Shenandoah Mountain 100

Racing
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My goal/expectation is to finish in 10 hours +/-. … this will be my 4th MTB 100 overall … already. I’m at around 4.1 w/kg

With a clean race that is a very conservative finish time, unless your fitness doesn’t always translate to long-distance races. I’ve done 9:40ish at more of a 3.5w/kg level, but that is with a lot of training and familiarity with the race course.

The plan is to put out a little effort (subthreshold) 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?) .

If you are all racing with the 10hr plan you’ll probably be right at 30-35 minutes to the singletrack. Pushing a little bit to be on the 30-minute side will pay off big time for going faster than 10, by being in a faster group on the singletrack climb (it still won’t be a fast pace, but less likely to have accordion on the rocky sections) and not be held up in the descent. That said with a long race if you are lower down at this point it really doesn’t matter to hit 10 hours.

At 10 hours you’ll be less than 2 hours between aid stations after 2. Aid 5 is the high point, so you’ll reach it closer to hour 8, but its more like 2 hours to the finish. Killing fields should take 45ish minutes, and if you are feeling good at this point you can make aid 5 to 6 in just an hour.

Aid 1 is about an hour in (only helpful if you lose a bottle early on and don’t want to end up in a hole)
Aid 2 is around 3 hours from the start
Aid 3 is 1:20-1:50 from 2
Aid 4 is 1-1:30 from 3
Aid 5 is 1:30-2 from 4
Aid 6 is 55-1:20 from 5
Aid 6 to finish is 45-1:15

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Race notes:

“We have a drop system organized where you can arrange to have supplies (lights, gear, food, etc.) left at the aid stations. You are allowed TWO (100K) or THREE (100 MILER) - 1 gallon ziploc bags to be used as drop bags that we will provide. That includes your lights!!! If the ziploc cannot seal closed we will not send it onto the aid stations. No camelbak drops allowed unless it fits in one closed gallon ziploc bag. They must be labeled with race number and are to be dropped off no later then 1 hour before the event start. They cannot be picked up again until the evening at the end of the race.”

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Huh, then no reason to carry a third bottle up the death climb. If this is accurate then I’ll probably leave one of my bottles empty between #4 to #5 and just have 2 bottles on the bike. The exception would be if it’s extremely hot/humid as my bottles are only 22oz. Anyone see an issue doing this?

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You’ll be god with 2 bottles from #4 to #5. I seem to remember some hecklers going up toward 5 & definitely remember a guy playing guitar who may have been a resident.

Damn!! I wish I was racing it this year!

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@MI-XC Good luck in the race Sunday! Would love to hear your perspective on the race compared to some of the others you’ve done when you’re back.

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How did everyone go?

I just watched this video. Looks like a cool race.

Looking forward to your race footage @MI-XC looks quite technical compared to some of the recent rraces on YouTube, especially for a long XCM. Hope it went well.

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Caution, long recap.

  • Not great.
  • It wasn’t fun or cool.

I probably should’ve given this race a little bit more attention, but it wasn’t an A race for me. Really, it was barely a B race as it pertains to my training and schedule. I had just finished short power build high volume (for the second time this year) and the Shenandoah 100 fell at the end of week one of XCO Specialty (which was also for the second time this year). I did a ramp test on Tuesday which I felt a bit of fatigue going in even after I had a the recovery week just prior. The Ramp Test resulted in my FTP going down a couple percent (4% from earlier peak) not to mention I was up about 6-7 pounds. I tried to put that out of my mind and to taper the remainder of the week going into the weekend. Come race day though, I felt like I was carrying a bit of fatigue both physically and mentally. I had already been looking forward to the end of my race season for the past few weeks, which is a clear sign to me that I’m in need of a break as my fitness is trending down. That being said, I was with my cycling team and happy to be doing the event with friends. My planning, nutrition and gear prep was all spot on and I wouldn’t change a thing regarding that if I did it again. My training leading into it could have been much better though if I was looking for a good finish time.

Excuses aside, the race started and the 4 of us made an effort to get ahead of the crowd. We said we would try to stay together as a team for as long as we could and let the second half of the race determine who had how much left and then push on at their own pace. Only 11:00 minutes into the race as we made the left to the first climb, some dude decided to cross all riders, hit the back wheel of my buddy and crash right in front of me. I wasn’t able to stop so I ran into his back and landed in the bushes. It was a relatively soft landing but enough to tweak the muscle next to my shin bone. I was pretty annoyed since we had like 97 miles still to go, but was able to quickly gather myself and get together back with the group. First climb was fine but we got stuck in the conga line which resulted in a bit of hiking.

Past Aid #1 around an hour and we we off until my buddy realized he had a puncture likely from the descent. We all stopped to help him fix it then continued on. Climb #2 is where it really sucked. I was prepared for hiking, but not this much :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:! Over 20+ mins of hiking that skyrocketed my heart rate. I hate, hate, hate forced long hike-a-bike. Not only do they beat me up (because I don’t train for it) but it really annoys me. I want to race/ride my bike, not push it up a hill. Not to mention it was a conga line of slow hiking with nowhere to pass. This was kinda the beginning of the end. I could tell my body didn’t like the hike. The second decent went fine but I could tell I was out of rhythm and couldn’t find the flow. I felt like I was fighting the trail and wasn’t able to settle in. I think I had a couple minor washouts as well. Eventually it ended and we made it to Aid #2.

Making it to Aid# 2 took longer than expected (3:28), so I was a bit behind on water and nutrition since I packed for 3 hours. The team had got separated on the hike then descent, but we regrouped at Aid#2. We had to wait a bit longer than we wanted to as our last team member was even further back. But we left as a group and I soon realized that my chain sounded horrible. Horrible like every bit of lube had been washed off and it was in jeopardy of snapping off my bike. We had no lube so we were lubing it with water periodically from my buddy’s Camelbak.

We were separated on the next climb and descent and this time the front 2 pushed through Aid #3. I ended up alone at #3 but as I was about to leave I saw my buddy. I planned on skipping #3, but since he arrived and wanted to refill bottles, I waited but tried to rush him. We wasted at least 5 minutes but we rolled out together towards the 4th hill. Now the team was 2 groups of 2. I was having an off day and was part of the second set as the front guys were pushing too fast, but my other teammate was a bit to slow. We were both struggling with cramps into hill 4 but he was worse off than me. He also noticed my rear wheel was wobbly. I pressed on and at some point dropped him somewhere on the climb as we saw more than 15+ mins of hiking :roll_eyes:. I was in a bad mood and place mentally not to mention my fitness either didn’t show up or I was cooked for the season. I think I had a couple more minor washouts in this downhill with one sending me OTB.

I rolled into Aid#4 at around 7 hours and was already 1+ hours behind my expected pace. I was fighting cramps and in a bad mood. My rear wheel was wobbly, my chain was clunky and between the two I could feel weird vibrations through the pedals. To make it worse I had broken off the top Boa dial on my left shoe so my foot was barely holding on. In Aid #4 I asked the mechanic to tape my shoe on my foot and try to fix my rear wheel. After about 10-15 mins he did what he could but said the issue was inside the hub. He said it was safe to ride so I just got ready to start the Death Climb. Since the mechanical took so long my buddy caught back up with me. I waited for him so we could do the Death Climb together but again tried to rush him out of the Aid station. With me being in such a piss poor mood I dropped my GoPro in my drop bag ( It only had an hour of battery remaining anyways). I was supposed to only take 2 bottles up the Death Climb but I packed 3 thinking it would take me longer than expected. At this point my attitude was whatever anyways.

The Death Climb was under 2 hours and I rolled out Aid #5 around the 9 hour mark. The Killing Fields were fine and as I approached the Shenduro decent I found myself sliding off the trail within the first 50 yards (too much front brake). I had to focus myself since I’d just been climbing for almost 3 hours, had 83+ miles and almost 10 hours already working against me. Once I refocused the descent went fine I guess but it was sketchy as hell in spots. I can’t believe they’d put that descent in an XC race towards the end. It’s just asking for something to go wrong. Luckily I made it through safely and rode right through Aid #6.

I was alone again as I passed my buddy on the previous Shenduro descent. The end was near but unfortunately I had to reclimb that stupid gravel hill again. I couldn’t remember how long it took in the beginning of the race but I thought it was close to an hour. That affected my pace as I was surprised to finish it in half that time. Ugh, that sucked.

Finished in 11:29. If it weren’t for the mechanicals it would have been easily sub 11:00 and maybe on a good day with proper training/tapering into it I could get closer to 10:00. However that would have to be a priority race and would take away my main focus/training which is for XCO (1:30-2:00 hour races). I don’t need to do that race again as it wasn’t fun, the four of us all felt the same. I want to ride my bike not push it up hills. Not to mention only 1 or 2 of the descents were enjoyable and there was way too much gravel. Actual enjoyable Singletrack was quite minimal to be honest so what’s the point :man_shrugging:t4:. It’s not my kind of race and certainly not something I’d travel 9 hours to do again. I’ll stick to races closer to home and the Mohican 100 is probably my next challenge for 2022.

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Damn, sorry to hear you had such a bad race & hated the course. I’ve honestly never known anyone not to like it. Haven’t talked to my friends since they’ve been back but one of them finished 10th in singlespeed.

I think it’s a great course but you’re right, there is a lot of gravel. The hike a bikes should have pretty much ended on the 2nd climb. I could see where you’d be off the bike on Bridge Hollow, though. I really liked the 1st, 2nd & 3rd descents the 4th is meh, the 5th -Chestnut is rough but fun even so deep into the race & the last into start/finish is a blast.

I don’t find the terrain in this race to be very technical compared to what I’m used to in western Massachusetts. And it is head & shoulders better then the now thankfully defunct Hampshire 100. Now that was a miserable 100 miles :pleading_face:

I’ve never ridden or raced in the midwest. What are the trails like that you’re used to racing on? If I were going to travel out of New England for a hundo, what would you recommend?

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I didn’t think the trails were technical other than the Shenduro. I wouldn’t say I hated it, it just wasn’t very fun. Seriously, who wants to climb on gravel then 2 track for 2:30-3:00, the death climb was so boring.! There are few rocks in my Midwest and it’s mostly roots and sand. Also, we don’t have long climbs, 4 mins is considered a long climb.

Maybe I’m just used to the Lumberjack 100 as it was my first MTB 100 and it’s 95% single track (9,000 ft climbing) with flowing descents. There is basically no hike-a-bike unless the course gets wet. They run it opposite direction on odd/even years so it mixes it up. I guess I thought/hoped 100s were all like this but it seems like that’s not the case.

I can’t recommend any MTB 100s because I haven’t done enough. If you want the hardest race in the eastern part of the US I’d say try Marji Gesick 100 in the upper peninsula of MI. It’s similar to Shenandoah 100 but harder.

If you’re looking for a fun 100 the Lumberjack is that but it’s not technical at all. Also it’s 3 laps so you’re riding the same trails, but at least it’s mostly trails.

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Yeah, I guess maybe the course isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. As far as being “technical” the downhills aren’t technical in the sense of lots of wet roots and rocks but rather in the sense of “how dare they put this descent midway through an XCM race!” At speed they’re technical.

It does remind me though: the last time I rode the SM100 we camped next to a group of roadies from upstate NY who complained about how much gravel was on the course before the race, then about how much singletrack after the race.

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DJ talks about the “hike-a-bike” climb at 4:12. Pretty much have to get there early and burn a box of matches:

(Not something I’ve ever been able to accomplish, btw)

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The only other 100 miler I did was the Hampshire 100 & it was just brutal with very little good singletrack which made for a long, long day. In comparison, SM100 was just a blast for me. Was I fast? No but faster than I was in NH.

I’m any case @MI-XC mentioned Lumberjack 100. I did a little searching & that race does look really fun. I’m considering giving it a go next year on a singlespeed. I quit Hampshire roughly 70 miles in on my SS back in 2015 & ive regretted it ever since. If I have a shot left for a good 100 miler with only 1 gear, I think that’s it.

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I don’t mean any offense but I laughed at that race recap, because I’ve been there! “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Sounds like the Leadville-like climbing style and the hike-a-bike (the leaders ride all of that!) played the role of Mike Tyson that day. People see that it’s not a ton of singletrack and underestimate. I would never do it unless it was an A race, if you don’t come topped off and ready it’s going to be a bad day.

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I’ve done Cohutta 100, Wilderness 101, Fools Gold 100, Lumberjack 100, and Shenandoah 100. Cohutta was way too much fire road, Wilderness holds the title for the only race I’ve ever considered stopping on a downhill and also the most technical one, Fools Gold was pretty nice if not gravel heavy, Lumberjack was OK but laps just aren’t my thing (rain didn’t help). Shenandoah though, it’s my jam, which is why I’ve done it 6 times. It also seems to be the favorite course for almost all the “pros”. Does the road section suck, yes. Does Lynn suck, yes.

Although having also done Breck Epic this year I can say that there is very little hike-a-bike in SM by comparison! I also remember when I didn’t have eagle and tried to do SM on a 32/42, that may have necessitated a bit more hiking.

I’d suggest you come do the stokesville 60/40 if you want more technical though. That routes you down Lookout Mt. trail, which is way more technical than anything at the 100.

P.S. this year was a bit off given the C19 protocols. This race usually has a much better atmosphere which I really missed. It made it a bit harder to conjure up my usual hype which I think played into my slower than expected performance.

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I’ve ridden a bunch of those descents for Wilderness & yeah, I could see those being seriously tough deep into that race. I almost killed myself a couple of times when I did TSEpic (3 day) in 2015. I came out of there with a dozen stitches in my knee on the last day to prove it :joy:

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Nate P did the SM100 (may have done the K) a few years (might have been '19) ago. i remember seeing a guy in a white TR kit (may have been a skin suit) and thought that’s gotta be an insider. Then i saw him on his phone at the finish and thought nah, it cant be…but a week later briefly mentioned it on the pod! so bummed i didn’t go up and at least say hi. His review of the course was not that extensive, just said it was rocky.
Anyway, great classic MTB 100, perfect amount of gravel with awesome ST…highly recomend.

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After editing my video and letting a few weeks go by, I’m less salty, lol. The Shenandoah 100 was not as bad as described above. I think I was just in a bad headspace and my fitness/training was less than ideal going into the event. I’m open to doing it again with better prep. In any case, here is the first 59 miles to Aid Station #4.

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Haven’t checked out the video yet but was curious what you’re using to get that much footage during a race, multiple batteries or cameras?

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Resurrecting thread to see if anyone has suggestions on picking between the 100K and 100M distance? Will be my first MTB race so the 100K sounds a lot more sensible but the fact that the 100 miler is there makes me want to think about it.

@MI-XC Did you go back (or plan to again)? I enjoyed watching the video (even if you weren’t enjoying it at the time!).

@smallaha Could you share any thoughts on the SM100 compared to the Breck Epic (in terms of technicality, course demands, etc.)? Do you think you could use training in the GWNF to help get ready for Breck?

I live in Virginia so want to do one version of the SM100 this year and have Breck Epic penciled as my A race for next year.