Part 3: Moving, Stopping and free speed (AKA pacing part 2)
In the early 2000s long distance mountain biking started to boom in my country. Races were well attended, attracted massive fields, and the prize purses were quite frankly ridiculous. A good 24 hour racer could win more prize money in one race than he’d previously won in a season. I entered my first 12 hour in 2003 and to my surprise I won the race against some of the already established names in the game. I went into 2004, and the biggest 24 hour in Europe expecting good things but came out somewhat dejected with 5th position and with an empty wallet. Racers I’d beat in the 12 hour a year previous had finished miles ahead just a year later in the longer race. In 2005 I went back to Mountain Mayhem and again came home empty handed, this time finishing in 8th, but had made a powerful discovery and just 3 months later I put that discovery to work. I won my age group at the 24 hour World Championships, finished top age grouper, and 11th overall amongst the top ultra mountain bike pro riders of the day. My fitness had not changed but I had discovered something that elevated me from also-ran to top of the box. That discovery gave me the most golden years of my racing career, and later when I began to focus on coaching helped a lot of my athletes elevate their times without having to train harder or longer.