This race definitely earns the name True Grit. Going into race day, I knew it would be an 8-8.5hr day, a physically demanding course and lots of rugged rocky sections where your day could quickly end it all with one small mistake.
We got pretty lucky with conditions. There was concern about implementing an alternate course if there was heavy rainfall overnight. With only some light rain, the course started with a few puddles reducing some of the grip on the slickrock and areas of borderline peanut butter mud but continued to dry out and get better throughout the day.
During the race, I focused on pacing well, eating lots, keeping it smooth in the technical sections and pushing the pace where I could on climbs. Second place and I were together most of the race going back and forth. Still feeling strong halfway through the last lap, I attacked going into one of the longer climbs of the course and was able to create a gap and extend it to the finish!
This would be a challenging event to go in blind, so it was awesome to be in Santa Clara ahead of the event to get familiar with the course, explore this rad area and keep building some winter fitness. It’s a different style of riding than back in BC or Ontario, so it’s cool to be down here and race some different terrain.
