out of transition before Karel. 

On to the bike, I soft pedaled to let Karel get ahead of me as I knew he would pass me early on in the bike and the first part of the bike is a rooty downhill. 

I knew the bike course was going to be technical and slippery but I didn't realize how much my skills were lacking for this course on this day. My focus was riding smooth and clearing obstacles but I quickly learned that I needed to change my focus to navigating the terrain safely. After a few miles, I slipped on a root and my handlebar hit a tree and I went down hard on my left side. I got back up and several miles later, I felt again. The roots were so slippery, it felt like I was riding on ice. I was getting frustrated and also my confidence was dwindling. Karel also crashed on a wooden bridge (that didn't have any netting) and despite doing everything right that he was trying to do, he crashed and broke a spoke and also his shifter broke (thankfully it still worked but he had to hold it in a certain way to allow it to shift). 

I was passed by a female around half way on the bike. Her skills were incredible. I was trying to mimic what she was doing but I was still so unsteady and unsure. I was getting passed by more male riders and it got to a point where I would get off my bike to go over sections that I would normally have no trouble with, just because I was so worried about crashing. The truth is no matter how much I want to improve my turns, I don't ride my MTB enough to see a noticeable improvement in these skills. 

When I got off my bike and ran to T2, I was so relieved. It was raining and I was so ready to be off my bike on those trails. Because of all the slow riding and getting off the bike so many times, my legs felt relatively fresh for the run. From the first step, I felt great. 

I saw Karel as I was climbing up the road and he was running down the climb. I told him that I crashed so many times and he said that he did as well. It felt good to exchange this information. 

The rain was coming down and my goal was to run as strong as I could to see how close I could get to the 1st place girl. I really enjoyed the run. The up and down nature of this trail run made it so much fun. And with the rain coming down, it was like I was playing. I was really happy with how I felt on the run, especially on the slippery trails. 

After I crossed the finish line, the rain was coming down hard. Karel met me at the finish line and we quickly got our things, showered at the Whitewater center, loaded the car and then drove home. 

Results: 
Karel - 2:15.59, 2nd overall 
Marni - 2:45.32, 2nd overall female 

Mistakes are tough. Feeling your shortcomings can make you feel like you are a failure. But mistakes are needed in life. Anytime you try something for the first time or you are learning something new, you are going to make mistakes. This doesn't make you a loser or a bad person. Mistakes are opportunities to learn and to improve. Making mistakes shows that you are trying. Making mistakes and learning from those mistakes is part of the continuous learning process of being human. 

The next time you feel yourself struggling, ask yourself: 
-What am I struggling with? 
-Why do I feel this way? 
-What can I learn from this situation? 

In our society, flooded with highlight-reels on social media, it's easy to see a successful outcome and not see the work, struggles, setbacks and perseverance that were part of process of achieving success. Hardships are core to growth. The path to success included failure. Learning from your mistakes is key to self-improvement. 

Learn to fail. Own your mistakes. Never stop learning. 

2023 Xterra Oak Mountain Race Recap

 

Oak Mountain Alabama is a special place as it was the location of Karel’s first off-road triathlon in 2021. We actually drove to the race without his mountain bike as he bought a new bike online on race week and we picked it up in Birmingham, two days before the race. Karel had so much fun racing a triathlon off road. Karel’s excitement initiated my mountain biking journey (on Karel’s old mountain bike, until I got my own in 2022), which has been humbling and fun.

Although we were very excited to participate in Xterra Oak Mountain, we were sad that we wouldn’t be able to race IM 70.3 Chattanooga. However, since Chatty was a team race for our athletes, we would still be able to spectate the day after our event.

The days leading up to our Xterra event were a bit stressful. Campy wasn’t feeling so great, the night before we were supposed to leave, a tube got disconnected from our 70-gallon fish tank as Karel was doing a partial water change and it caused water to leak from upstairs to downstairs (this made for a very late and stressful evening). We planned to arrive mid day on Thursday to pre-ride the course but predicted storms changed our plans to arrive in the evening.

Once we finished the 5 hour drive (that took over 6 hours due to rain and traffic), we were so relieved to finally be at our hotel. I had Chipotle delivered to our hotel so after we unpacked, we relaxed and yummed. We had a somewhat restless night of sleep but we were both excited to get on the course on Friday morning.

We met a local friend Steve at Oak Mountain State Park around 9am and we went for an open water swim. We swam ~1500 yards (~2 loops of the course) and the water felt warm with our wetsuits on.
After the swim, we changed and went for a mountain bike ride on the back half of the course. We did a private skills camp with Lon in Feb 2022 and although I was somewhat familiar with parts of the Xterra Oak Mountain course, I had never ridden on Blood Rock (the most technical feature of the course). Karel and I biked to the Blood Rock section and I worked my way through parts of it but we didn’t have enough time and didn’t want to take any risks the day before the race, for me to section each part of this part of the course. Although I was able to make it 3/4ths down, I decided that I wouldn’t take any chances on race day and would only ride ~1/2 way and then walk my bike down the rest of the way. It was good to see the last 10 miles of the course and we were both really excited for race day. I often find myself making a lot of mistakes over rocks and roots when I pre-ride a course the day prior as I’m trying to not overexert myself but every feature requires a bit extra power – it’s a careful balance the day before an off road event. We rode 12.4 miles in 1:20 and it was a good confidence booster for the event.

Walking up Blood Rock to descend down.

We went back to the hotel, ate some lunch and a few hours later, we went back to the park to pick up our packet. Karel picked up some food from Publix for dinner and I had Amy’s No Chicken Noodle Soup + cup of 90-sec basmati microwave rice (my go-to pre race meal). We slept somewhat ok but thankfully, we didn’t have to wake up too early for our 9am race start.

I got my period the night before the race, which had me feeling a bit blah in the days leading up to the race. I never know how my body will perform when I have my period on race day so I just put it out of my mind and focused on what I could control for the day.

We woke up around 5:45am and had our pre-race meals shortly after. I made a waffle downstairs in the hotel breakfast room and had a yogurt with it and Karel had oatmeal. We did a bit of mobility/foam rolling in the room before packing up the car, checking out of the hotel room and making our way to the race venue around 7am. We had a short 2 mile drive to the race venue and parked around 7:20am. Originally we were supposed to start our race around 8:35am but they pushed it back to closer to 9am to let the pros finish 1 full loop of the 2 loop swim course.



I used the Epic Weather app to check the weather and it was looking to be a humid day with only a small chance of rain.

The transition is first come first serve so Karel and I set up our bikes on the 2^nd row near the finish. After racing 4 off road tris in the past 10 months, I am getting more comfortable and familiar with setting up my gear for mountain biking and trail running. I’ve also really improved my transitions and have made them a lot quicker with practice.



We picked up our swim caps and timing chips and spent some time at the car getting ready. I did a bit more foam rolling by the car, did a short jog (which my legs felt horrible), went to the bathroom and then got my wetsuit on around 8:15am. Karel was feeling pretty good before the race and he was really excited to race. He has a friendly competition with Michael Dorr from CO and he knew he would need to be on the top of his game to beat him (he has never beat him before). I walked down to the swim start to watch the pros start and Karel walked down to the other side of the swim start to warmup in the water.


After the pros started, I warmed up in the water. The water was a bit warm for me in my wetsuit but there was a short sprinkle of rain which helped cool me off. It was really nice to get in a good warmup before the race start – I always swim better when I can swim before the race. Since it was a two loop swim with an Australian exit (get out of the water and run back in) I wanted to see how the pros were getting out and back in the water for any shallow spots. I gave Karel a kiss before he lined up to start 2 min before my wave.

SWIM (1.5K)

Marni – 22:24
Karel – 23:48

Karel started with the 49 yr and under male wave and everyone else (including me) started 2 minutes later. My goal was to try to catch Karel but that would be a big ask. Karel had a good swim. He felt strong the entire swim but he wasn’t able to get up to the front group of swimmers. It was fairly easy to stay on course with only two turn buoys and a big arch at the exit. I really went hard from the start and my take-out speed left me really out of breath. I don’t think I’ve have ever swam that hard before to start a triathlon but Xterra racing is more like an Olympic distance than a half distance triathlon so it requires a lot of intensity, which means tolerating a high heart rate throughout the entire race. After a few minutes of take out speed, I settled into a strong steady effort. I wasn’t able to catch the front 3 guys who got away from me so I was by myself for the entire swim, passing a lot of athletes who started in the wave ahead of me. It was fun to get out of the water and get back in and the swim went by pretty quick. I was able to see Karel get out of the water as I was nearing the shore. I exited the water first female and quickly made my way to my bike.

I had a quick transition by putting on my helmet and sunglasses and then my socks and shoes. I don’t buckle the Boa on my shoes until I am riding to help save time. I also put on my UWSE hydration pack and didn’t buckle it until I was riding (which required me to ride with both hands off the handlebars).

BIKE – 22 miles (~2000 feet elevation gain)

Marni – 1:54
Karel – 1:39

After participating in 4 off road triathlons in the past 10 months, I’ve learned a lot. I was able to apply a lot of lessons learned to this race.
1) Don’t worry about the people behind you. They will let you know when they want to pass and you just move over when it’s safe/clear to do so. Everyone is always very nice about it.
2) Ride hard on fire roads and anywhere that is not technical, especially hills.
3) Controlled is fast. Reckless is not.
4) If something scares you or you aren’t able to ride over a certain feature, don’t.
5) Don’t get frustrated when you make mistakes.
6) It’s you against you. Your skills, your effort, your race.
7) Have fun!

I had so much fun on this course. It had the perfect amount of elevation throughout the course and included a 3.5 mile fire road climb. The 2^nd half of the course was a bit more technical than the first half but the entire course flowed well. This course kept me focused and I felt I rode stronger and better than ever before. I walked my bike down the bottom half of Blood Rock and there was one rocky step up in the first few miles that I didn’t clear and had to unclip but other than that, I successfully made it over everything and didn’t have any falls or issues. I’ve been working on my cornering and I could feel me improvements throughout this course. Karel had one hard fall where a tree attacked his handlebar in the first few miles of the ride. He flipped over his bike and scuffed his hip and upper back. Other than that, he rode really strong and stayed ahead of Michael Dorr throughout the entire bike. Karel was near the front of the age group race with only a few guys ahead of him and he was back and forth with one or two other guys throughout the bike. The course was really well marked and the volunteers were great.

Throughout the bike, I consumed 1.5 liters of fluid which had ~130g carbs of Never Second Berry (~520 calories). Karel had 1.5 liters of fluid with 320 Maurten along with 1 Maurten gel (~420 calories).

Although I was focused on myself throughout the ride, I couldn’t help but think that at any moment I would be caught by other females in the race. My mind was playing a lot of games with me as I wanted to be competitive but I also needed to focus on myself to have a safe race. I really love the dynamics of mountain biking in a triathlon because it’s the perfect combination of fun and competition. People are so nice, everyone is supportive and you can tell that athletes are having fun in nature.

Run – 6.2 miles
Marni – 52:23
Karel – 45:21

I dismounted my bike really quickly (I keep my shoes on but did a flying dismount as mountain bike cleats make it easy to unclip) and ran my bike my rack. I saw Karel’s bike hanging there and his run stuff removed so that was a good sign that all went well during his ride (minus his crash with the tree). I quickly put on my Hoka trail shoes and grabbed my visor, two Nathan 10 ounce flasks (each filled with ~3/4 scoop Neversecond berry, ~100 calories each) and my bib belt and put everything on as I was running. I stuck each flask in my back pocket of my tri suit. Karel opted no trail shoes for this run and wore his road shoes.

The run had a little less than 400 feet elevation gain for the 6 miles which gave the course a good amount of undulation. The first ½ mile or so was on the road and before turning on to the trail I took a look behind and didn’t see anyone. But as I made my way into the trail, I looked behind at the road in the distance and could see another female who looked like she was running very fast. I continued to run as hard as I could, which made for a high heart rate run in the warm weather and high humidity. I sipped from my flask around every mile (when I could get my HR to drop on a downhill) and used water from the aid station (2 of them) for cooling my body. I really liked this run as you could run it all and it had a few fun sections of going over wooden bridges, jumping over trees and zig zagging across roots and tight turns. Around mid way, I could see the other lady getting closer to me. I kinda expected it as I always get caught on the run but after a mile, I was surprised that she had not caught me yet. Part of me was thinking “2^nd place overall amateur female isn’t too bad” but then I would immediately think “but who says you will get 2^nd!” I decided to keep running as hard as I could so that no matter what happened, at least I knew I gave it my absolute best. As I passed mile 5, I didn’t see her behind me but I didn’t want to give up. The last ½ mile was fun as I ran by the lake and gave everything I could until I crossed the finish line. Karel was not expecting me so quick behind him so he was at the finish line when I finished. Karel had one fall on the run as he tripped when a casual biker was passing him and he was passed by Michael Dorr with a mile to go and he couldn’t hang with him. The fight to win his age group is keeping Karel hungry for more.

I immediately told Karel how much fun I had. We both really enjoyed our race experience as the Xterra Oak Mountain course has exactly what we love in off road racing – technical and fun.
Although I've improved my skills over the past year, this was one of those days when I just felt strong from start to finish. 

When we checked the results, it was official. I was the overall female amateur. Since I am new to the Xterra race scene, I was told that I beat “the legend” Deanna Mccurdy. I congratulated Deanna at the finish and we talked a bit more at the awards and I’m looking forward to meeting up with her in Breckenridge in August when I go to support Karel at Brek Epic. Karel finished 5^th overall amateur male and 2^nd age group (1 min behind Michael).

After we did a quick change and received our awards, we packed up the car and hit the road to make our 2.5 hour trip to Chattanooga to cheer on our athletes at IM 70.3 Chattanooga on Sunday.

RESULTS
Marni – 1^st overall amateur female, 10^th overall female. 3:13.17
Karel – 5^th overall amateur male, 22^nd overall male. 2:51.15

If you are searching for a new or different way to train and race, I highly suggest Xterra and off-road triathlon. It's so much fun! 

Xterra South Africa Race Recap

 

We had a really great night of sleep. There was something special about this race course that had us both really excited to race. With this being only my third Xterra event (previously Xterra Czech in August and Xterra World Championship in Molveno in October), I continue to feel a little nervous about the start of the bike and I worry about holding up other riders behind me on single track. But I'm learning to just focus on my own race. The biggest confidence booster was knowing that we had ridden the entire bike course and I was able to safely get through everything. It was not overly hilly (~2000 feet) and it flowed really well. There was a legit rock garden and several fun obstacles to go over. The race director gave the option for those who didn't feel comfortable in the rock garden could go the "chicken" route which was around 4K longer. 

After we ate our pre-race meal, we double checked our gear, loaded the car and left our Airbnb around 6:15am and arrived to the venue around 6:45am. We parked in a grassy field and rode our bikes to the Elgin Valley Country Club. 

The air was much cooler than the past few days (in the upper 60s) and there was a bit of mist. We were thankful it wasn't raining as we wanted to really enjoy the course and all of the technical elements. The race field was relatively small but with the full and sprint distance along with relays, there was a lot of good energy. 

Shortly after we arrived we got word that the swim would be non wetsuit legal. I made the mistake of having my calf sleeves on (as I expected it to be wetsuit legal) so after setting up my transition area, I needed to go back and take off my calf sleeves and put my compression socks by my shoes. I had prepared for both scenarios before packing my transition bag. I hung my helmet on my bars but in future races, I will put it on the ground so that I put it on first before putting on my shoes. Karel and I both used our USWE hydration packs. I used 3 scoops Berry C30 from Never Second and Karel used 1 packet C90 (citrus). 

The race started at 8am. After the pre-race briefing, we lined up near the front. It was a mass start and a two loop swim with a short run between each loop. The water was the perfect temperature around 73 degrees. Xterra uses World Triathlon rules so with this race being a 1500 meter swim, it's considered "short course" so the water temp is different compared to long course. 

I wore my light tint Roka goggles since the water was dark and the sky was cloudy. I found myself near the back of the front group and swam alongside another girl for the entire swim. There weren't a lot of ladies so I wasn't sure how the competition would be but my focus was on giving myself and being as competitive as I could. I'm still learning how to race Xterra and I know my off road skills are still a work in progress. At least in the water I am comfortable. 

I swam the 1500 meter course (~1731 yards per my Garmin) in 25:45 minutes. Karel swam 27:01 (he had 1622 yards on his watch). I felt like I had a good transition and made my way out on the bike, excited for the ride. With 80% single track I was really looking forward to the bike course. 

Karel loved the bike course. It was exactly what he likes when riding off road. He felt really strong and he was able to ride really well, feeling competitive throughout the 28K course. The course was broken into two segments - a long loop and a short loop. The long loop had the rock garden. I was passed by Karel in the first climb (switchbacks) and I passed the girl that I swam with but she later passed me and I never saw her again. I wasn't passed by any other females. I made a few mistakes throughout the course which caused me to unclip and stop but they were more because I was tired. Although riding on the sand is still new for me and I'm still working on my tight turns. There was a little rain near the end of the bike but it felt really refreshing. The weather was absolutely perfect in the low 70s. The nice thing about this course is that even the Jeep trails were technical so it kept us engaged the entire time. It was so much fun and I didn't want the bike course to end. 
Karel rode the 17.8 miles in 1:32 and I finished in 1:51.27. 

After putting on my Hoka trail shoes and putting my Nathan 10 ounce flask in my trikit pocket (we each had 1 x 10 ounce flask with 1 scoop C30 from NeverSecond), I grabbed my hat and sunglasses and headed out on the run. I usually don't wear sunglasses when I run on the trails but I grabbed them just in case as I wasn't sure what the run course would be like. 

The 6.3 mile run course had ~1000 feet of elevation gain and it was everything that I could have dreamed of in a run course. We ran in sand, up and down rocky trails, crossed over wooden bridges and even "ran" in a creek. 

As you can see from the pic, the creek was about waist high in certain sections. I opted to "swim" through the creek. It was fresh and clean. It was so much fun. After we exited the run, we went through a beautiful forest that felt like a jungle. I was able to run really well and stay really strong throughout the run. I wasn't sure what place I was in but I wanted to give my best all the way to the finish line. 

This course was everything that I imagined Xterra racing would be. To be honest, we have been a bit dissapointed in the past Xterra races that we've experienced in that a lot of the bike courses are steep and on Jeep trails with just a little single track. This was a legit bike course and the run was true trail running. I couldn't stop smiling. Karel ran the 6.3 miles in 48:17 and he was able to pass one guy near the end, who he had been battling with throughout the run. I ran 56:49. As I was nearing the finish, I heard that I was the 4th female. A bit bummed to miss out on the overall podium but really proud of my finish. I felt like I was really racing and I had so much fun. 

Marni: 4th overall female, 1st age group - 3:18.5
Karel: 7th overall male, 1st age group - 2:50.45
Full results HERE.

As we were waiting for the awards, we had a nice meal. There was no food after the race, just water and a sport drink in cups. You could buy beer or water and there were several food trucks. We also ran into Richard Murray and Rachel Klamer - two triathlon Olympians and the nicest people. We talked for a while and enjoyed their company. 

Karel had a burger and I had a delicious vegan wrap. I was surprised to see so many vegetarian/vegan food options. Although I would have been just fine with some french fries and pizza ;) 

Karel and I both won our age groups and qualified for the 2023 Xterra World Championship in Molveno, Italy but we turned down our slots since we planned other events in August/September. 

We highly recommend Xterra South Africa. We loved the nature, the scenery, the food, the people and the course. Everyone was so friendly and nice. 

South Africa Race-Cation Day 8

Neither of us slept so great at night after the race but surprisingly, we didn’t feel too sore in the morning. We woke up around 6:30am and got a bit of work done before finishing our packing and cleaning up the Airbnb for our departure. We said good bye to Thys and Hester and left around 8:30am. Today was a travel day for us and included several logistics but thankfully everything went smoothly. We drove ~1 hr to Cape Town. This was our first time seeing the area since we arrived. We dropped off our bikes (in the cases) and luggage at the Best Western Cape Town Suites where we would be staying on Friday after our Safari Tour. For the past month I had been in communication with one of the staff who said we could keep our luggage at the hotel (free of charge) during our Safari. The luggage concierge William said he would take good care of our items while we were away. We then drove ~15 minutes to the Cape Town airport to top off our rental car with gas before dropping it off at Hertz. 

With only our backpacks, we didn’t need to do anything at the airport except go through security. We had our boarding passes on our phones with the SAFAIR airline. We arrived to the airport around 11am for our 1:15pm flight which gave us a good amount of time to get some work done in one of the airport lounges. We also enjoyed some great food in the lounge. And the high speed internet was fantastic (the things you take for granted while traveling). Our 2 hour flight was fairly uneventful, although it was a little bumpy and we had to circle the sky for about 10 minutes due to another plane being slow to land. We finally touched down to Johannesburg airport at 3:15pm. I was a little nervous about figuring out the train (Gautrain) but it was super easy. Just swipe your credit card to access the train. We were lucky in that the train was 1 minute from leaving so we quickly boarded the train. The train was very comfortable, clean and quiet. The train made two stops before the final stop at Sandton. 

I chose a hotel at this location because I read that it was a safe area and the Nelson Mandela Square was a popular area to visit. We walked a block to the Garden Suites where we stayed the night and then walked across the street to check out Nelson Mandela Square. We saw the tall statue of Nelson Mandela and read about his lifetime. We then spent the next hour walking through the mall. It was interesting to think about what Nelson went through and then to be walking through a high-end mall with designer shops. We came across a bakery with a wide assortment of fresh bread and Karel couldn’t resist a croissant. We had dinner at Pappas – a Greek restaurant overlooking the square, and the food was delicious. I had a bulgur salad and Karel had a chicken kabob. 

We also had pita bread and hummus as a starter (it came free with the meal) and a cheese and spinach mushroom appetizer. 

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and went to bed around 9:30pm for an early morning alarm at 5:45am for the start of our 4-day Safari tour. 

South Africa Race-Cation Day 6 (Xterra Pre race)

                                     

In the morning, I laid out my gear for the race. As usual, I prepare my race gear way early and Karel typically waits until later in the day. With this only being my third Xterra race, I wanted to see a visual of all my items to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything for the race. We went for a ~30 min shake out run in the direction of Strand. As we started the run, there were several markets getting set up for the weekend. On the way back, we ran/walked through some of the markets. It was interesting to see the diversity in items at the market tables. On one table was clothing and on another table, were scrapes from electronics and cars. We also passed by a fruit vendor with lots of different seasonal fruits.

After eating a meal, I finished packing up my gear and worked on the computer for a bit.

At 12:40pm, I walked down to the beach to meet up with the masters swim team for their Saturday morning open water swim. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to swim in the ocean one last time. I met up with my new friend Gordon who let me keep my stuff in his car. The beach was packed unlike the previous days when we swam. I opted to swim in my swimskin since it was hot outside but the water was still a little on the cool side. There were around 15 athletes for the swim. Everyone swam at their own pace and we regrouped at the wall. I felt a little cold in the water since I wasn’t swimming too hard. The water was very choppy which was also different from our previous swims when the water was really calm. There were also a lot more boats and kayakers in the water as well. While I was swimming, Karel prepared our bikes for the race. Our Airbnb had a hose which was great for cleaning the bikes each day. Karel brought some cleaning supplies as well as a variety of tools.

After the swim I walked back to the Airbnb, had a quick snack and then around 3:15pm we drove ~25 minutes to the Elgin Valley Railroad market. I heard great things about this market although by the time we arrived, the vendors were shutting down. However, I purchased two wire-art animals from a local maker and he told me how he makes them. We walked around and enjoyed the décor in the inside of the building. We also stopped across the street at another store to check it out.

When we got back to Gordon’s Bay, we parked by the beach and had a pizza dinner at Tally’s Tavern. The pizza was delicious  - thin crust. The beach was rather busy so it was nice to watch the locals play in the ocean. We arrived back to our Airbnb around 6:30pm, prepared our hydration packs and bottles for the race and got into bed around 8pm. Just in time for load shedding. Neither of us felt nervous for the race but really excited to race for the first time in South Africa. 

South Africa Race-Cation Day 5

We took our time in the morning and worked on the computer. The internet seems to work the fastest in the morning so we try to take advantage of it. We joined our friend Gordon and another guy Brian for a late morning swim in the ocean around 10:30am (high tide). I felt much more at ease in the ocean (no jellyfish sightings) although Gordon and Brian saw a seal sunbathing on his back in the water. It was a nice swim in our wetsuits and I felt a bit better in the water compared to the day prior. During our walk on the way back from the swim, we stopped at Uncle Barry’s for soft serve ice cream. It was the best soft serve we have ever had. 

In all of our travels to Europe and now South Africa, it’s always surprising to taste sweets that aren’t overly sweet compared to the US. For some reason, in the US, everything is overly sweet. We enjoyed our soft serve on the walk back to the Airbnb. We then enjoyed some real food before heading back to the Elgin Valley Country Club to pre-ride the rock garden again. 

Instead of riding the entire course we went on the green to red line to make our way to the black rock garden. Karel wanted to do the 1.2 mile rock garden in one clean run (without stopping) so we each did our own thing. I was able to get through most of it but struggled in one switchback where my wheel got stuck in the sand and I fell into a bush. I wanted to make sure I knew the right line so I went back up the trail and rode it again, taking a different line over the rock instead. The rock was at a weird angle so it doesn’t look like the obvious line but this time I didn’t fall. I had a few gentle falls in the sandy switchbacks as it still feels so unnatural for me. I’m looking forward to working on it back at home as I know I am losing a lot of time in those type of trail sections. We also scooped out some of the run course until we got to a deep puddle of water and decided to turn around.

After our ride, we did a quick change and got our packets at the race venue (which was open from 4-7pm). I met Liezel and Conrad as I had been communicating with Liezel via IG Messenger and What’s App and gave Conrad a nice supply of Clif Bars (as requested before we left). He used to be sponsored by Clif bar and hasn’t been able to enjoy the bars since they don’t have access to them in South Africa. 

During the drive back home, we were reminded once again of the difference in lifestyles here in South Africa. 

Our Airbnb hosts wanted to make us dinner tonight. We were looking forward to getting to know them better and sampling some local recipes. After we got cleaned up at the Airbnb, we walked to the grocery store for a few items and then walked upstairs to our Airbnb for dinner. While the sun was setting, we talked with Hester and Thys and around 7:30pm, Thys started the grill (braai) to prepare the assortment of meats. I hardboiled some eggs for my protein (and to share). We had dinner around 8pm and it was incredible. We had fresh homemade bread, grits with sauce, two different salads and Karel enjoyed the meat selection. Around 9pm we left and went to bed around 10pm. It was a special evening to enjoy a homemade meal with our Airbnb hosts. Even though my vegetarian diet limits my protein choices, I really enjoy trying new foods, cuisines and dishes when we travel. It's one of the best ways to get to know a country. 

South Africa Race-Cation - Day 3

Feeling a bit more rested on day 3, we started the morning with an open water swim. I thought we were swimming in the Indian ocean (which would be a first for us) but it was the Atlantic. Still, the furthest south I've ever swam in the ocean.

Prior to our trip to SA, I emailed a lady that I found online who was in charge of the local masters group. She connected me with the Gordon Bay Sea Swim group on WhatsApp so that I could stay up to date with all the local swims. An older gentleman (Gordon – appropriately named 😊) said he would meet me and Karel for a swim, along with Harold – the local legend who has completed over 100 English Channel and Robin Crossing swims. The water was a little cool (upper 60’s) but with the warm sun at 8:30am, it felt prefect in our Roka wetsuits. We swam to and back from the old harbor which was ~1000 meters away. When we got there, we could stand on the sand (low tide) and regroup. Gordon was very helpful in that he would tell us where to swim as it was low tide so we could be aware of the rocky sections. I saw one jellyfish and it freaked me out but other than that, it was a nice swim. And no sharks :) Gordon and Harold were super nice and we chatted a bit after the swim by Gordon’s car (parked by the beach where we kept our stuff during the swim). After the swim we stopped by the local coffee shop “To Go” and Karel got a cappuccino, two croissants and a cinnamon roll. The bakery items were not the tastiest/freshest which was kinda disappointing. While waiting for our items, I made friends with the cats next door – Casper and Cat.

We walked back to our Airbnb and after eating some food, we headed to Elgin Valley Country Club – the Xterra SA race venue. The drive was ~25 minutes and it was beautiful. Normally I like for us to stay close to a race venue when we travel to a race but there wasn't much around the country club area and I wanted to make sure we could walk to places - Gordons Bay was the perfect location. We went up the road and over the mountain to Grabow. We passed through a town that was packed with a lot of African locals. There were many people walking along the highway to get to/from work, as well as more people needed a ride. If only there were bikes available for transportation. The ‘neighborhood’ of shacks was tough to see – and there are a lot of them throughout South Africa.

 

When we arrived to the country club, we weren’t sure where to go as the gate was closed when we arrived. We were buzzed in and met Willie – a tatted-up local who has a trail named after him. Willie told us that we needed to pay to use the trail (60 Rand = $3.39 USD) and to park just outside the gate and to use the wooden staircase to enter the trails (some of these trails are also used for Jeeps/off roading and hiking). I downloaded the 28K (18 mile) race course to my Garmin but the course was also marked with blue arrows. Karel led the way and helped me navigate through some of the tougher sections through the course. As usual for Xterra, we did a bit of climbing to start but the trails were much more flowy. It was also very sandy which was new for me. Often times it would feel like I was riding on ice as the bike would just slide through the sand (or get stuck). It was a new type of feeling (kinda like the deep mud in Molveno, Italy) but the more I did it, the more I learned that I needed to keep the weight off my front wheel and just let the bike slide. The jeep trails were still technical as they were rocky, sandy and up and down. As we went on the course, we were stunned by the beauty of this area. There was so much flora and different plants that we had never seen before. The rocks were incredible. When we made our way to the famous rock garden, I was ready to test my skills. I did pretty well navigating through the rocks (it was mostly downhill) but struggled on one steep and rocky section. Karel coached me through it and I got it the second time. Karel has been really helpful in my journey into mountain biking (which started ~13 months ago) as he will notify me of any technical or difficult sections before I get to them (and tell me what to do) or we will stop and he will walk me through which line to take or how to get through a touch section. There were a few tight switchbacks on loose sand which required a lot of balance and power so it was helpful to have Karel in front to tell me what I needed to do. I really struggled on the downhills with the curves and turns on the sand so that is an area that I know I need to continue to work on (body position). Although we got tired as the ride went on, it was the most incredible riding experience that I have ever had on a mountain bike. It was cloudy, windy and hot so we made sure to stay well hydrated with our USWE hydration packs. 

We stopped at the store on the way home to get a few more things before dinner. We both got a bit sunburnt (the sun is very strong) as we didn’t put on enough sunscreen during our ride as it was cloudy so that didn’t feel too good in the evening. We went to bed a little earlier (~10pm) as we were both pretty tired from the day.

South Africa Race-Cation - Day 2

We woke up to the new sights and smells of South Africa. Our Airbnb was in the perfect location in Gordon’s Bay – just a few blocks (~10 min walk) to the beach and three blocks from the grocery store (SPAR). We could see the ocean from the owners balcony (which we could use). The owners of the Airbnb live on the top floor and we had the entire bottom floor (three bedrooms and three bathrooms + kitchen, family room, outside patio and a place to park our rental car (I used Hertz – Rav4 SUV) inside their gated house.

The owners of the house (Hester and Thys) were extremely welcoming and provided us with lots of recommendations and advice before our arrival. After catching up on a few emails, we walked a few blocks to the Spar grocery store. picked up a few items at Woolsworth as well (kinda like a Fresh Market for those in the states). It was a bit easier to shop for food compared to Europe as everything was in English so we had fun collecting familiar and different foods to add to our grocery cart. I was really impressed with the vegetarian options in both stores (specifically the Woolsworth). I did a lot of research before arriving and I thought the meals were going to be really meat-heavy but there were a lot of plant based options to choose from. This was also our first wow moment of how affordable/cheap the food was here. The US dollar goes a very long way. I think we spent less than $40 on groceries. We walked back to our Airbnb (while snacking) and got our first glimpse of the poverty in the area. There were a lot of homeless people and trash mixed in with the nice, expensive houses. I never felt scared or threatened, everyone was very nice and waved to us with a smile. It was just a culture shock to see the different types of people all in one area. 

After eating a delicious breakfast, Karel built the bikes while I unpacked. Load shedding was during this time (12-2pm) which worked out well to be without power. We can still use our hotspot during loadshedding but the internet was very slow. Nearing 2pm, we drove ~45 minutes to Stellenbosch and passed through several winery’s. The scenery was incredible – a mix of mountains and vineyards. While Karel was doing the driving, I was taking it all in. Karel’s brain was still having a hard time figuring out how to drive on the left side of the road (while sitting on the right side of the car, trying to use the mirror facing to his left and the blinker on his right). We made a good team as Karel did the driving and I would remind him which lane to stay in and where to turn.

Once we arrived to the Banhoek Conservancy, we weren’t sure exactly where to park but we finally found the gate. We paid the 50 Rand (~$2.50 USD) for us each get a pass/wrist bands to ride on the trails. Most of the trails in the area are built by Conrad Stoltz and Leizel (his wife) suggested that we visit this area for our shakeout ride. We were in awe of the beauty of the jagged rocks and wide open fields. We went for a shake out ride with no plans for how long we were going to ride (or where). While we were still functioning ok without major jet lag, the warm temps and fatigue from travel was had us feeling blah. 

We ventured on to one trail which had us climbing right away. It was really hot (low 90s) and dry and we were having a hard time catching our breathe. Especially after travel, neither of us felt very good. We accidentally ended up on a double orange diamond route (which is the “professional/expert” route – the hardest) so I found myself scooting me and my bike back down the trail.

Thankfully, we found another loop with berms and it was so much fun. It was the perfect way to shake out the legs and to get reacquainted with our mountain bikes. We did the loop ~5 times, with each time getting more familiar and confident with my body position. We decided to try another route which had some gentle climbing for a while and then when we decided to turn around, we fully enjoyed the flow of the trail to take us back to the field where we started. This was our first taste of the trails and they were much more dry than what we are used to, which made it a little challenging to feel a grip on the tires as it’s loose and sandy. After the ride I went for a short run (~1.5 miles) to get my system going. Karel did a short jog in the morning so he stayed by the bikes at the car. We made our way back to the Airbnb (with our navigation taking us through the Stellenbosch University, which was very pretty).

We saw several packed cars of African American people packed into the trunks as well as many people standing on the side of the road waving money to get a ride.

We made it home around 7pm which gave us enough time to prepare dinner before load shedding at 8-10pm. The downstairs unit stayed pretty cool so we didn’t notice not having AC. We did have a fan in our room which we turned on for when the power would switch back on at 10pm (or whenever loadshedding was overwith). It would then turn off again around 2-4am for another loadshedding). I went to bed a little later (~10:30pm) but I was surprised I wasn’t more tired from the jetlag. We had a great night of sleep.

South Africa Race-Cation - Travel Day

Karel knows how much I love international travel (and warm weather) so late this summer, when he mentioned to me that we should participate in Xterra South Africa on January 22nd, 2023 I was excited for the opportunity to visit a new continent.

After a few months of researching, planning and travel hacking, I was able to put together an affordable two weeks to experience the sights, culture, trails, animals, food and people of South Africa. I realize travel is a privilege and we had/have to work really hard to travel but it's something that makes my life feel whole. My favorite type of travel is when I can combine culture and nature - alongside riding my bike in new places. 

If you have a trip to South Africa on your bucket list - or anywhere in this world - I strongly encourage you to start planning. With a bit of saving and a lot of planning, you too can have a life-changing trip.

For those who are curious, here is the breakdown of our trip (I'm pretty proud of myself for planning a 2-week race-cation to South Africa, including a 4-day safari for less than $5000!)

Paid in advance: 
Flights - $1160 per person (main cabin on Delta, booked late October) = $2320 
Airbnb - $594 (7 nights)
Rental car - $445 (Rav4 SUV from Hertz for 8 days)
Flights for Safari - $305 (Safair airline, priority boarding)
4-day Kruger Safari Package - $481 per person (Safari with us) = $962
Garden Court Sandton City - $76 (breakfast for two included)
Xterra race entry - $36 per person = $72
TOTAL = $4774

What was free: 
-No money spent at airports (and we were 11 of them) with lounge accesst thanks to our Amex Platinum Business Cards (which includes Priority Pass membership). 
-Free luggage storage at Best Western while we were away at our Safari. 
-Free night at Best Western thanks to Credit Card points from Capital One Visa. 
-Free shuttle to airport from Best Western. 

Extra money spent during trip (1 USD = 17.6 South African Rand): 
-Uber
-Meals/Groceries
-Tips and donations 
-Souvenirs and gifts
-Enterance fees (ex. hiking, mountain biking)

We left our house/pet sitter and our furry crew around 11:30am on Sunday. It was strange leaving on a Sunday (and later in the day) so it almost felt like a normal weekend day for us. We did a workout in the morning (Karel rode the trainer and I ran) and finished our packing/house cleaning before we were driven to the airport by my mom’s partner Alan. I hired a pet sitter from Rover.com and she stayed at our house for the entire 2 weeks that we were away. 

We arrived early to the airport to give ourself time to check in with our bike bags and to enjoy the airport lounge, thanks to our new Amex platinum business card (with all of our travels this year, I’m seeing if this CC is worth the yearly payment. So far, with our lounge access, it’s well worth it!). There was no line for checking in with Delta for our 2 suitcases and bike bags (with our mountain bikes inside – including Apple air tags on each bike and in our suitcases for tracking) and we were quick through security with TSA pre-check. We got some work done in the lounge and enjoyed a light meal before boarding our plane around 2 for our 2:50pm flight to Atlanta.

It was a quick flight to Atlanta and I watched some of a movie that I downloaded onto my iPad. When we arrived, we needed to go from the B terminal to F so we took the plane train to the international terminal. We waited in line for the Delta Sky Club lounge for around 10 minutes. This was our first time in this lounge and the food was amazing. It was so nice to enjoy “free” food, especially a salad w/ tofu. Although we only had an hour before heading to our gate, we thouroughly enjoyed our time in the lounge (and Karel loved the coffee options with good tasting coffee). 

Around 4:50, the boarding process started for our 6pm flight to Johannesburg. This was home for the next 15 hours - our longest flight ever. Karel was not excited. I sat in the middle seat, next to a nice guy who was visiting his mom for the first time in 6 years. Karel had the aisle. I thought I was booking the front row of Main (behind Comfort +) but turns out there was no bulkhead so my idea to have extra leg room failed through. I should have just booked to aisle seats for us next to one another. Oh well. We had two meals on the plane and snacked on our trail mix that we brought. We each watched two movies and slept on and off. I enjoyed one vegetarian meal that I requested prior to the flight (for some reason they didn't have my request in so they had to search for an extra meal. They do have a vegetarian option with the complimentary meal service but I always request a 'special meal' (which is free) as the options are a lot better - and you get served first. We got up for the restroom and to stretch a lot. Overall, for this being our longest flight so far, it wasn’t too bad. It actually went by rather fast and I think going through the night helped as we were naturally tired and the flight was long enough that we could take a few longer naps.

Fruit, bread, bulgur salad and rice with vegetarian meat, beet sauce and vegetables. 

We arrived to the Johannesburg airport around 2:30pm and had a two hour layover. Because we were on the same plane to Cape Town, we departed the plane for cleaning and stayed in a holding wing. We were provided water and snacks while waiting. We then re-boarded our plane and made the 2 hour flight to Cape Town. I tried not to nap but I caved and fell asleep for a short time. We finally touched down to South Africa on Monday evening around 8pm. It was a long two days of travel but we were so excited to finally touch down on this new continent.

There was no line for passport control so that went by quickly (unlike the time it takes to enter the US) and then we picked up our bags/bikes. We then went to the rental car kiosk to get our SUV from Hertz. We were both very nervous about the driving situation with a right side of the car driver and driving on the left side of the road so for our dark 45 min drive to Gordon’s Bay, I had to remind Karel “left, left!” a lot throughout the drive. We survived. We made a quick stop at the gas station as we were really hungry. This was our first opportunity to try new foods. Karel got some type of meat "pastry" and I got a yogurt drink and a bag of ginger crackers. We were notified by our Airbnb host that load-shedding (shut down of power) was at 10pm so when we arrived just after 10pm, it was pitch dark out. Thankfully the host had a few portable lights for us to use. She showed us around the Airbnb and we were welcomed with a lot of wind – which made for a refreshing night of sleep with our door open (no AC). Surprisingly, we both slept pretty good after falling asleep just after 11pm local time (7 hours ahead of EST). We had a good night of sleep and I woke up around 9am excited for our first official day in South Africa.

'22 Xterra World Championship Molveno, Italy

We started our triathlon season five months ago in St. George, Utah at the Ironman World Championship. Yesterday we finished our season in Molveno, Italy at the Xterra World Championship.
Karel is absolutely loving the transition to off-road racing as he thrives in unpredictable, testing and challenging scenarios. As for myself, I'm feeling very unsure of myself - which is a big change from the predictability and confidence that I experienced after 16 years of long distance triathlon racing.

While I'm proud of what I accomplished yesterday in 62-degree water conditions, 48-degree air temp and through deep mud on slippery roots and rocks, steep slick downhills, around very competitive and skilled riders, navigating pitchy climbs and a handful more new first time experiences, it would be wrong of me to not mention how nervous I was for all of these first-time experiences.

Trying something new means that I may fail, struggle, look silly and embarrass myself. On the night before the event, while trying to calm my anxiety, I thought to myself that it would be a lot easier to avoid all of these uncomfortable feelings by supporting Karel on the sidelines and share his success without being uncomfortable. Not racing meant I didn't have to feel any discomfort.

But then I reminded myself why I wanted to learn how to mountain bike, and then get into Xterra racing - I want to experience a new sense of accomplishment.

Doing something for the first time is scary. It's hard and risky. But it's how you learn. It's how you develop. It teaches you how to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. The older we get, the easier it is to stay in our comfort zone. The harder it is to accept failure.

Although yesterday was humbling, I took on a new experience and conquered something that I thought was impossible. And for that, I am proud.

A tale of two World Championship events

 

The picture is from the Kona, Hawaii. On nine separate occassions for almost 2 weeks, between 2007 until 2019, this was our view in early October. The Ironman World Championship has a very special place in our hearts. I have had the privilege of racing 5 times on the Big Island and Karel has raced 4 times. At Ironman Lake Placid this year, we both earned a slot to race in Kona again. Had we accepted, we would have been heading back to the Big Island to participate in the IM World Championship. 

This is a picture from Molveno, Italy. A place we've never been to before. On Monday, we will be flying (back) to Europe for the Xterra World Championship. Karel qualifed at the 2021 USA Championship in Ogden, Utah. Originally I was planning to bring my mountain bike and make the trip an epic train-cation while supporting Karel but I unexpectedly received a rolldown slot after participating in the Xterra European Championship in Czech Republic and I accepted the slot for my first Xterra World Championship. 

Two completely different World Championship locations.
Two completely different races.
Two completely different weather conditions.
Two completely different expectations.

In Kona, I always felt tremendous pressure to perform at my best. Every year I requalified for the Ironman World Championship, my expectations for myself got higher and higher. Sadly, I never performed to my potential. I let the pressure get the best of me.

For my first Xterra World Championship, I am going to apply the lessons learned from several past World Championship experiences and I will go into the race with no expectations. This isn't to be confused with low expectations. No expectations means no dissapointments. Karel and I are there to learn, to enjoy the experience, to take in the scenery and to give our best effort on the day.

You don't have to participate in a World Championship event to find yourself trying to forecast how you want things to go. Career, moving, school, the weather, a relationship or special occassion - trying to control an outcome can lead to tremendous stress, pressure and frustration.

So does this mean that we should lower our expectations in order to avoid dissappointment? Should we stop dreaming big so we don't have to experience a let-down if we don't succeed?

It's great to have goals. It's good to strive for more. It's fine to have high-standards for yourself. But your expectations should not affect your self-esteem, well-being or happiness. Be reasonable with yourself. There will always be things out of your control. Living with high expectations can be associated with burnout, sadness, depression and low self-esteem.

Here are a few signs that you may be expecting too much from yourself:

• Perfectionism - feeling that you are never good enough, setting unrealistic standards.
• Not allowing yourself to make mistakes.
• Being hard and overly critical on yourself, focusing too much on your imperfections.
• Setting goals to other people's expectations, not based on your own needs, interests and abilities.
• Trying to please everyone and putting the needs of others before your own.
• Focusing too much on what other people are doing.
• Not being able to say no.
• A constant need for achievemet and praise for sense of self-worth.
• Expecting to always be at your best. 

Here are some tips to help you stop expecting so much from yourself (remember, no expectations is not low expectations): 

• Stop comparing yourself to other people (or a past version of yourself). Your self-worth should not be based on other people. Focus on your own strengths and abilities and your journey in life.
• Set goals that are realistic. Strive for "good enough." Let go of the need to be perfect.
• Allow yourself to fail. Be ok with making mistakes. You don't have to be great at everything.
• Live within your own moral code and personal values. Make sure your goals are in line with your own needs, not to please others.
• Set boundaries for yourself. Know when to say no, ask for help and give yourself rest.
• It's ok to have rough patches. This does not mean that you are not going to be successful. Everyone has bad days.
• Enjoy your journey without the need for constant applause or achievement.
• Challenge the bully in your head. Address the negativity to focus on the positives. Be kind to yourself. 

When you learn to stop expecting too much from yourself, you may find that you are much happier, succeed more often and recognize the positives in what you have.

Xterra Czech Race Recap

 

Wow, that was hard.
My first Xterra race was on a super tough course with long climbs and fast downhills. 3800 feet of elevation in 21 miles on the bike and 1000 feet for the 6.2 mile run. The swim was non-wetsuit legal (no swim skins allowed) which made for a chilly start to the day - even for a 12:30pm race start. The competition was fierce as this was the European Championship.
I learned a lot, had fun and suffered for 3 hours and 45 minute. I don’t think my heart has ever beat so high and hard for that long.
I’m thrilled for Karel for placing 3rd in his age group. What a special day for him to race in Czech.

To hear more about our race, check out our video race recap below....

Here are a few pics from the race. 

Swim Start

Getting ready for the 12:30pm race start. 

The first of many long climbs.

Satisfied at the finish.

Beautiful location for a transition area in the town square. 

Karel's bike post race. 

My bike post race. 

Karel's Czech friends. 

Awards Ceremony

My gear for the race. 

Finish line smiles!

Karel waiting for me at the finish line. 

If you'd like to check out the course, I put together a video from our recon ride. You can see the video HERE.

From Znojmo to Prachatice

For our last three days in Znojmo before heading off to our next destination (Prachatice), we spent our time around family. After our Mon morning swim, we went to Karel’s mom’s flat for lunch. I had a lentil dish and Karel had a dish with meat. We then went back to our Airbnb for a short time and then walked to Karel’s nieces flat to visit with her and her son and husband. I loved seeing her beautiful four cats - one was a giant Maine coon. We chatted a bit (she speaks English) and then went to the park. We got ice cream on our walk back to our Airbnb, before walking to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner.

On Tuesday, we went for a short off-road run around the town. I was pretty tired during the run so we took several walk/stop breaks for pictures. Karel’s brother took a train/bus in from Pribor for the day (and night). We gifted Karel’s brother Jirka with a new pair of Hoka trail running shoes and a Trimarni tank. Jirika enjoys trail running and bike expeditions. After lunch at Karel's mom's place, Karel and his brother went to his dad’s cemetery and enjoyed a beer at the pub that their dad frequently visited (downstairs from his flat). This was Karel’s first real beer in over 3 years and while he didn’t really enjoy how it made him feel, he enjoyed sharing memories with his brother. While they were at the pub, I worked on the computer and took a short nap in our Airbnb With it being warm out and the noisy streets (and window’s open when we sleep), we haven’t had a good night of sleep since arriving to Czech. We are constantly tired and hoping that one of these nights we will sleep restfully.
For dinner, Karel and I went to a restaurant in town and Karel enjoyed a traditional chicken breast wrapped in potato and I had vegetables and pasta.

Wednesday was a pretty chill day. We went for a ride on the single track trails behind the only hospital in town. We did a few hard efforts to get the legs ready for the race on Saturday. We then went for a brick run (trail run). I was pretty tired after the bike ride and my legs were tired while running. After eating lunch at Karel's mom's place, we then went back to our place (Karel’s mom came with us before heading to Karel’s nieces place to babysit her son) and sorted through our clothes for our next leg of trip. Since we didn’t need to bring everything with us for the next week of traveling we sorted through our stuff and packed only one suitcase along with our race stuff for the Xterra event. In the early evening, we walked into town and enjoyed our last evening in Znojmo.

On Thursday morning we woke up around 5:45am and left our place around 7am. The drive to Borova Lada took around 3.5 hours. Depending on where we travel in Czech, the miles don’t go by really fast. For this trip, we were mostly on two lane roads, traveling through many villages and often getting stuck behind tractors and trucks. While you can pass on these roads, there are still a lot of slow downs. We were pretty exhausted and tired by the time we got to our cottage. A friend of Roman’s has a second home in Borova Lada and he let us use it from Thurs – Sunday. He was going to join us (along with Roman and two other guys) but they would come on Friday after bike riding from Prague to the house (over 100 miles there and then biking home on Sunday. They had a car following them with their clothes and food). The cottage was super cute and it was so nice to feel cooler air and for it to be so quiet (which was a big change after living in a city for the past week). After unpacking, we (along with our friend Honza who was also doing the Xterra race) drove in two cars to Prachatice – which took ~50 minutes. We picked up our race stuff in the town of Prachatice and then drove another 35 minutes to the start of the bike course. Because of the point to point bike course, we left one car in town and all rode in Honza’s van to the race start/bike start. By the time we got on our bikes, it was after 2pm and we had been traveling since 7pm. Karel and I were very tired. We are almost on the verge of tears because of how exhausted we were. But when we got on our mountain bikes, we quickly woke up and felt the good energy enter our body. What a difference it makes to move the body!

For the next 2.5 hours, we rode the entire Xterra bike course and all I can say is wow. The course was not super technical (there were a few small sections with rocks and roots that required skills and strength to get over) but what was so physically demanding was the long steep climbs. There were climbs on pavement, grass, rocks and dirt that were well over 20% and lasted anywhere from 2-5+ minutes. We took several stops to regroup (with Karel leading the way and having a blast on his bike). There were also several sections with signs before that read “DANGER” and to Karel, this meant “FUN” as the section was a fast, rocky, steep downhill. While I felt like I could handle the entire course with my skills (a few times I needed to get off my bike to walk through a section that I was too tired to get the strength to work through), what I lacked with high power on the climbs. My legs were so tired and my body felt empty. A big difference between mountain biking and biking in the Ironman is that in the Ironman, I rarely feel my heart beating fast. But in mountain biking, my heart is always beating hard and I’m breathing heavy. It requires so much effort to get up these steep hills and navigate over roots, rocks and other elements. This feeling is very new to me and something I’m getting used to. After 16 years of building my aerobic engine for Ironman, I know I need to really work my anaerobic threshold to better handle the punchy and hard efforts needed in mountain biking.

The bike course finished with a packed gravel downhill section with a few berms and then on the pump track before heading on the cobblestones and into town.

After the bike, Karel and Honza took our car back up the lake (another 40 minutes there and back) while I walked in the town and picked up pizza. I took advantage of the extra time and free WIFI at the pizzeria (we don’t have wifi at our cottage) and downloaded the videos from my GoPro to the app on my phone. After Honza and Karel returned, it was after 7pm and we had been on the go since 7am. We had a 45 minute drive back to the cottage and by 9pm, I was so ready for bed. It was so nice to sleep in a quiet bedroom with fresh cool air. We slept great!

On Friday, we enjoyed sleeping in and then went for a short trail run in the National Park. After the run, we walked into the small town and had blueberry dumplings for our lunch meal – which were incredibly delicious. We all cleaned our plates! 

As for the rest of the day, I used my hot spot and got ahead with a little work and Karel got our bikes ready for the Xterra race. It was a little interesting trying to replicate my normal pre-race meals in Czech, especially for an event that I had never done before. Whereas I have my Ironman and 70.3 pre and during race nutrition down perfectly, I need a lot more practice for Xterra. Roman and the other guys arrived to the cottage around 7pm but I was already asleep as I was so exhausted and tired. I had a good night of sleep and even though I slept in until almost 7am, I was still a bit tired in the morning. Since not sleeping well for a week, I feel like my body is still struggling with sleep. I was very nervous for the race, especially not knowing what to expect and racing in the European Championship. Karel also felt a bit nervous, even though he has much more experience than me (this was his 5th Xterra event).

At 8:30am, we left our place and headed to Prachatice for my first Xterra race. Race report coming soon!

2021 Xterra World Championship Race Recap (Vlog and pics)

 

Distance per Karel's Garmin: 2 mile run/18 mile bike/5.7 mile run 
Total time: 3:08.56
Run 1: 14:27 (7:02 min/mile, 564 feet elevation gain)
Bike: 1:59.41 (9 mph, 3520 feet elevation gain)
Run 2: 53.29 (9:17 min/mile, 1109 feet elevation gain)
2nd place AG (45-49)

Pre Race Report

Race Recap 

Ocean on race morning

First run 

Up to 30% grade

On the bike course

Last loop of the bike

Finish!!

Finish line smiles in the rain

Flora Duffy Olympic Triathlon Gold Medalist and Xterra 6x World Champion

Congrats!

20+ athletes from Czech! 

Podium pic

So proud! 

XTERRA Trail Running World Championship (21K) - Race Recap

Before we left for Maui on the 29th, I found myself feeling nervous and excited for my third-ever trail run. In the days leading up to the event, I ran on some of the course and experienced several extreme weather changes (from sun to heavy rainfall). Seeing how exhausting it was to jog/walk/hike on the course when it was in great conditions, my worries of the unknown started to build as the trail got wetter and muddier. 

The transition from road to trail racing has been a humbling experience for me. I find that I am good at it but not great. My endurance and resiliency has allowed me to experience some success within my age group at my last three events (Oak Mountain Alabama, Ogden Utah and recently in Maui) but I still have a lot of weaknesses when it comes to my skills and abilities. For example, I lose a lot in the downhill sections of trail running.

But what I lose in my lack of skills and experience I gain in my love a new challenge.... even when my heart is beating out of my chest and my legs are burning with lactic acid.

Considering that my first trail run was in early May, I’ve had to quickly learn how to shift my mindset and expectations. Trail running requires so much focus, strength, resiliency, endurance and suffering….and a fair bit of “hiking." My pace and overall time mean little to me compared to how far I ran, the elevation gained and what I learned (and had to overcome) to get to the finish line. 

Although I’m still new to this sport and learning as I go, I find that my body really does well running over rocks, roots, in mud, climbing up and down steep hills and jumping over obstacles. The uneven footing, quick reactions, undulating terrain and changing direction keeps me totally present and works well for my high cadence running style. Over the past few years, trying to improve my running speed/pace has become difficult as my risk for injury increases as I intentionally try to run harder on flat pavement. However, I've learned that I can get a similar (if not better) training response by running on hills and off-road. My heart rate goes up, I feel the lactic acid burning in my legs and I get the benefits of pounding, but in a different way than trying to force a faster propulsion on the track or flat roads. While hilly and off-road running doesn't always transfer to faster paces, it does help me build great resiliency, endurance and stamina - which really helps with long-distance running (especially off the bike). Plus, when I am not injured, I am more consistent with running which means I have more opportunities to improve my fitness - and running is more fun when I am not injured. 

Although I still enjoy and do road running (for triathlon), I am really happy that I found trail running this year (all thanks to Karel and his last minute idea to do an Xterra event). 

Two and One Day Out

On Thursday (two days out from the event), we had the most enjoyable 4.5 hour boat tour with Magic Mergman (I would highly recommend them for a boat tour!). We swam with sea turtles, snorkeled with lots of colorful fish and even saw a Whale tail in the distance. It was such a relaxing day filled with a lot of swimming in the ocean. When we arrived back to our condo, it was nearing 4pm. We used this day as an active recovery day so no structured exercise.

Plus we were both a bit sore from our training on Wednesday as that was more of a 'recon' day to see the course (Karel and I swam in the morning, he mountain biked and I ran mid day and then Karel ran in the evening). On Thursday evening I ordered pizza from Dollie's Pub and Cafe (Margherita pizza) - it was delicious. I always have pizza two nights out from a long distance event - it always hits the right spot in my belly. I went to bed early (as usual) and was asleep by 8:30pm. It's so easy to get to bed early when we are in Hawaii! 

On Friday (one day out), I went for a swim in the ocean with Karel. The conditions were not bad, even though there was talk that the swim would be cancelled due to increasing energy/wave height over the next 48 hours. Once we finished a "loop" of the swim course (no buoys, we just guesstimated with our watches) Karel went to the swim course tips meeting in the Ritz hotel and I went out for another loop. I ended up meeting a new friend (Amanda), who is a great swimmer and new to Xterra. We had a lot of fun swimming together and even took some time to check out the coral reef to look at some fishes. The water is clear but not as clear as in Kona by the pier. 

After swimming two loops of the course, I joined Karel and our friend Ross in the Ritz hot tub to loosen out my legs. I decided not to run on Friday and instead, used my swim as my pre-race warmup. If I had my bike with me, I probably would have rode as well but wasn't planning to run. Instead, I did a session of ECFIT mobility in the afternoon and enjoyed a nice plate of pasta in the condo while Karel attended the Xterra triathlon athlete welcome banquet with Ross. Karel was stocked to see that there were over 20 athletes racing the triathlon. He was happy to sit with them, speak Czech and meet some new friends. At this point (Friday evening) it was confirmed that the swim was cancelled for Sunday.

I went to bed early but had a little trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I could feel my nerves as I counted down the hours until it was time to officially get up at 7am. 

Race morning
Although there is a lot to love with Xterra, the later start times are amazing. My event didn't start until 9:30am! I started my morning with my typical pre-workout/race snack of a cinnamon raisin bagel w/ peanut butter and jam and banana slices. I ate this around 7:45am and followed it up with a 20-minute ECFIT mobility session. I made sure to do at least 20 minutes of mobility every day during our trip to keep my body healthy on race week - especially after the looooong travel to an island in the middle of Pacific ocean. I also had a cup of coffee and glass of water. 

After my mobility session I did a run around our condo complex (~10 minutes) and then put on the rest of my gear (Naked Hydration band + 2 x 10 ounce Nathan hard flasks, each filled with 1 scoop Orange Skratch). I also brought with me a sleeve of Clif ginger chews and a gel just in case. I had Karel's mountain bike gloves (he had two pairs) to use for holding on to trees or if I feel on the trail. I decided no visor/hat but had my Roka sunglasses (with specific lenses for shaded conditions in the woods) and ON CloudUltra trail shoes. 

I jogged a few minutes to the race venue while Karel rode his mountain bike. It was very kind of Karel to spend his entire morning out cheering for me while he was also needing to prepare (and rest) for his event on Sunday. I realized that I arrived to the venue with plenty of time to spare so we went up to our friend's room (Ross) and hung out there until a little after 9am. I did a few more stretches and warming up before lining up to the start on the grass field around 9:20am. 

Although it rained much of the morning on Friday, it had dried up so I wasn't as nervous as I was before (when Karel rode on Tuesday it was super wet, slippery and muddy). 

Quick Stats

12.8 miles
2:04 total time
2316 feet elevation gain 
2nd age group (35-39)
11th overall female

Mile splits: 
8:43
10:42
11:19
8:35
8:52
9:43
9:25
9:23
11:33
10:28
9:09
9:16
8:31

I didn't wear a heart rate monitor but I could feel my heart beating in my chest from the first few steps of the run. I had studied the course (and ran on half of it) so I knew what was coming. The first 3 miles or so were mostly uphill with a few short downhill segments (which I found impossible to recover in). My breathing was heavy and my legs were burning. We started up hill on the grass, which turned into pavement before heading off road, then back on the road, through a tunnel and then on to the trail. The trail was clearly marked for us which was a good thing because it would have been really confusing as it felt like we were running in a jungle. There were a few pavement segments but nothing that would last more than a minute or two. The conditions were not super muddy but there were a few muddy spots where I had to be careful with my footing. I took my gloves off a few times and put them back on just to feel a bit more safe with the steep downhills. 

I did my first "hike" (aka power walk) for about 3 minutes up a steep hill. There were times when I was by myself and times when I was with other runners. It was tempting to walk when others were walking but it was also encouraging to run when others were walking. Everyone was really supportive and cheering each other on. I liked when I had people around me as I could watch their footing to know where to run, especially on the downhills. 

Although the next 4.3 miles were net downhill, there were still some punchy segments. And as if a 16-18% grade wasn't hard enough, the slippery mud and roots made it even tougher. Whereas in Ogden, Utah I could not wait for all the suffering to be over with, I was really enjoying myself and just focusing on one mile at a time. 

I had been practicing drinking from my flasks while running on the trail (this makes drinking while running on the pavement super easy now!) and I felt I did a good job drinking from my flasks within each mile. I kinda just listened to my body and drank when I felt like it was smart/safe to do so on the trail (primarily on the downhills). I also grabbed cold water from each aid station for sipping and cooling. 

Although I didn't have any low moments, I could feel like my legs were getting really tired. Sometimes they felt numb from all the pounding, climbing and downhill running. I didn't have any falls and only a few times I stepped in an awkward way but never hurt myself. The biggest struggle was side stitches which I seem to get when I trail run. I think a combo of my breathing pattern (and breathing heavy), run cadence and my rib cage often moving in a different direction than my pelvis as I try to keep myself upright, causes the side stiches. There were times when I needed to adjust my effort/breathing but the terrain wouldn't let me so it was interesting to try to figure out how to stay focused and still listen to my body. 

                                                  

Karel was a ninja on the course - he was everywhere. It was so great to see him and to hear his cheers. 
The magic moment of the race was when I heard my watch ding at a mile split and I thought I was at mile 7. I looked at my watch and I was at mile 9 - winning! Because the course wasn't marked with mile markers (just arrows) I only used my watch for reference to know what mile I was at.

Nearing the end of the run, I passed a girl on an uphill who had passed me earlier on a downhill section. After around 9 miles, I felt my endurance was really kicking in as I was passing more people on the course (mostly guys).  The girl I passed was really great at running downhill and I just couldn't keep up with her. She passed me back soon after the duck pond on another downhill section. Nearing the last big climb, we had a fun section where we went around and over trees. Aside from this section, there wasn't a lot of technical aspects of this run but a lot of very steep and twisty up and downhills. 

After making my way to the pavement (this run course went through an old golf course so that is why there were several paved paths between the trails) I approached the very last climb which was on pavement. It was at least 18% grade. I walked for 3.5 minutes (.3 miles) of this final climb as everything was hurting. But I was power walking and still passing other people who were walking. I then saw two girls ahead of me - one of the girls was the one that passed me on the downhill and she was out of sight until this final climb. And then another girl that must have passed me near the beginning as I never saw her during the run. There were also a few guys as well. Karel saw me as I started the climb and gave me one last big cheer before he went to the finish. 

Once I got almost to the top of this nasty climb, I was committed to start running and to not look back. Oh did it hurt and I didn't want to start running but I knew this was my last chance to pass a few girls before the rocky downhill to the finish. For two minutes (.28 miles) I ran and it was so uncomfortable. I passed the girls and I just went for it. I didn't look back and couldn't really look back as I was making sure not to fall on the rocky trail as I ran as fast as I could to the beach. For the next 1/2 mile, I ran as hard as I could. I stumbled over the dry rocky creek and on to the beach. I took a look behind me and I could see one of the girls I passed on the hills in the distance and I tried to sprint of the sand. It was so hard and I felt like I couldn't find any firm sand by the water but I gave all I could. 

Karel was near the finish and cheered me in to the finish line. As soon as I reached the finish line my legs started shaking and I could hardly stand. It felt so good to fall to the ground as my legs were completely empty. Karel couldn't believe that I passed so many people in the closing miles but he was also confident in my endurance from so many years of long distance training and racing. 

I couldn't believe that I was 2nd in my age group and 11th overall female. There were a lot of very fast trail runners and it was inspiring to see the fitness and skills of these elite athletes. 

After the event I hobbled my way back to the condo, cleaned up and went back to the race venue for the awards ceremony. Karel relaxed while I spent a little time relaxing at the beach and enjoying the crashing waves at the ocean. Since we had confirmation that the swim was cancelled as a big storm was coming so Karel was mentally preparing himself for a challenging duathlon on Sunday. 

Although I didn't feel too sore on Saturday afternoon, my hamstrings, quads and calves were so sore on Sunday and Monday. Wow - trail running is hard....and so much fun! 

I'm already searching for my next race! 

Xterra World Championship Course Recon

 

The weather has been interesting this week. Our first morning in Maui gave us light rain. As the rain continued to fall, the trails got muddy and slippery. Even though Karel changed out his tires prior to the trip (in anticipation for muddy conditions), it only took one ride for Karel to feel that he needed even better tires suited for even muddier conditions. The trails were so slippery and his tires were covered in mud it was as if he was ice skating on his bike. Thankfully he only had one fall and didn't injure himself. 

I decided to stick to the road for my shake out run and just walked a few sections of the end of the course (trail). It was slippery and I didn't have my trail shoes on so I was extra careful. 

On Wednesday, Karel purchased new tires from the expo and installed them himself in our condo. Even though the course was dry on Wednesday, there is a big rain storm coming this weekend (starting tomorrow) so he is happy with his new setup - even though the conditions will make the course extra challenging and his tires will still get super muddy.

On Wednesday morning we went for an ocean swim and around mid day, while Karel and our friend Ross (from Greenville, SC) were biking the course, I went out for a trail run. I ran on Karel's triathlon run course (~6 miles of the 6.5 mile course) which is also part of my 21K run course. The course was clearly marked with red run signs. 

Within the first 1/2 mile, my heart was beating rapidly and my legs were burning. For the next few miles, I felt like I was constantly climbing and climbing and climbing. Even when there was a downhill, he never lasted long enough to recover. To not fully exhaust/damage my legs and to minimize the risk for a fall/injury/niggle, I walked (aka hiked) more than I ran - especially on the more technical sections. Even though the course was "dry" my shoes were still covered in mud and I could feel them getting heavier and heavier as the mud was accumulating under my shoes (I stopped a few times to wipe the mud off with sticks). 

As I marveled in the beauty of this course - a bit Jurassic park like - I could not help but think how challenging, exhausting and difficult this 21K trail run will be. The course map shows just under 2000 feet of elevation that we will experience over all types of terrain. And from what I experienced during my recon run, the hills are super steep and relentless. Even though there was beauty all around me while running, I couldn't help but feel the scream in my legs and my heart beating out of my chest. And while it's warm here, it's not overly hot - just hot enough to remind me that I am on an island. 

While I'm excited and grateful for this trail run experience, I am also very nervous as it's going to be an incredible test of mental strength, resiliency, endurance, strength, stamina and focus. 

Karel is excited for his adventure and wants the most epic race experience possible. With the predicted weather forecast and difficulty of the course, I think he's in for a very memorable Xterra World Championship event. 

Here are some pics from the past few days, exercising in Maui. 

XTERRA Trail Run National Championship (21km)

 

After the award ceremony, we made our way back down from Snow Basin and arrived back to our Airbnb around 3pm on Saturday afternoon. I was pretty exhausted from all the walking and spectating during Karel's race. I also had a very odd niggle in my right knee (probably from the spontaneous running to get from one location to the next while cheering for Karel). I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed relaxing (and eating/hydrating) and around 7pm, I was ready for bed. I didn't have any nerves for the race so I found myself sleeping pretty good. 

I woke up to the alarm at 6:30am and had my typical pre-race meal of a cup of instant Nescafe Gold coffee, water and a cinnamon raisin bagel, peanut butter and strawberry jelly. I did some foam rolling and mobility work and then went for a short jog around our complex. My knee felt better which was a good thing. It was nice not feeling rushed for the race. We arrived at 7:45am and it felt like I had forever until I raced. We hung out in the Snow Basin lobby for a while (downstairs) and then I did some more warming up before making my way to the start line around 8:45am. Karel was on his mountain bike so that he could spectate at various places on the course. He was really sore from his race so he had absolutely no interest in running the next day. Mountain biking while spectating was hard enough. 

Although I had registered for this race a week before we left for IM 70.3 World Championship in St. George, I had no idea how I would recover. Within the 7 days from race to race, I tried my best to keep myself moving. Sunday was a 2-hour leisurely hike in Snow Canyon, Monday was a 1:48 bike/17 min run, Tuesday we swam (3300) before leaving for Ogden and then I did a short run when we arrived (22 minutes). On Wednesday I ran the big loop of my run course (some of Karel's bike course) for 80 minutes (8 miles) and on Thursday I did a morning swim w/ Karel (4000 yards) and an afternoon 2 hour ride around the reservoir and then up to (and down) Snow Basin. On Friday I ran the other part of my run course (57 minutes) and on Saturday I spectated Karel at his race. In total I did 18.4 miles of running between the two races. It wasn't until Thursday that I felt like my legs were finally starting to become less sore (the run on Wed) kinda helped. By Saturday, I felt recovered from the race - only to smash my legs once again.

With this being my 2nd ever trail race (and first at altitude), I knew it was going to be a challenge. I had no goals for the race and I knew the competition would be fierce with this being the trail run national championship. This race was all about me having fun, challenging myself and being in nature - all things I like to do when training/racing. I just had no idea how hard it would really be. 

Quick Recap: In total, the race was 12.8 miles and it took me 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete (10:11 min/mile). I was 2nd in my age group (35-39). The race started at 6600 feet and went up to 7400 feet. In total, I covered ~2800 feet of elevation gain. For reference, the half marathon in the 70.3 at the World Championship in St. George had ~1500 feet elevation gain. I've never had to walk so much in a half marathon as my legs were just not able to run up the steep hills. My calves were screaming at me going up and my quads were yelling back on the way down. And the altitude was so tough! This all made for a memorable and challenging race! 

We started the race with 2 "parade" laps around the parking lot for 0.9 miles. I am not one for sprinting when I start running so I was already being passed by a lot of runners. I thought that I would be able to make up some ground on the climbs and while I was able to pass some of the runners back, it eventually came down to who could walk the fastest up the climbs. 

The 21K had two distinct sections. The first section was on some of Karel's run course. Since we were at a ski resort, we climbed up the mountain for 1.5 miles on rocks and gravel. It just kept going and going. I finally got to the downhill section (2.34 miles) but my lack of trail running skills made it tough to pick up a lot of ground. I also wanted to be courteous to those behind me so I often pulled over to the side when runners were behind me so that they could pass. Everyone was really nice, supportive and encouraging. Even when I passed another runner (which didn't happen a lot) he/she would say "great job." The 3.9 mile off-road section took me 38:55 (or 10:00 min/mile average). And I thought I was walking a lot but that wasn't until I got to the next section where I was making all types of deals with myself to try to run (but my body just wanted to walk).

Nearing Karel's bike course (up to Sardine Peak), my legs were already so sore and tired. I had two flasks with me of Orange Skratch (1 scoop each flask) and I also brought a sleeve of Ginger Chews (Clif). There was one aid station before the climb up to Sardine Peak and I regret not topping off my bottles with water as I felt myself rationing my fluids for this loop. 

Next came a 1100-foot, 2.84 mile climb that took me 35 minutes (12:30 min/mile). I tried to run as much as I could but walking seemed to be the theme. I would tell myself - just run for 30 steps or run the downhill (for 10 steps) just to see if I could do it. But I was pretty tired and the altitude made it hard to push (and recover). Thankfully, my endurance and resiliency helped me keep going but it was a challenge to get to the top. I saw Karel near the top and it was great to see him. He knew how hard it would be to run this trail (as he just biked it during his race). 

Once I finally got to the top, I had 3.29 miles of downhill (1260 feet elevation loss) to enjoy (8:48 min/mile, 29 minutes). Although I had gravity on my side, it was a lot of work to stay mentally engaged for almost 30 minutes of downhill running on rocks, dirt, roots, and switchbacks. But it was fun. I never worried about my pace but instead, I just used my watch to check off the miles. 

With only 1 mile left to go, I stopped at the aid station to top off my flask with water (I finished my flasks of Skratch and had two chews) and I got some cheers from Karel as he biked back to the finish line. The last 1.8 miles felt like they took forever and even with the finish line so close, I still had to walk some of the hills as I made my way to the finish. I didn't have many athletes around me in the last 4-5 miles so while it was a lonely run, it was also very therapeutic as I was alone with my own thoughts. Anytime I found myself with a negative, ego-destructive thought, I immediately replaced it with something positive - often relating it to how lucky I am to be healthy and in nature, doing something that I enjoy with my body. This run experience was very humbling with so many fast trail runners (most of which live/train at altitude). 

When I got to the finish line, I was elated that this adventure was complete. Two challenging events in 7 days. Our Utah race-cation was finally complete! 

Here's some pics from the run course (taken during my training run - thankful I had an opportunity to enjoy the views before the race! The timing of this race was perfect as the leaves were just starting to change color):

Pics/Videos from Karel 

RESULTS

2021 Xterra USA Championship Race Recap (Karel)

 

A few weeks ago we heard from Xterra that the triathlon would be turned into a duathlon (2.5-mile trail run/19-mile MTB/5.5-mile trail run). Although Karel was a little bummed that he was not participating in the swim-bike-run format, one needs a flexible mindset when approaching an off-road race. With this being his second ever off-road triathlon (and first triathlon at altitude), he was looking forward to the unknown challenge and welcomed whatever the day would bring. No race is ever the same with Xterra and that makes each race exciting.

After pre-riding the bike and run course on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he knew it was going to be an incredibly tough day of racing. Excited for the adventure ahead and the opportunity to be competitive, Karel didn't have any nerves going into the race as he views Xterra racing as "playtime" on his bike and loves the chill vibe on race day. 

We arrived to the race venue at Snow Basin around 7:30am and it was a cold start to the morning in the low 50's. The race started at 9am with the professional wave and then a few minutes later, Karel's wave went off to start the first run. Immediately with an uphill start to the race, he was breathing hard right from the start. The climb continued for a mile and Karel averaged 9:03 min/mile. The next 1.6 miles were mostly downhill and he averaged ~6:11 min/mile. But with the altitude (race started at ~6400 feet) Karel never had a chance to lower his heart rate, even on the downhill. Over the entire 2.66 miles, he covered ~600 feet elevation, which included running on gravel and over rocks. 

Once he got into the transition, he was near the front of his age group. His transition was a bit slow so that is an area he will continue to work on. He put on his hydration pack and shoes and then he was off to ride. 

The 18.1 mile mountain bike ride was primarily off-road with just a very short section on the paved road. Over the 18 miles, the course was broken into two main sections. The first went up to Sardine Peak and then a loop by Wheeler Creek. The bike course had ~2900 feet of elevation gain and it took him 1:39 to complete (average speed 10.9mph). The nearly 4 mile climb to start the bike took almost 28 minutes. But once he got at the top, it became very rocky and technical with a lot of switch backs. The course continued on and with a little more climbing and descending, Karel had to stay mentally engaged to navigate on this technical course. He had one minor fall where his wheel slipped but nothing serious. There were several crashes which is normal at these Xterra races. It was really inspiring to see all different levels of athletes out on the course. I walked 1.5 miles out on the course to see Karel on the bike course and then walked back to the venue and headed up the hill to see him on the run.

After the bike, it was back up the hill again to start the 5.5 mile run. Karel was able to run for most of the first climb but eventually started walking (for ~75 seconds) as he was not gaining much ground running (and expending too much energy with the altitude and fatigue). The second run was longer but just a bit more elevation (~700 feet). After the first 1 mile climb, he had a bit of a downhill - although it was not really downhill and very rocky. Karel even had a slight fall on one of the rocky sections (he was thankful he had on his cycling gloves). Around 1.75 miles in, it was time for an even longer climbing section of 1.87 miles. This section took him just under 17 minutes (8:56 min/mile). Finally the descend for 1.65 miles (6:49 min/mile). It started to get really warm out so Karel was thankful he had his flask of Skratch with him for the run (in his kit pocket) and that he had his camelback with NBS Carbo-hydration for the bike. He got thirsty on the first run but there were only aid stations on the 2nd run. I was able to tell Karel his results as I was tracking him throughout the race and although he wasn't going to take first, he was in a strong fight for top 10 overall amateur (and 2nd in his age group). It took him 43:50 (8:11 min/mile) to complete the run and he had a nice sprint to finish the day (this time isn't exact as Karel didn't start his watch until he was up the climb so it didn't capture all of the 5.5 miles).

The total distance isn't correct. 

RESULTS HERE.

Between the altitude, course, terrain and competition, Karel was pretty beat up after the race (and even on Sunday while spectating me during my 21-k trial run). He was mentally and physically exhausted from the event, especially after just racing the 70.3 in St. George a week prior. But he had so much fun and just loves the atmosphere at these races. Plus, we met several new friends! 

Here's a video I put together of his race. Enjoy! 

The adventure continues - hello from Ogden, Utah!

I was in rough shape the day after the IM 70.3 World Championship. I was empty and oh-so-sore. It felt like I had just done an Ironman! Karel was sore but not as exhausted as I was. 

After a somewhat ok night of sleep, we took our time in the morning and did a little work on the computer. By late morning, we made our way to Snow Canyon for a scenic hike. Karel brought his mountain bike to spin his legs while Ashley, Zach and I walked around for ~2 hours. We met up with our athlete Gin and her mom so it was a fun time exploring the trails. Although there wasn't much for Karel to mountain bike on (only one trail which wasn't too technical), he said it was the perfect way to loosen out after the race. In the evening, Alvi, Karel and I went to our community pool to splash around. Karel swam ~1500 yards, I did a few laps (no swim cap, truly a splash) and then spent a little time relaxing my sore muscles in the hot tub. 

On Monday, I was still sore and exhausted but I knew I needed to start moving my body to help expedite the recovery. Since Karel had dropped off his tri bike with Tri Bike Transport after the race, he only had his mountain bike left at the house. Karel went out for a ~90-minute mountain bike ride on the trails behind where we were staying and I went out on my tri bike for an almost 2 hour sightseeing journey on two wheels. I mostly stayed on the bike course and headed from Washington to the Red Hills Parkway but took a few detours to check out the big houses higher up off the course. I finished the ride feeling so much better than when I started and decided to shake out the legs with an easy ~22 min jog around our Airbnb complex. My quads were still super sore and tender but with each step I found myself loosening out a bit. On Tuesday, our check-out of the Airbnb day, we went for a morning swim at the pool (3300 yards) which felt good to be non weight bearing and move through the water. I actually started to feel a little better during the swim than when I started - always a good sign that recovery is going well. 

After we checked out of our rental place and exchanged our rental truck for an SUV, we made our way 4.5 hours north to Ogden, Utah. The next adventure of our Utah trip!

Soon after Karel participated in his first Xterra off-road triathlon event back in May (and before breaking his hand), he registered for the Xterra USA Championship in Ogden/Snow Basin, Utah. With the event happening a week after the IM 70.3 World Championship, it was the perfect excuse to extend our stay in Utah by another week. Of course, logistically, this required me to be super creative with our travel arrangements - two one-way flights, two rental cars, two Airbnbs and a lot of other research to ensure a smooth and stress-free race-cation. Luckily, so far, it's all working out. 

And here we are in Huntsville, Utah near Ogden and Snow Basin. Altitude just around 5,000 feet. We are staying by Pineview Reservoir in a cute ski-resort type villa community. We didn't find out until a few weeks ago that the Xterra swim portion of the triathlon was cancelled due to bacteria in the lake but I decided to keep our rental as the location is still central to Snow Basin Ski Resort - where the duathlon will take place (2.5-mile trail run/19-mile MTB/5.5-mile trail run). 

After unloading our car and catching up on a few emails, we each went for a short jog to stretch out the legs. We ended up jogging around the nearby campsite which had a beautiful view of the Reservoir. We then made a late-evening drive to the local grocery store for a few more grocery items. After dinner, we were ready to get a good night of sleep and sleep in. 

Well so much for sleeping in. I guess we were both excited to start the day just before 7am. And it was Karel's 45th birthday!! After working on the computer for a few hours, we drove up to Snow Basin (~8 mile drive, ~6300 feet altitude) to check out the trails. It was a cool morning in the upper 50's but it warmed up nicely throughout the day. There was no cost to access the trails at Snow Basin and the Xterra crew had already started marking the course with blue arrows for the bike course. Karel biked almost the entire course (just short by a mile) and it took him ~2 hours to cover the 19 miles. The course either goes up or down and there are many technical sections with rocks and tight switch backs.

While Karel was riding the course, I ran the first part of his bike course which is also the big loop (and 2nd part) of the 21K Xterra Trail Race that I will be participating in on Sunday. My legs are still sore and I can really feel them when I walk upstairs but oddly, when I run I feel ok - certainly I am not able to run hard or fast but I can quickly put one foot in front of the other and call it running ;) I really enjoy trail running as I feel it suits my style of running and I just love being in nature. Like the bike course, I went up and up to almost 7300 feet (starting at 6300) and then made my way back down the other side (although the highest peak is 9300 feet so there may be more to climb there!). A hiker told me there were moose ahead off the trail but sadly I didn't see any. Karel was also on the lookout as he heard the same thing. I walked a few sections that were super steep so that I wouldn't overstress my calves. I had a lot of fun and just took my time when there was a scenic view to enjoy. I ran for 80 minutes and covered 8-miles of the course. I waited for Karel to finish and then he went for a short run just to check out the mile that he didn't see on the bike. This course is going to be crazy difficult but also absolutely stunning. We are both excited for our adventures this weekend!

Today (Thursday) we started out our morning somewhat early by driving to Ogden High School for a morning swim. The high school pool was so nice and for only $3, it was the perfect way to start our day. Karel swam 3000 yards and I swam 4000 yards. We aren't feeling any effects at altitude and overall, I'd say we are feeling relatively healthy after Worlds. We then made a necessary stop at Kneaders bakery for a fresh baguette and a delish cinnamon-roll type bread. 

The scenery is just beautiful around this area and I couldn't wait to get on my bike in the afternoon. I ventured out alone and rode around the reservoir (~15 miles) which was incredibly scenic with the fall colors on the leaves of the trees and the rocks on the mountains. And so much farm life - something I was really missing in St. George. There was even a nice paved path to ride on on the far side of the lake. I then challenged myself by riding 7 miles up to Snow Basin. While the climb wasn't technical or overly difficult, it was more of the descend that kinda scared me as it was a fast, steep, straight descend for over 4 miles. And I was also worried about the wind. But I did it and I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone. Karel left to drive to Snow Basin for his mountain bike ride on the trail around the same time as me and ironically, we both arrived home at the very same time! I rode 30 miles in just under 2 hours (~15 mph) and covered ~2300 feet of elevation gain. 

We are really looking forward to the weekend! Here are some pics of the past few days in Ogden, Utah.....

Karel heading out to check out the Xterra bike course.

At the top! 

My view from the trail. That parking lot waaaay in the distance is where we started.

Technical section at the top. 

More rocks at the top.

Beautiful valley on the run course.

Karel finishing his short run after the bike.

Happy 45th Karel (Wednesday). Thank you Claire for the Birthday cupcakes. Never too much chocolate for Karel. 

Ogden High School swimming pool. Great aquatic complex!

Kneaders Bakery. YUM!

Views in Ogden (we are staying in Huntsville, about 20-min away). 

Exploring around the reservoir in Huntsville.

Biking up to Snow Basin. Up and Up for 7-miles. 

Thanks for following along! 
If you'd like to track Karel at the Xterra race on Saturday:

 💥  Photos and videos on the Xterra Facebook page.
 💥 Link to live results: HERE. 
 💥 Final Results from all races will be loaded HERE.