12 Hours of Sundance Race

Me, studying, and one of my teammates, Ben, in between laps.

I raced in the 12 Hours of Sundance race this weekend. This was my first time doing an endurance race. I'm so glad I was on a team with three other folks. There was a terrible and long-lasting rain storm the night before, so when I got up to Sundance at 6:00 am, they had postponed the race to see if the trails would dry out. So the race ended up being only 10 hours long - with the start time at 9:00 am and finish time at 7:00 pm.

The race is kind of a relay race - when you do it with four people on your team - so the first person does a lap, then comes in so the second person can begin his lap, then the third, and so on and you keep doing that rotation for 12 hours (or in this year's case, 10 hours). I did two laps, while my three teammates (all male teammates) did 3 laps each. My first lap wasn't bad. My second lap started out fantastic! I was feeling good - better than during my first lap - and I had a personal triumph on this lap: I made it up the steep climb on Archie's Loop!! I've never been able to climb that steep without walking my bike until now! I was so stoked. Still am.

Timpanogos sopped in the clouds

The lap continued well until it started to rain again, then the trail became slick and I wiped out on a turn. I lost my mojo after my fall and didn't ride as well for the next few miles, but I think my poor-riding might have also been due to all the wet rocks and roots and my wet/muddy tires. I finished stronger and got the same lap time as my first lap. Overall the race was really fun and my teammates were really nice and fun. Maybe I'll do it again next year if I can find some teammates that will race with me again. :)