AZTR 2013 Discussion Thread

[mtbcast]

Mark Caminiti called in from the Gila where he’s taking in the sounds.
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/azt13/

FWIW, I'm tweeting these to  #arizonatrailrace.

[mb]

Anyone have any info on Tony Berberich? I'm assuming he went without a Spot tracker.

[ScottM]

Got an email from Sharon from Alaska.  She and Michael finished up in 4 days and 5 hours even!

They left their SPOT tracker in the car -- oops.  They arrived just a few minutes before the start but rolled out with the group.

[JosiahM]

day 1 went great for me. day 2 felt great up until right after I went to the rincon market.
the second evening for me ended with my stomach exploding for no good reason.  spent 4 hours throwing up dozens of times and spraying diarrhea all over the trail a couple miles north or reddington road.
I thought I was going to have to get up in the morning and try to get a 4x4 to take me into tucson to go to urgent care, but somehow managed to get up after laying awake and puking all night and push over malino.
after malino, I finished that next section of trail leading up to prison camp (got chewed out by the park ranger for taking my bike down the 'historic stairs' but I told him I was about to throw up so he left me alone)
after about 2 more miles of climbing up the highway, I knew that my dehydration from throwing up the night before mixed with my inability to hold down any food or water was going to keep me from finishing this on my own power.... so I hitched a ride to the top and rode the forestry road down to oracle from there.
the ride only got more painful and more interesting after that.
I will post a ride report with more details when I get a chance.
Josiah

[lukejay]

so that was tough. really tough. i finished up the 300 (3days 3hrs 23min) and considering it was my first crack at anything like this
i was really stoked to finish. had no idea i would be hiking that much...ouch (esp in carbon race shoes).

TIP: don't ride GEAX aka in the back (i finished with pretty much a bald tire) but they never tore. the small knobs just got ripped off.
Ran the GEAX sagauro tnt up front and should have ran in rear as well. one small puncture in rear but stans plugged it fast enough.
the bald rear made those decents a bit touch and go.

*lost about 1.5-2hrs near "chiva tank" due to GPS acting weird and me being stupid and getting us off course.
*i didn't buy nearly enough calories in oracle to make final push (def was slow going on dead empty last 5-6 hrs)
*had to filter water from Gila, glad i did as i had about 2 sips left at finish.

great meeting lots of good people out there on the trails! (Ross, Neil, Max)

[joeydurango]

Not positive but I believe Berberich scratched yesterday.  One of my shop guys is buddies with him...

[Gimmearaise]

so that was tough. really tough. i finished up the 300 (3days 3hrs 23min) and considering it was my first crack at anything like this
I was really stoked to finish. had no idea i would be hiking that much...ouch (esp in carbon race shoes).

TIP: don't ride GEAX aka in the back (i finished with pretty much a bald tire) but they never tore. the small knobs just got ripped off.
Ran the GEAX sagauro tnt up front and should have ran in rear as well. one small puncture in rear but stans plugged it fast enough.
the bald rear made those decents a bit touch and go.

*lost about 1.5-2hrs near "chiva tank" due to GPS acting weird and me being stupid and getting us off course.
*i didn't buy nearly enough calories in oracle to make final push (def was slow going on dead empty last 5-6 hrs)
*had to filter water from Gila, glad i did as i had about 2 sips left at finish.

great meeting lots of good people out there on the trails! (Ross, Neil, Max)

Luke Glad you got er done, and glad those tires held up! haha they were bald on orcle ridge so I'm sure it was tough the rest of the way with traction. I was also very low on food by the end, next time I'm going to get more no doubt!!!!! did your other boys finish?

Let me know if you guys are in CB this summer we can go for a ride. My Email is Neil.beltchenko@gmail.com

Cheers,

NEIL

[lukejay]

we all made it.. Casey abouts 20min in front of me and Jason finished about 15 behind me. i will email you for sure.
lukejay180@hotmail.com

[cheeseunit]

oracle was it for me,definately was not ready for all the hiking. No  sleep at night only made matters worse  ,as I couldn't recover.GREAT people,again great people,No regrets.learned a lot ,hopefully will be able to use that knowledge to finish it next year. Better report as I recover.To those who finished,and finished well,much respect.

[Jeff Z]

Yeah, that was a level of hard that I have never before experienced. Just when I thought I found my least favorite section (Canelo Hills), I did that climb up to Molino in the dark with no water (and the spring on the other side seems to have disappeared). ANd just when I thought that was the worst, we did Oracle Ridge. Words simply escape me for that section. Not only did it steal a bit of my soul, it wrecked the tread of my X-alps and my wife's Rime's - and they are supposedly made for hike-a-bike.

Through all that, I finished, with my wife - and that's a pretty special thing. I gained a new respect watching her push her singlespeed up and over boulders on Oracle Ridge. She is even tougher than I thought. And when she landed in a cholla on the way up out of the Gila River valley. It was the worst I'd ever seen and I thought we were going to have to get medical assistance. However, I sat there with my pliers an ripped huge cholla balls off her thighs and butt. Then I took out all of the ones that were still stuck in her. Not once did she scream. I would have cried like a baby. She is tough.

Anyhow, I'm grateful that we had a chance to do this kind of adventure together - it was an amazing feeling to finish.

[mb]

Yeah, that was a level of hard that I have never before experienced. Just when I thought I found my least favorite section (Canelo Hills), I did that climb up to Molino in the dark with no water (and the spring on the other side seems to have disappeared). ANd just when I thought that was the worst, we did Oracle Ridge. Words simply escape me for that section. Not only did it steal a bit of my soul, it wrecked the tread of my X-alps and my wife's Rime's - and they are supposedly made for hike-a-bike.

Through all that, I finished, with my wife - and that's a pretty special thing. I gained a new respect watching her push her singlespeed up and over boulders on Oracle Ridge. She is even tougher than I thought. And when she landed in a cholla on the way up out of the Gila River valley. It was the worst I'd ever seen and I thought we were going to have to get medical assistance. However, I sat there with my pliers an ripped huge cholla balls off her thighs and butt. Then I took out all of the ones that were still stuck in her. Not once did she scream. I would have cried like a baby. She is tough.

Anyhow, I'm grateful that we had a chance to do this kind of adventure together - it was an amazing feeling to finish.

Congratulations on a great accomplishment Nancy and Jeff.  It's a tough one for sure and I can't imagine on a SS. Take a bow and know that what you have just done is going to take a few more days to sink in.

[schillingsworth]

Jeff, I already knew Nancy was tough, but jeez she didn't have to prove it that way!! Her thigh looked like a pin cushion at the finish. Which, by the way was so awesome to see you two come in.  It was a cocktail of emotions at the finish, thankful that I made it, stoked, relieved, exhilarated and utterly shattered.

I really thought I could get in sub-4 days and was pushing to make it, I actually felt pretty good climbing out of the Gila. I made it to the top with exactly 2 hours to go, but almost instantly into Martinez Canyon I 'hit the wall' so to speak. I could barely lift my feet on the HAB sections and could no longer pedal the smallest of inclines. I clearly did not carry enough calories out of Oracle for the final push. I had some bits of food, but nothing I felt I could stomach at the time. I think I rode from the Ripsey wash descent to the finish (some 16 hours) on one chocolate chip cookie, a couple of gels and a bottle + 1/2 of CarboRocket.

It was really great to meet a bunch of like-minded folk out there pushing their personal limits. No matter the current state of race fatigue, everyone was super friendly as we shared trail experiences. The funniest moment of the entire race was when Scott Jones came into the covered restroom area @ Molino Basin, you know the one just after the monster hike-a-bike everyone loved so much, and he pulls out a Staples 'Easy Button' that he'd been carrying for just this occasion!! Thanks Scott, that was priceless!! I even got to pose with it at the finish line!!

Luckily, a co-worker of mine was kind enough to let me borrow his shock-proof camera for this adventure. As a few of you know, I like to take pics on my rides - race or not. So, armed with a camera that I could keep up front on my chest instead of my pack (I normally ride with a clunky DSLR) I still managed to snap some 250+ pics. I saw a couple of firsts for me after riding in the desert since 1994, my first (and second) Gila Monster!! And a giant Centipede - that sucka was at least 10" long & 3/4" wide!! Here's a link to my picasa album with all of them:

(Katherine Wallace: I believe the two riders taking a nap in Bloodsucker Wash are Sharon & Michael, as we leapfrogged a few times over the route)

https://picasaweb.google.com/105985179285538905055/AZT300Redemption2013?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Enjoy! Feel free to use any images for personal use.

[ScottM]

Thanks for the great photo tour of the route, John.  That was super fun to spin through.  Interesting to see where the sun set and rose for you.  Congratulations on coming back and slaying the 300!

Max made pretty quick work of the Highline trail -- less than eight hours moving on it, with almost half at night.  That's pretty encouraging to see.  He's nearly to Mormon Lake now, and on great pace to finish under 9 days, I would say.

Blake and Aaron have both attained the Mogollon Rim, completing Highline and a major accomplishment of the 750.  Neither are too far back to end up winning this thing.

[tanman1337]

Thanks for all those pics! It brings back so many memories! Wish I could've been there this year. Anyone know what is happening with Mark C.? I'm getting worried... He has been off trail for over 9 hours. Don't know if he is just waiting the heat out, but just curious if anyone has heard from him?

[groundedkiwi]

(Katherine Wallace: I believe the two riders taking a nap in Bloodsucker Wash are Sharon & Michael, as we leapfrogged a few times over the route)

John, those were phenomenal photos!!  Thanks for the tour of the course!  Wow, how did you find the time to take so many!??!

Also, thanks for the note re Mike and Sharon, and Scott, thanks for your report on them.  They did awesome at 4+5.

I got a voice mail from Rich W this afternoon and see that he and Shelia just bike past Mark Caminiti's last SPOT, and he didn't mention anything about bodies on the trail, so hopefully Mark just forgot to turn it on, battery issues or the like.

Fingers crosses that Rich and Shelia will make into Picket Post this evening (morning) and get a well deserved rest and meal.  Rich does have a bit more trouble than most riding at night, so that cuts him short some days.

I was over the Mogollon Rim/Payson area a few times today, and was looking down for Max, Aaron, Blake and the rest of the guys but couldn't make them out!!
Looked like great weather and we've had a high overcast build this afternoon to hopefully keep it slightly cooler for them.

Jeff, kudos to Nancy for such a great achievement!  (and you too of course!)
And congrats to all the other finishers and starters, you're all heros!

Go Go racers....keep it up!!!!!
Katherine

[Jeff Z]

BTW,
I found a pair of distinctively styled gloves on Ripsey. Given that not many people get out there I'm thinking they may belong to one of the racers. Anyone lose a pair of gloves?

[Gimmearaise]

Any word on cjell? I can only assume he's up there with Blake!

[groundedkiwi]

Anyone know what is happening with Mark C.? I'm getting worried... He has been off trail for over 9 hours. Don't know if he is just waiting the heat out, but just curious if anyone has heard from him?

He's just appeared approaching AJ.  Hopefully no more than a battery issue.

[layla]

Mark C. called yesterday/Weds. morning was feeling rejuvenated after getting some zzzz's was ready for the push to the finish, then spot never moved....arrgh!!! Batteries.... anyhow he finished the 300 around 2:09...grabbed about 3 0r 4 dbl cheesburgers from Mickey D's and back on the trail. One thing i gotta mention here is that Mark may not be the fastest guy on the trail, but he's fun to watch because the man never gives up, even when there have been times I think he should? Like last year when he only had one gear because derailer trashed after pine?  dude walked 80 miles in clipless bike shoes?!!!  (now on flat pedals)...And finished the 750?!  This will be his third attempt at the 750 and if he finishes he will have finished the 750 3x...!!!!  2010, 2012 and?.....What a great way to spend a 43rd Birthday, which is today...So Happy Birthday! Tenacious C!!  

[tanman1337]

HAPPY B-DAY Mark! I got to talk to him last night as he was heading north out of AJ. He seems to be feeling really good!