The Mangler

This weekend I competed in The Mangler a 24 hour race in Hillside park in Anchorage, AK.  I didn't have a chance to pre-ride the trails but I don't think its that necessary in a 24.  The staging area was held in a field with most of the competitors making a tent city.  I setup a little area for myself with some help from my dad for my tent and supplies.  My original plan for this race was to 2 laps consecutive without stopping but I was going through my water bottles to quick for that.

The course was a 9 mile loop with about 900 feet of climbing.  It consisted of about 60% single track and the rest being double track.  It was a great mix between the two and the only part of the course I disliked was the new piece of trail they had cut.  It was extremely soft and I saw quite a few people go down there.

I felt good for most of the race saving myself on about 5 of the climbs by just pushing the bike up them.  After burning your legs climbing up your upper body got quite the workout on the long downhill at the end of the course.  My original goal was too do 100 miles during the race but I quickly found out that I would be able to do much more and set my goals on 100 miles before midnight.  I started slowing down though at around 8 pm and knew that it was going to be tough to hit my mark.  I ended up with about 75 miles around midnight 25 shy of my goal but a good effort.

As I finished my last lap at around midnight I overheard a few of the volunteers calling the paramedics.  I guess a girl who must of been a few minutes behind me was attacked and mauled by a bear.  They shutdown the race and the paramedics had to hike in with guns to go retrieve her.  It was a sad finish to a great race.  Everyone at the race was extremely friendly and it was  great place to try my first 24 solo.

Photos

Photos