Supporting Lumberjack
This weekend was another first.
I went to the Lumberjack 100 mt bike race in Manistee Nat'l Forest. I didn't got to race.
I was there in support of 4 of my friends. You know, hand them water bottles, food, tools, and give them a little encouragment when needed.
These guys are my Hero's! It was crazy hot, no wind on the course, and bumpy as hell. Sure, I've done those before, but not FOR 100 MILES!! How bad was it? over 60% failed to finish. At one point there was a line at the scorer's table of people withdrawing from the race.
Unfortunately my friends were not spared. There was a back injury due to the rough trail, and combination back and stomach pains, and a whole lot of heat exhaustion! One of the 4 finished the entire race, but I'm super proud of them all!!
I had no idea what I signed up for. Comparing the stress of racing to the stress of race support, I'll take racing anyday! There was the Recoverite fiasco, which lead to me running the 40 yard hurdles in 15 seconds! And then the inevitable "i've got two racers at opposite pit areas at the same time and someone's getting screwed" botch. I really learned alot about running support for multiple people. Unfortunately I'll probably never get to use that knowledge, cuz I don't think I'll do THAT again.. =] And I'm definitely racing the Lumberjack next year!
What I was also impressed with was my fellow race supporters. These are some really great folks. Giving up an entire weekend to help their friends do ungodly things to their bodies and well beings. Even though most of them were supporting a close friend or SO, they're were all more than earger to help ANY racer on the course at a moments notice. Of course we're all racers and know what we'd like, but how many other places do you see the Golden rule practiced with such enthusiasm?!?
Whew, what a weekend!!
soup
I went to the Lumberjack 100 mt bike race in Manistee Nat'l Forest. I didn't got to race.
I was there in support of 4 of my friends. You know, hand them water bottles, food, tools, and give them a little encouragment when needed.
These guys are my Hero's! It was crazy hot, no wind on the course, and bumpy as hell. Sure, I've done those before, but not FOR 100 MILES!! How bad was it? over 60% failed to finish. At one point there was a line at the scorer's table of people withdrawing from the race.
Unfortunately my friends were not spared. There was a back injury due to the rough trail, and combination back and stomach pains, and a whole lot of heat exhaustion! One of the 4 finished the entire race, but I'm super proud of them all!!
I had no idea what I signed up for. Comparing the stress of racing to the stress of race support, I'll take racing anyday! There was the Recoverite fiasco, which lead to me running the 40 yard hurdles in 15 seconds! And then the inevitable "i've got two racers at opposite pit areas at the same time and someone's getting screwed" botch. I really learned alot about running support for multiple people. Unfortunately I'll probably never get to use that knowledge, cuz I don't think I'll do THAT again.. =] And I'm definitely racing the Lumberjack next year!
What I was also impressed with was my fellow race supporters. These are some really great folks. Giving up an entire weekend to help their friends do ungodly things to their bodies and well beings. Even though most of them were supporting a close friend or SO, they're were all more than earger to help ANY racer on the course at a moments notice. Of course we're all racers and know what we'd like, but how many other places do you see the Golden rule practiced with such enthusiasm?!?
Whew, what a weekend!!
soup
Labels: Racing
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