Marji Gesick 100, Who’s Coming With Me?

Anyone else scheduled for this fun?

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You’re not alone; I be there for some abuse as well.

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Add me to the list of abusive FUN!

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Did the 100 mtb the last two years, signed up for the Dumb Ideas duathlon category this year. Should be “fun”.

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I only want half the misery so I signed up for the 50 (60) again. Maybe the 100 next year if I’m not traveling so much for work and my partner in crime doesn’t wimp out on me.

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@bmullin, any helpful tips, pacing strategy, etc? @kern0079 and @KFB what finish times are you expecting and how do you plan to pace it?

My wife will be doing the 50 this year as well. I’ll be out there in full support. I’ll make sure to give every one of you some words of encouragement as you are passing though. Kudos to all of you. Go get it.

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Thanks, we’ll need it! Look for the guy crying and near death, that will be me. Please give me a little push, preferably up hill.

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My primary, number one, absolute must, key to success in these stupid ultra endurance events is to smile and tell everyone you are having a good time. Even when you aren’t. Especially when you aren’t. I can’t get all Coach @chad on you can link the studies to show that smiling improves performance, but I find that it really does.

Don’t be ashamed to walk. It is technical and punchy. Sure, you might be able to clean that section. But can you do that a thousand more times the rest of the day. I know cleaning the technical punchy stuff just shoots my HR through the roof so I ride what I can, and then get off and walk.

Dropper post. It makes getting back on the bike easier. And riding the downhill stuff more funner.

Plan accordingly for water. Yes, there are no aid official stations. Yes, you can probably count on South Trailhead (40) and the Wurst Aid Station (65) plus stuff at Jackson Mine Park twice (70 and 90). No, it won’t come as soon as you want. Mile 40 and the South Trailhead is a long freaking ways away. Like, dang… how slow can I go long. If you can, get someone to top you off either at Forestville (17) or at Lowes (35) it keeps you from trying to conserve and getting dehydrated. Maybe again at Marquette Mountain (50). From there you might be OK solo.

My first year I carried a 3L Osprey hyrdation pack plus a bottle on the bike. Last year I did twin mountain feedbag style bags plus the bottle on the bike. Tools under the seat. Tube taped to the frame. A few miscellaneous things in my jersey pockets. A small gas tank bag with food stuffs. I much preferred going hydration packless.

Eat. It is super easy to get behind. You loose track of time. There “is no free trail” so you never think, “oh this is a good spot to take a hand off the bars and eat”. A handful of gels isn’t going to cut it for 11, 12, 20 hours…

DO NOT TEXT #QUITTER

Please note that I took 21ish hours two years ago. It was 85+ degrees and humid. I hate hot weather. I spent probably well over an hour on the side of the trail at various points trying not to throw up. When I finally felt good in the last 15 miles well after midnight I found my then girlfriend, now wife, who was running the 50 miler on the side of the trail, all alone, in the woods… I walked my bike the last 5 miles with her to finish together. Last year went pretty great. 14 and change (and a broken thumb, but we won’t worry about that part). Decent fitness, just OK bike handling skills.

Good pasta at the Pasta Shop or Casa Calabria. Good beer at Black Rocks. Supposedly Cognition is good too but I’ve never made it there in time :frowning:

Call Todd and Danny bad names, but then give them a big dirty sweaty hug at the finish.

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Oh yeah, I wrote up a report for 2017. Apparently not for 2018.

2017 Marji Race Report

2018 super abbreviated report would be: Felt great all day. Passed a MUCH fitter friend at mile 95. They said “be safe”. At mile 96 I crashed hard, upside down in a creek, cramping calf, dislodged headlamp… Very sore thumb. Finished just fine, but the handshakes and high fives were not good. Great race.

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Thanks for the advice and great write ups!

A friend who I believe was the 1st single speeder to break 12 hours called it “The hundred that eats it’s young”…

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+1. You need way more calories for this beast.

If you are interested in following the progress of these tough individuals here is the link to the live race tracking. The 100 mile run and 200 mile out and back cycling have started as of Friday at Noon EST. The rest of the suffering starts Saturday. Good luck everyone.
Marji Gesick 2019 Live Results

Good luck MI-XC and everyone else doing the race! I just did the Ore to Shore Soft Rock in August and it’s awesome up there.

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Good luck everyone! I’m hoping to do it one year – looks super… “fun” :joy:

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So @MI-XC - How was the experience?

It was BRUTAL! There were 374 racers to start and only 137 finished for a 60% drop out rate (#QUITTER) . For the 5th anniversary of the event they made it extra brutal, as others who have done the Marji 4 times in the past said this was the hardest. My wahoo showed 105.1 miles, 12,102 feet of climbing for a never ending 17:38:23 finish, 69th place. A guy that I was with who has buckled in the past took him 14:20 this year.

Weather was tough with heat and humidity then for the last 3 hours there was lightning and thunderstorms with a downpour that made the trails unridable going up or down. Literally hours of hike a bike in ridiculously steep, slippery, rocky and rooty terrain.

I foolishly started the race with a pace for 12-14 hours. Felt good until about 4-5 hours in as it got hotter and humid. Stared feeling nauseous and light headed which made it tough to eat and drink. Around the 5-6 hour mark I got massive leg cramps in my left quad. Complete leg stiffness and I couldn’t move. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten cramps. I spent the next few hours trying to baby the legs and recover from nausea.

Made a tactical mistake towards the end and didn’t bring any lights with me as I’d thought I’d be back to my support before sunset. Nope, took over an hour longer than expected and I had to ride in the dark in one of the toughest parts of the trail. After a couple of OTBs and encounters with trees, lucky a guy came along with a light and I tried to stay on his wheel, which opened up an entire new set of challenges.

Dealt with a puncture, thank god Stans Race Sealant, and ripped a Boa of my shoes that delayed me a bit. Glad I finished and I can check that box, no need to revisit that anytime soon if ever.

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Thanks @ajmarecki! If you enjoy long hikes in the woods endlessly pushing your bike up hills, then Marji is for you.

This is the hardest race I have ever done. It was my first time and probably my last. It is many levels harder than any other mountain bike race; Leadville included. The punchy climbs, rocks, roots, technical descents, and weather are what sets this race apart. It is very well organized and loved by the local community.

I had two OTBs, a broken chain, and bonked (physically and mentally) around 105 miles in (114 total on my Garmin with 12,300ft). In the end I loved the whole experience and am happy to have finished in 16:38, beating the rain by 30 seconds. I’ll be back again but to support my friends and family!

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