I was signed up for the WW100 as well… and was trying to find something to fill that newly created void in my training schedule. That Mohican race looks great… it’s about 8hrs from me though. Have you raced it before…?
I’ve seen some other threads where people speak very highly of it, as well as mention how well its run.
I’m thinking of attempting it, but I’m not too excited about the 16hr round trip in the car…
It is disappointing how Youphoria has handled this. I havent received any email/notification from them, and I dont have a FB account (by design)
A friend of mine wants me to do Austin Rattler with him, as we were both scheduled for Wilmington. I hate to invest the money in travel with the same promoters. Think I might just wash my hands of this. I can’t do the new June 2022 date. Bummed for sure.
I think the WW100 issues stem more from local restrictions and permitting than the promoter. Last Nov’s Austin Rattler was a well managed event that applied reasonable precautions. That being said, Leadville Race Series has now taken over the Rattler from Youphoria.
I’ve never raced the Mohican 100k or 100 mile but have ridden much of the course. After a run in from town, the first 25 miles is pretty old school single track with a lot of punchy climbs and some rocky and rooty sections. It has close to 3000 feet of climbing over those 25 miles. They have “sanitized” much of the first 12 miles this year, taking out some of the roots and rocks to try and make the trail a little more accessible, but the second half still has a lot of square roots. The single track will soften up the field and hurt those that aren’t used to riding single track due to the punchiness of it.
After the single track you hit the gravel roads with a lot of rolling terrain. Later in the race you hit some more trails, but these I’m not really familiar with. The race videos often show the muddy section with the cross beams that rides have to navigate down. A lot of falls happen hear met with cheers from the crowd…
I’ve heard nothing but good things about the event. There was a gravel race in the area (Black Fork Gravel Grinder) last weekend and it had wave starts by age groups. I wonder if Mohican 100 will do something similar?
If you can make the drive, I think it would be worth it provided the weather is good. The trail dries out quickly but it isn’t nearly as much fun wet compared to dry, so hoping for good weather.
Thanks for the scoop - the course sounds great! I’m going to work on logistics, probably 50/50 at this point.
I like the idea of staring with some tech single track for sure. How long do you think that first section would take for mere mortals? Trying to get a sense of how techy it is… here in North Jersey 25m/3k of singletrack could take every bit of 3hrs, and would definitely soften up the legs. You wouldn’t want an XC rig on it either!
The 25 mile loop would take about 2.5 hours for a good XC rider, somewhat “fit” but a little less capable would be closer to three, and really fast XC riders around 2. Traffic on race day may dictate the pace to some degree. A full suspension XC race bike would be the ideal bike in my opinion and I plan to run my Supercaliber. It is doable on a hardtail as well. Dylan Johnson won the 100 mile in 2019 on a FS Niner RKT 9 RDO with aerobars. He made a detailed video on it.
I would agree on the event itself being done pretty well, but when it came to communications up front to athletes, Youphoria was less than stellar. There were a lot of questions regarding their plans and the likelihood of the race going off at all and rather than say even “we’re working on it and will keep you posted” they just ignored athletes entirely, wouldn’t answer their phones, emails, or facebook.
Yeah I’m a bit worried about this. I emailed for a refund as it is very likely I won’t be able to race next year (we’re expecting our first child this fall) haven’t heard back yet, but it has only been a day or so. But based on the history, I’m worried this might be a battle.
Also, I think it’s pretty lousy they didn’t even mention refunds in their cancelation email but that the default is to put you into next year’s race. I doubt most people are planned that far in advance and would know if they can/want to race next year
Sorry, just seeing this. I never added the aero bars. I ended up biting the bullet and buying a Trek domane as my gravel race bike (and backup road bike). I can still use my spark if I run into a course that requires tires bigger than 40mm, but the Domane is great for most gravel events.
Here is a link to the SQ Labs innerbarends. Keegan has the carbon ones on his bike in the FKT White Rim trail video. These aren’t really aero bars like Dylan Johnson has run in some events, but they do allow you to get into a different, more aero, hand position depending where you mount them. Keep in mind they are small, much smaller than the pictures make them out to be. They are more akin to a giant Tog, then an aerobar.
I just installed a set of these on my bike yesterday so I can get a few rides in and check the fit. They allow a different hand position which should help with hand and arm fatigue is really long events.
What are the chances Ironman buys the race series or “partners” with the organizer? They recently partnered with UTMB in the ultra-marathon space and were in talks with the Breck Epic organizer back in 2018 and, as of 2019, were “partnering” with the organizer. They own Cape Epic…so it could be an opportunity for them. And their intent is to make Breck Epic a qualifier for Cape Epic (as of a 2019 article).
Just an update for the whole thread: I emailed Youphoria about a refund for Wilmington and they said they would have it done in a few days. No questions asked. I was slightly worried they were going to be difficult, given that their default in the email was entry into next year with no mention of a refund.
Back to Leadville: Does anyone spec larger brake rotors for the big descents? I’m in New England and we don’t have a ton of extended downhill. My SC blur has small-ish rotors, I can’t remember if they are 140 or 160 off the top of my head. My trail bike has the next size up, whatever it is and I could swap them easy. I’ve never had a problem with braking power but I also never ride big downhills.
I don’t think you need to upsize your rotors specifically for Leadville. However important to make sure everything with your brakes is in good working order for race day. You might also need to bleed them as bubbles can develop when you get to the higher altitudes around Leadville. This ability to do a “quick bleed” on Shimano brakes is really handy for this.
