Shenandoah Mountain 100

Has anyone done the Shenandoah Mtn 100? I’m signed up for this year’s event and haven’t ever done an ultra endurance mtb race before - I’m wondering what sort of training as well as race tips people may have. I’ve been doing some road riding (something I hadn’t ever done, but was advised by just about everyone I’ve asked) and I live in Western NC which allows me access to tons of trails in the Pisgah National Forest.

From what I’ve heard, the race is much more technical than Leadville, as one can expect to descend strictly on singletrack and not all of the climbing is gravel. 100 miles and 12k+ ft of elevation.

Looking forward to what people have to say!

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Minor mention:

I’ve done it five times. My biggest bit of advice is to go out a bit hard to clear the inevitable conga line up the first bit of single track. Once through that it clears up pretty well. It’s not on my list this year but from what I’ve heard they may have to reroute the course due to construction activities.

Also, don’t let the “death climb” scare you. It’s probably the easiest climb of the day since it’s fire road. Lynn and Brayleys are much harder.

I’m sure I’ve got more, but that’s what came to mind real quick.

P.S. I love that race :wink:

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Thanks for the tips! What sort of finish times were you getting/shooting for, if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve seen this advice around and wonder if it is something I should shoot for, as well as if it will cause me to blow up later in the race. Did interval training allow you to recover within the race from that?

Best was a ~9:40ish, worst was just shy of 11 I think.

Truthfully, even if you get caught in that first conga line it’s not the end of the race (think 10 min). I just enjoy that trail enough it’s been worth it to me. It can be a bit disheartening to start walking so early in the race if you aren’t prepared for it and riding your brakes down a machine cut flow trail like Tillman West should be illegal :wink: . You will end up walking up a good chunk of Lynn trail (the next climb) anyway unless you are aiming to win the race, since they are about the only people that may be able to clean that part. I believe the Strava segment near the top is called “so steep I cried”. The payoff for that though is an amazing descent down Wolf though.

It is very front loaded on elevation, so my best years I’ve done a lot of hill training. I’d equate a lot of the early stuff to over/unders vs intervals, lots of short steep pitches thrown in on pretty steady climbs. I’ve used both the century and XC marathon plans after a sustained power build block and both seemed to work pretty well.

Other points of interest:
Bring a bathing suit to take a dip in the creek afterwards if you make it back before dark.
The fresh cut fries at Aid 6 are amazing.
The atmosphere in the campground is awesome and you even get woken up by a gong!
I’d recommend doing a couple of the climbs beforehand to get an idea of where they end and scope some of the downhills. There are a couple of tricky ones. I wouldn’t necessarily do the death climb though, like I said it’s just a fire road.

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Rambling, long winded post warning:

I’m also doing it again this year. Last year was a hot humid muddy mess and a pretty major failure for me…

Course record is under 7 hours.
sub 8 hrs is definite top 10 O/A (sometimes top 5)
sub 9 hrs is usually top 50
A good buddy finished 28th O/A at 8:40 a couple years ago
Anything under 10 hours is really strong.
Average finish time is 12+ hours
Last finisher is usually 14-1/2 - 15 hours.

Typically, it is big fire road climbs and big single track descents.
Lynn trail and Bridgehollow/Braileys are the two main singletrack climbs.

If you ride Pisgah regularly, I don’t think any of the technical features in the SM course will bother you at all. For example the " rough side" of Daniel ridge trail is way more technical than anything in the SM course.

Long winded course description to follow:

Opening climb (narrowback mtn): Starts pavement, then fire road, to single track 7 miles approx. 1K elevation. This singletrack is where the conga line is.
Tillman west descent. fun flow trail, if you’re back with the 12 hour folks this will be painfully slow.
water only aid 1 is at the bottom of this descent.

Transition to Lynn trail: you’ll have 8ish miles of gravel/pavement generally trending up. You’ll ride this gravel again in the opposite direction in a little while.

2nd climb (Lynn trail): 1.2 miles 1200 ft up. This is narrow single track and as the number suggest it is STEEP. Most of it is not terribly techy if you have good low speed balance.

Wolf trail down: (5 miles 1500 ft down) I think this is the most fun part of the whole course. It has quite a bit of rock, but much of it is hand placed and is super rideable. Note that there are a couple alternate lines with mandatory drops of 2-4 ft. If you stay on the main line, everything rolls. There are 2 short but very steep up pitches in this section.

transition to aid 2/6 ( 7ish miles gravel/pavement) gradual up/down/up 500 ft climbing,
*** this gravel road section is where the construction is that might effect the course layout.***

transition to hankey mtn: pavement 3 miles one steep paved pitch in between (you will ride this again in the last race segment)

climb 3 full hankey mtn: 5+ miles 1700 ft all fire road usually overgrown and much steeper toward the top. (Note intersection about 2 miles up you’ll turn left here in last race segment.)

Dowells draft descent: 5 miles of awesome. The upper part is super fun with a few rocks and switchbacks. The lower section is a bunch of fairly narrow side hill at times off camber. Aid 3 is at the bottom of this descent.

transition to bridge hollow climb: 5 miles of false flat pavement most of this is on US Rt250 and is pretty sketchy as far as car traffic. If you’ve got the legs, find a roady to draft…

Bridge hollow climb: 2 miles 1Kish ft up all singletrack. Most of it narrow off camber side hill. Many hike a fair amount of this.

Braleys pond descent: 10-15 min super fun, rowdy at times, some exposure up near the top. (This is where the guy died in the race in 2015). Then a couple miles of rolling singletrack into aid 4.

From here it’s basically up hill for the next 23 miles (pavement to gravel to fire road ending at the high point of the course). The 1st 10 miles is mostly false flat with a couple downs to give you a break unofficial aid station 4.5 is here (beer handups if you desire). When you turn onto the fire road, the official “death climb” has started (8ish miles 1600ish ft)…at aid 5 folks think the death climb is over, but then you get to head into “The killing fields” I think this part is harder than the death climb. I don’t know how many clearings you go thru, but it feels like they will never end…Of note: there are time cuts at each aid station, but the aid 5 cut is the 1st one that really gets a bunch of folks. There are two different cutoffs here depending if you have lights or not.

Chestnut ridge descent (8ish miles 2500ish ft down) this is good old school rowdy back country desending. I think there are 4 up pitches in this section. If fresh they wouldn’t be any big deal, with 75+ miles in your legs, for most, they are a very big deal… then roll into aid 6 (same as aid2) for fresh cut French fries!! By the time mere mortals make it to this point, many of the fast finishers have come out to cheer them on (Jeremiah Bishop has been known to where a wrestling mask and scream at folks here. You’ve got 12 miles to finish.

From aid 6 you follow the same transition that you did leaving aid 2. climb Hankey mtn to the intersection mentioned earlier, turn, follow double track on the ridge for a little bit, down a steep little chunk of singletrack (often quite loose). A little double track and some flow trail back into the camp ground. Note: Slow folks will be riding from aid 6 in the dark.

Old race brief. Some info may not be current.
http://www.mtntouring.com/mountain/htm/shenandoah_mountain_100/page_sm100.htm

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I went to an ultra endurance race “clinic” hosted by Gordon Wadsworth (4time NUE SS champion) a couple years ago and he had the following advice on pacing:

Make the 1st 1/3 seem too easy, the middle 1/3 feel like a reasonable pace, the last 1/3 will be everything else you have in the tank plus some more…

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Bump as this race is a month out - I am thinking about doing it, anyone else in or have additional insight? I used to live in the area but didn’t ride all that much - recommendations on a good tire for the course?

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I’m running Maxxis Rekons as recommended by my mechanic who has done SM100. I raced in the Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell a couple weekends ago and felt they were a great race day tire especially when considering the amount of gravel that is involved.

Maxxis Rekon would be a great tire out there. As for other advice The post on
june 24th from Notso pretty much sums it up.

I’ve alternated between the Racing Ralph, Specialized Fast Trak (before they new design) and the Maxxis Aspen on my Epic. The Racing Ralph were super fast and grippy but we’re pretty shot after the race (although the course has gotten a bit easier with the trail work done on Wolf). The older fast traks always did great for me there as well. The new ones…not so much. Last year, despite the weather, I found the Aspens to be grippy enough for the rocks and super fast rolling. A couple of the super fast guys I know were also running the Aspens. In any case, you want a fast rolling tire with decent sidewall protection. Don’t skimp on that and run some paper thin tire. The course will eat them alive if taken with any speed. The rocks at the bottom of wolf have claimed many a tire as have the ones on a couple of the other downhills. The last downhill before the fire road that leads to the campground can be pretty brutal on a tire as well. They did have a beer hand up there last year though, so at least you could have a drink while you fix a flat!

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Doing this race for the first time next weekend. Anyone had anything additional to the already great info above? @markusbouman how did it go for you, what did you do right/wrong and any further advice?

Have fun, and if they still give a prize for the highest placed rider who drank the most beer and stayed up the latest the night before in the Pavillion, I recommend not going for that.

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I did it in 2019 on a Farley with 29x3’s, it’s a super fun course.

You are going to want to go out hard on the start & for the first dirt roads to make the first climb. The climb itself is nothing if you’re a mountain biker but there will be folk who don’t ride a lot of trail that will fumble on this climb. The first descent is pretty buff & you can rail it. For these first 25 miles, carry a bottle in your jersey & ditch an empty one at aid one at the bottom of the first descent. You’ll want 3 bottles between the start & aid 2 but you’re not going to want to stop so soon into the race at aid 1 which is just water anyway.

Try to find people to work with from the bottom of the first descent to the Lynn climb, it’s mostly gravel with some road before you duck into the woods again. The first hill you see is damn steep but it relaxes for a few switchbacks, all easily rideable. Then it gets damn steep again -rideable for many but most will end up off the bike one way or another.

Rip it on Wolf down but beware there are a couple of short steep ups on he descent.

You’ll end up on the gravel that took you to the Lynn climb & eventually will turn onto a paved climb that drops into aid 2/6. Folks will be on hand & likely take your bike to lube the chain while you refuel. Keep track of your bike! I lost mine briefly here.

You’re now going too climb the full Hankey. A good 2/3 is dirt road but it narrows & steepens significantly toward the top but it’s easily rideable.

Next is the 3rd descent: Dowell’s. Rip it!!! This was my favorite descent of the day. Great singletrack but parts are off camber & may be slick but you’ll be fine.

I think aid 3 is somehwere here at the bottom but can’t remember for sure. The next section is mostly a paved climb -find people too work with here & save some gas for the next section of singletrack.

You’ll dip into the woods for a short, rocky hike a bike & then hop back on for the real ascent, Bridge Hollow. It’s not a bad climb but it is very rocky. keep up your momentum & you’ll be fine.

Next is the descent to Brailey’s Pond & aid 4. Fun descent but nothing to write home about.

Now you’re going to start what they call the Death Climb which is a crapload of gravel for 20+ miles. Settle into a rhythm & just go. It’s not a tough climb at all, just long. Eventually, you may think you smell pizza…

Aid 5 had pizza which I took too long to enjoy. Stick to your normal aid strategy & get ready for a tough descent down Chestnut Ridge. It’s rough, steep & fast singletrack but you are going to be fatigued for sure. Toward the bottom of the descent, there are a few short ups. Eventually, You’ll end up at aid 6.

Aid 6 to the finish is pretty short but you will repeat about 1/3 of the Hanky climb but take a left instead of continuing straight. When you go left, you’ll continue to climb for awhile but will end up descending through some pretty flowy singletrack which ends at the Stokesville campground where you started. Congrats, you just finished SM100!

Have a blast man, it’s a great race & the atmosphere is fantastic!

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A lot of the strategy with the first two climbs depends on what your time goals are and if they are doing mass start vs waves this year. There are opening sections that beg you to burn matches and conga lines that make you wish you would for most people on track for 9:30 and back. I’ve been around that pace.

The first section of gravel/fire road is rolling, so you can pass as many people as you want but you need to balance that out saving for the next 90 miles. Once it turns to singletrack it gets steep enough that many will be in their smallest gears, there are a few sections that get washed out enough that rocks will roll and riders may stack up. Then halfway through the first section is a rock garden, not too challenging to find the line on your own but following a wheel someone will get caught up and have to step off. Then after the great descent its false flat gravel and road over to Lynn. Again you’ll see people relaxing for the rest of the race and others trying to push and makeup time. It never gets steep or hard on the road, but Lynn turns straight-up pretty quickly after you get off of it. Lots of walking happens on Lynn, mostly in some washed-out sections after the second switchback and in the rocky sections before and after the third switchback. I’ve done this trail many times, and you have to push at least 4w/kg average for 20+ minutes to gain meaningful time over walking some pieces. So don’t work too hard to pass walkers, until after the 4th switchback and final few hundred meters.

Wolf descent is killer, but it is the perfect combination of fast and rocky to really punish tires. I’ve been lucky enough to be clean in races, but I might be on 4 training rides in a row where I needed a plug over the last 3 years (and 3 of my last 4 flats on trail). Don’t run lightweight tires for this race.

After the bottom of Wolf there is a little hill on the gravel where you’ll want to form a group for the next 5 miles of downhill gravel and drafting. Then just make sure you end up near the front of the group into Aid 2, this doesn’t mean you have to attack the road climbs. Someone always does and always gets caught before the station.

After Aid 2 is the first mental test of the day with Hankey feeling like 10 hrs to the top. Get comfortable and stay steady.

Aid 3 IMO could be skipped, or at least should be a short stop. Start to Aid 2 is ~3hrs. 2-3 is ~1:30 and then 3-4 is ~1:10. So I’ve just topped off a bottle and grabbed some candy then kept rolling.

Find someone for some drafting and company on the road, then you hit the third singletrack climb. This one is much like the first but just steep enough that you shouldn’t worry about stepping off and walking some of the rock gardens. The descent here is my favorite though that doesn’t line up with what most people say. Off camber a bit, some roots, and turns of all types. Depending on how your race goes it might be the last “fun” till the final mile.

The section just before aid 4 sucks, especially if it gets wet this week. Just ignore it, know it’s short, and get your refuel at aid 4. The Death Climb has been talked about enough, the only advice I have here is don’t linger at Aid 5 and start to think it is over. Find your headspace and keep the pedals turning through the end.

You can’t really plan for the end of the race, just ride clean on Chesnut get some final food at 6 and get back to the campground for some beer. Remember the annoying road climb from Aid 2 before the second round with Hankey. That was my low point the first time as I had focused solely on Hankey, and it was enough hill to hurt.

Right before the finish, there is a mound/ table jump in the field. I’ve seen plenty eat it here so don’t go for a massive whip on tired legs.

SM100 is one of my favorite courses since it has a good mix of riding letting you get ahead or fall behind on all different types of skills/riding. You’ve got rolling/flat gravel transitions where power advantages can be played, tough technical singletrack climbs that are w/kg challenges, and some serious mountainbike descending (even if it isn’t double black level challenging), and of course the endurance aspect.

Last summer I didn’t have any chance to do endurance training and did the 100K route which was pretty incredible as well, and a good option as an introduction or for someone who doesn’t want to be a 14hr finisher in the dark. I saw Nate at the start, and ended up in a pretty tight race with him by the end of the day. I jumped a group that he was behind on the first climb and managed to get in the clear for the 4 descents, where I gained ~15 minutes, then blew up in the last 20km and almost gave it all back on the second time up Hankey.

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Not to date myself, but this race report gives a pretty good sense of the vibe of the race (in addition to being a neat historical artifact). The course hasn’t changed much. First time I did the race it was on a 26" hardtail with 1.95" semi-slicks and bar ends. I would choose a different bike today. :slight_smile:

UPDATE: You may have seen this video too; a bit more technical and a great rundown.

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Thanks @Kris_Wyman and @Brettn13 for the lengthy write-ups.

My goal/expectation is to finish in 10 hours +/-. I’m typically an XCO racer but this will be my 4th MTB 100 overall and this year I’ve completed a 50 mile and a 100 mile MTB race already. I’m at around 4.1 w/kg and will be racing with 4 of my teammates. One of my teammates is at the same fitness and skill level (both Cat 1/Expert in XC) as me but this is his first MTB 100. The goal is for the 4 of us to stay together as much as possible in the beginning hours then I assume we will eventually split into 2 groups of 2. Then the 2 of us will hopefully stay together until at least Aid Station #5. Then if one of us is feeling significantly better than the other to cut loose and empty the tank to the finish.

The plan is to put out a little effort (sub threshold) in the beginning 10-20 mins to hopefully get ahead of most of the slow riders before the singletrack (How long before we reach singletrack?). After that settle into a more sustainable pace. Up the steady long climbs we plan to hold high z2 power (we both have power meters) and only put out high power when forced by terrain.

We will plan to stop (have our drop bags) at Aid Stations #2, #4, #5 and possibly #6. It’s my assumption these will be within/less than 3 hours apart. Please advise if this is wrong as we will only be bringing water/fuel for 3 hours between stops. Obviousy mechanicals or issues will change this but we’ll have to adjust on the fly if this is the case. We assume we’ll reach aid station #5 around the 7 hour mark with 1 hour remaining of climbing (killing fields) and about 3 hours to the finish line. I realize there is one last big climb after Aid Station #6. Assuming all goes well, is this an accurate assumption?

In our drop bags we’ll have fuel, lens wipes, a few random items and maybe extra C02. Anything else needed in the drop bags?

What else am I missing?

THANKS!

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Oh, one other thing I’m not sure anyone’s mentioned: The downhills on the SM100 course are pretty technical for a 100 miler. If you’re used to riding Pisgah, you’re going to love it, and you’ll be able to put time into a lot of folks on the descents if you can manage not to get blocked up by the roadies picking their way down the fun stuff. :laughing:

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@MI-XC at 4.1 w/kg, if you have solid technical skill (based on interaction and observation of you here, I imagine you do) and can extend your performance out to the 7+ hour mark, 10 hours should be no issue at all. I’ll try to do a better write up later when I’m on my computer, but I raced this last year as my first MTB 100. I’m not a terribly skilled descender (SM is technical) and I had one OTB crash, around mile 50 that broke 2 ribs. 9 finished in 9:45 and I think without the crash and holding myself together a little bit better towards the end on descents (as mentioned that last one is BRUTAL when you’re that tired/sore and it is so rough) a sub 9 would have been very achievable. For reference I was probably around 4.25-4.5 w/kg. W/kg rule here for the amount of climbing, but technical skill will save you a boat load of time and energy, so don’t discount that.

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I see a big problem with your drop bag strategy. Unless the rules have changed, you are allowed only 2!!!

I’ve got a bit more to add based on your questions but don’t have time right now except that you’re going to need to go out hard for 20 minutes or so. You’ve got to get in front of as many people as you can for the first singletrack climb. I guarantee you’ll think it’s no big deal but it’s a little rocky & trips up more riders than one would think. You do not want to be off the bike on that climb… there will be enough hiking on Lynn (climb #2)

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