- 366 miles
- 38,000 feet climbing
- 2 days 20 hrs 43 min- New female record!
- 7th overall, 1st place Female
Photos by Greg Dunham
A Few Thoughts
I read about the Grand Loop for the first time last Spring after the race’s completion that year. At the time I was preparing for my first mountain bike races, a summer schedule that was designed to build up to the Colorado Trail Race. By the end of the season I had successfully completed the CTR , Vapor Trail, and a few other one day events, and I was already planning more races for 2025; I put the Grand Loop on my list.
When registration opened for the event a month prior, I was still very much enjoying ski season, although I was starting to spend more time on the bike and certainly getting anxious to be racing. I had already put in a lot of time researching the route, and though it was almost totally new trail to me, I started to become more familiar with some of the challenges I might face.
I set an ambitious sub-3-day goal, not certain that this would be possible for me. I had been “training” all winter; building fitness on skis and in the snow and practicing long days working a swing shift job, but I was unsure how this would hold up to the rigors of a multi-day race. Mark had be confident and encouraging through the winter, reminding me that he had had his strongest power numbers ever on the bike after a similar winter. Still, it was hard not to feel under-prepared as I read about other cyclists winter trainer regiments. As I transitioned more full time to the bike, I was indeed feeling strong, and performing well in our local xc races. I did the 12 hours of Mesa Verde as a duo and there too was putting in solid numbers. Still, I felt like I could not be confident in my fitness until I had crossed the finish line at the Grand Loop.
I tried to make sure I was as prepared as possible in every other way, as I continued to be unsure of my physical capacity. I studied other race reports, trail reports, I made a water and resupply plan, I made adjustments to my bags, ordered last minute equipment, paid for a consult with LW coaching to help answer a few questions and dial in my nutrition and recovery planning, and squeezed in a quick overnight to make sure I was still comfortable riding the loaded rig.
I would like to say that I made every preparation I could, but I left a few bike maintenance necessities to the last minute that ended up plaguing me during day one of the race. While I like to work on my own bike, I rely on Mark a lot to help me assess what I need and make the time and space to work on it. I had thought I would have plenty of time the week before the start to dial in my bike, but I ended up being busier than I expected. When Mark got COVID that same week, we realized the best thing he could do for me was quarantine. He had hastily serviced my fork for me on the front end of his illness (not yet realizing what was going on), and my fork ended up failing during the race. I also opted not to replace my cassette beforehand despite having to bend a tooth back straight in the largest chain ring. The grinding in my easy gears did not seem so bad when I was out for day rides, but by mile 50 of the race, I was regretting my decision not to replace it.
All of that to say, it was not a perfect race. I had to get my fork serviced and my cassette replaced in Fruita, I did not follow my water plan leaving Westwater and carried too little, I carried way too warm sleep stuff (unnecessary weight), and I had a variety of other small missteps along the way. The winter ski fitness, however, did hold up. For the majority of the race I felt like factors besides my fitness were determining my top speed: heat, trail quality, water logistics, etc. So, I will confirm it, Mark’s winter training plan pays off.
See more photos and videos here: Google Photo Album