Just got back from participating in the Mojave Death Race. This is a 250+ mile relay across the Mojave from Primm, NV to Baker, CA and back. Teams of 12 run, mtn bike, and road bike over some of the most rugged and God forsaken country I've ever seen. You also have to provide your own sag for the entire event. Because of the extreme conditions (114 was the highest temp we saw) a chase vehicle must stay with the athlete at all time. The race started at 5:00 AM on Saturday and our team finished in about 24:45:00. There were no easy stages, but some were really brutal. The shortest stage was a 6 mile uphill run on pavement. We hit this section at about 2:00 PM and it was 109 in the shade. There are a couple of mtn. bike/road bike combos where the same person has to switch bikes mid stage. I road a 20.5 mile road bike stage that climbed over 2000' in about 7 miles before descending back to the desert floor. The only piece of shade was when I crossed under I-40. My support crew was constantly spraying me with cold water which was the only way I could keep going. I'm not a bad climber, but this ride had me pegged in about the first 2 miles. The decent was pretty scary as I was doing 35 MPH over some pretty rough roads. I was totally spun out on a 50-11 gear and the rough surface made it tough to grip the bars very tightly.
I got a break while the team continued on with the next 3 legs, an 8 mile run-43 mile road bike-6.5 mile run. Next up I sagged for 3 off road legs. I drove the support car while we did a 10 mile uphill trail run that never let up. It was a steady 7% grade over very deep & loose sand. It started about 9:00 PM and the outside temp was 103. This was followed by an 18 mile mtn bike over the summit and down the other side. We lost our rider when he hit 35 on the descent and I couldn't keep up in the car. We finally caught back up when the road flattened out and then got lectured at the next check point for not staying with our athlete. I was completely knackered at this point and got a few hours rest in the RV. When I woke up we were in Jean, NV waiting for our runner to come in and tag off for the final 8.5 mile run to the finish. I helped sag us in as the sun was coming up on Sunday morning.
Our team consisted of 6 Ironman finishers and 6 friends of varying levels of experience in endurance sports. We finished 4th out of 14 teams and 1st in the co-ed division. This was one of the most challenging and fun events I have ever done. The organization and logistics required are amazing. It was a challenge on many different levels and the vibe was really great. Very low key and very well organized. I would recommend this race to anyone who wants to push themselves to a new limit.
Check it out for next year. www.mojavedeathrace.com
Gary MC
Gary Mc
Did I mention I did Kona
I got a break while the team continued on with the next 3 legs, an 8 mile run-43 mile road bike-6.5 mile run. Next up I sagged for 3 off road legs. I drove the support car while we did a 10 mile uphill trail run that never let up. It was a steady 7% grade over very deep & loose sand. It started about 9:00 PM and the outside temp was 103. This was followed by an 18 mile mtn bike over the summit and down the other side. We lost our rider when he hit 35 on the descent and I couldn't keep up in the car. We finally caught back up when the road flattened out and then got lectured at the next check point for not staying with our athlete. I was completely knackered at this point and got a few hours rest in the RV. When I woke up we were in Jean, NV waiting for our runner to come in and tag off for the final 8.5 mile run to the finish. I helped sag us in as the sun was coming up on Sunday morning.
Our team consisted of 6 Ironman finishers and 6 friends of varying levels of experience in endurance sports. We finished 4th out of 14 teams and 1st in the co-ed division. This was one of the most challenging and fun events I have ever done. The organization and logistics required are amazing. It was a challenge on many different levels and the vibe was really great. Very low key and very well organized. I would recommend this race to anyone who wants to push themselves to a new limit.
Check it out for next year. www.mojavedeathrace.com
Gary MC
Gary Mc
Did I mention I did Kona