The sweet rewards of mountain bike marathon racing

by Cory Wallace

Marathon racing is quickly turning into the mass-participation event of the mountain bike racing world. I started my career racing myself dizzy on short XCO courses, but quickly found the marathon (80–120 km) format to be a much more rewarding and enjoyable experience. We race our bikes because we love to ride them. Marathon racing lets us do just that and offers us a chance to race our bikes for a respectable distance to make all the travel and preparation getting there worthwhile.

A marathon event generally begins with a mass start, which gives everyone a chance to race together at the beginning. The weekend warrior gets to try to keep up to the pros and compare times. After the race, everyone can talk about the epic adventure they had out on the same course as well. Often there are 500 to 2,000 racers in these events, so there is always someone around you to race with and who will push you. Also, a lot of people race marathons as a big group ride. They are out there to enjoy themselves and the experience. The post-race, finish-line parties usually have a festival feel, with barbecues, cold drinks and lots of socializing going on as riders cruise in through the finish line for most of the afternoon.

For me, the coolest part of these races is getting to see new terrain for the whole length of the course. The long courses give the organizers the opportunity to tour the riders through some great areas and into some special places that the general public wouldn’t see on average bike rides. The riders get to see loads of fresh trail. The riding is also exciting as you never know what might lie around the next corner. Your senses stay alive, which adds another element to an already very stimulating experience. The benefits from these long races get more rewarding every time out and have kept me inspired to race more than 300 of them in the past six years alone.

For me, the coolest part of these races is getting to see new terrain for the whole length of the course. The long courses give the organizers the opportunity to tour the riders through some great areas and into some special places that the general public wouldn’t see on average bike rides.

Leading up to these big races, it is key to eat loads of carbohydrates to ensure the fuel tank is topped up for the event. In a four-hour race, you will go through all your stored muscle glycogen, plus more, so eating a huge meal the night before is necessary. As a bonus, after the race you will likely have a 3,000 calorie deficit in your gut to fill with whatever your heart may desire. Post-race is one of the few times our bodies require quickly accessible sugars to replenish our systems, so it’s a great time to cure that sweet tooth and gorge down on ice cream and other finish-line treats. Just remember to toss in some whey protein and L-glutamine so that your body can repair itself properly before the next epic race.