Jeff's Sporting Life: August 2023

2023 Mountain Bike XC Marathon & XCO Racing Season Recap

Marathon XC

1. Rundles Revenge @ Canmore June 24 = 43rd place out of 47 in men 40+

2. Provincials @ Canmore Aug 13 = 13th place out of 18 in men 30+

Alberta Cup XCO

1. Alberta Cup @ Canmore June 17 = 10th place out of 10 in Expert Men

2. Provincials @ Canmore Aug 11 = 5th place out of 6 in men aged 35 to 44

This was my 11th year of MTB racing and first since 2019 due to the Covid 19 pandemic cancelled racing and then myself getting sick. I had such an awesome time racing this year because I missed it so much. I love training for races. I did a total of 1,143 km’s cycling in 2023.

* In total for my career after 11 season’s of racing I have done 64 races (62 MTB & 2 Road) and I did not include my Tuesday night MTB races.

Edmonton Marathon 10Km Running Race 2023 @ Downtown

Sunday August 20th, I finished 45th place out of 82 in the Men aged 40-49 category and overall 467 out of 1,009 Results. It took me 1 hour & 5 minutes to complete 1 lap and a total of 10 km's long. The total Elevation gain was 82 feet. My average heart rate was 178 bpm and max was 196 bpm.

My mom came to watch and cheer me on and it gave me a huge boost of energy. My legs started hurting at the five km mark so I had to walk at times. My legs were still sore from racing the MTB XCO & Marathon last weekend in Canmore. I managed to set my best 5km @ 28minutes to start the race. I then just grinded out the final 5kms. I’m really happy with my race. I had fun.

The temperature was deg 21 C. I would like to thank all the volunteers and the Running Room for putting on such a great event.

Pre Race by Mom

Taken by Marathon photos live

@ the finish line. By Mom

Provincials MTB XC Marathon Race 2023 @ Canmore Nordic Centre (6 Hours Solo)

Sunday August 13th, I finished 13th place out of 18 in the Men aged 30+ solo category Results. It took me 5 hours & 35 minutes to complete 4 laps and a total of 63 km's long. The total Elevation gain was 4,239 feet. My average heart rate was 162 bpm and max was 183 bpm.

The course was so much fun because it was a really long 4 km climb to start each lap and it was primarily on blue rated trails and even a small amount on green rated trails so you could get lots of speed. I am thrilled to have completed four laps especially because I raced Friday evening in the XCO provincials. I had a great race and I had so much fun.

The temperature was deg 27 C. I would like to thank all the volunteers and Rundle Mountain Cycling Club for putting on such a great event. Photos by https://evilmoose.smugmug.com/

Provincials MTB XC Race 2023 @ Canmore Nordic Centre (Alberta Cup XCO)

Friday August 11th, I finished 5th place out of 6 in the Men aged 35 to 44 category Results. It took me 1 hour & 45 minutes to complete 3 laps and a total of 20 km's long. The total Elevation gain was 1,762 feet. My average heart rate was 177 bpm and max was 191 bpm.

I loved the course because it was a really fun technical long 2+ km long climb with lots of roots and rocks to contend with in order to keep your momentum going. There were a couple of black diamond down hill sections that a couple I could ride and a couple I had to jump off and run down a tiny bit. I was so proud of myself that I was not pulled from the course and I finished all three laps. I drove down to Canmore in the morning and the race was in the evening and I had an awesome time.

The temperature was deg 20 C. I would like to thank all the volunteers and Rundle Mountain Cycling Club for putting on such a great event.

Photos by https://evilmoose.smugmug.com/