The Big Hill Marathon

Well the morning was definitely crisp and clear for my first marathon MTB race, it even felt as though a light frost had crept in overnight, far too premature if you ask me!

The start was kind of novel lining up with all the punters, everyone trying to beat each other up the first climb without blowing each other up, very different to women's cross country races! 

It was nice to be able to work together, and chat to people throughout the day and interesting to read others signs of distress, hunger flats and fatigue! I was amazed by the amount of forest out there, at times it felt like I was riding through the middle of the Otways, it was lush and very beautiful!

So I just tapped away for the day, not having done a long race before I was conscious of eating, drinking and pacing myself to get through the day in a controlled and measured effort. I didn't see any of the other girls out there, except for Naomi whizzing past me on the first climb, so it was really just me and the many men!

I rolled across the line in second place and a quicker time than I had aimed for, so all in all it was a good day. I would have to say the hot shower at the end and the bananas and muffins at the food stations were definitely up there as highlights for the day!

Huge Thanks to Big Hill Events and everyone who was involved in making the day happen, and of course thank you to the team at Felt for getting me to my first long MTB race!