'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. 

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!