2013 Arizona Trail Recap.

Well it's been awhile so I thought I'd share some recent news.

The line up of AZT 750 Racers at the US/Mexico Border

Arizona Trail was cut short from the planned full route 750 to just the 300 mile race this year.  It wasn't because of mechanical, dehydration, pain or any of the normal dropping reasons.  I dropped out cause I got bored. Many people will read this and not understand, but I wasn't having any fun racing all by myself.  I understand that this is a solo sport and company isn't found in the form of much more than beautiful sceneries and personal memories.  I couldn't help but remember how fun it was last year to run in to different faces and listen to there stories.

Heres the short version of how the race went for me...

Big thanks to the guys at Sun N Spokes in Sierra Vista, AZ for driving 8 of us the border.  Got there about 30 minutes early and froze til the start.

Gear was on point.  Having raced last year I knew exactly what to bring and what to leave out.  No complaints in this department.

The race started and off I went.  Had a rare occurrence and broke my chain masterlink about 8 miles in.  I have personally have never broke one of those before but switched it out and got back rolling in less than ten minutes.  Pushed hard with a rider from TN named Jason Murell.  He was a rookie and we teamed up til he got a stomach bug about 11PM about 20 miles outside of Cave JX on the first day.  Ended up making it to Rincon Valley which was my Day 1 goal at about 2AM with Pete and Ester who were racing the 300.  Made bed on the porch with hopes of refueling and moving on at sunrise.

Picture of Jason and I taken by Scott just before West Canales.

Woke up to the PIMA County Sheriff Department at about 530AM.  LOL.  Pushed up the hill and never saw anyone on the trail til, just before Antelope Peak a day later, I saw 3 girls on their own bikepacking adventure.  They were riding the trail North to South from Picketpost TH in Superior to Oracle.  No easy feet for sure.  Here I cant even get one of my friends to join me on these types of trips and here are 3 girls rocking it in the middle of the desert.  You go girls.

The rest of the race went smooth.  I hit the heat and my water plans worked great.  No snake encounters a few Gila Monsters but nothing to shaky.  I made it to the turn off towards Picketpost away from the Gila at about sun down and it took me about 3 hours longer than expected but no drama.

Made bed at the Picketpost TH and waited for some other racers to roll in.  Hoping for some company to continue on but never made a connection.

Next years plan...who knows.

AB

Boatman’s 2013 Adventures

I love building my yearly dream list of events and activities I want to do and 2013 is no different.  Feel free to join in and or throw me some feedback about any of these events.  I am still working on some other ideas too so stay tuned.

Jan 19 – McDowell - Mtn Bike Race– www.mbaa.net
This was an ass whipper.  Huge field of over 50 racers in my Marathon Class, sick as a dog days leading up to the race i caught the flu, ended up 21st overall.

Feb 9 - White Tanks - Mtn Bike Race - www.mbaa.net 
Great race.  Huge Team River Cyclery & Sport Turnout.  Ended up 5th in Marathon class and for my first time won some money.  It was only $25 bucks but i'll take it.  

Far right long socks

2013 Specialized Epic Expert

Feb 23 - Sierra Vista, AZ - Mtn Bike Race - www.mbaa.net
Awesome course at just over 4,000ft.  Was averaging about 26-27min laps up til the 5th lap when I tore the sidewall.  Mother f'r.  I had been racing all season with no tools and up to this race I had been running super heavy bullet proof tires and well I felt like gambling and I lost.  So I started to run back towards camp where a friendly racer from Trisports.com gave me a tube, co2 and tire iron.  Can't be thankful enough.   He sped off and got to fixing my flat.  Thought I was good to go then had the ever common co2 failure and only got about half in the tube, so back to running again then met up with another racer who gave me his co2 and then I was 100%.  "Pay it forward" charging hard.  I was able to still manage 7 laps and hold on to a 9th place finish.

Feb 24 - Mesa, AZ - Adventure Run - Tough Mudder 

See blog entry

Mar 9 – Estrella - Mtn Bike Race - www.mbaa.net 
Great race, terrain kicked my arse, set bike up way to stiff.  Still learning about this Specialized Brain suspension.  At about hour 3 I was started to get weak but kept pushing one made about 2 passes on my 5th lap to get me in the $$$ 5th place overall.

Apr 6 - Prescott – Mtn Bike Race
Fast, fast course.  Ran in the front and faded to a 9th place finish.  Everyone was on pace for sure.  Couple nutrition mistakes.  I felt decent all race but dam everyone was just hauling major ass.

Apr 19 - ArizonaTrail Race - Bike Packing Race - 300 mile

see post

May 18 - Flagstaff – Mtn Bike Race - www.mbaa.net 
This was a wild ending to a tough season.  Held 3rd overall for the season in the Men's Marathon class.  My first time completing the entire season.  Not to shabby, lots of room for improvement.

June 8 – 12 Hours of Temecula – Mtn Bike Race
Kicked ass as part of the River Cyclery & Sport Team.  Podium 3rd in 3 Person Male.

June 9 - Holcomb Valley Trail Run - Trail Run 50K, 4,000+ feet of elevation gain
This was another ass kicker, especially after the team 12hour race the day before.  I wanted to support my new friend and potential Adventure Race teammate Marco.  So we met up at Karen's in Big Bear the night before, prepped our meals and hit the hay.  Start of the race it was obvious it was going to be warm.  I was only able to stay with Marco for the first 3 miles then he slowly faded away.  This was going to hurt but I knew I would finish.  My goal was under 8 hours.  I paced myself and conserved my body.  Took care of some foot management and needed nutrition.  The course did a huge figure eight.  At times I would pair up with other racers for comeradie but ultimately everyone hits walls at different times.  The last 2 hours I felt great.  Shirt off, getting some sun I was hauling to the finish.  I was about 4 miles to the end on a long descent when I caught my friend Marco and he wasn't looking good.  He pushed so hard in the beginning he hit a massive dehydration, cramping wall and was forced to walk the last 6 miles.  Marco is a beast and one hell of an athlete and his pace in the beginning was impressive.  We finished the race as a team in just under 7hours 15minutes.  Beating our time goal and also out team goal.

July 27 - Prescott 12 Hours at Night - Mtn Bike Race - Prescott, AZ

Alex Romero and I before the course turned muddy.

The number to beat.

1st Overall and 1st in Duo Mens

Alex and I raced one hell of a race.  Those kids behind us were the real deal.  Great race everyone even the track was a mud bog for the first 5 laps.

TOOK JOB IN DURANGO, COLORADO BEEN GETTING ADJUSTED.

October 5 - Dolores 100 - Southwest Colorado – Mtn Bike Race

Nov 9 – 12 Hours of Temecula – Mtn Bike Race

Nov 23 – Attack the Crack – Mtn Bike Race
Nov ?? - Tough Mudder World Championship - Somewhere Cold