10 Under The Ben 2015 No Fuss Events

Over the moon with 3rd spot in Solo Female Category. Not often you get to share the podium with Hannah Barnes.

Time for a wee low down on how my first 10 hour mountain bike race went! How many laps could I do in 10 hrs, in my heart I had set myself 8 as a target. Here goes.......

Fri Pre Race Day

Manic! Last minute packing for the kids weekend trip to Granny's, loading up caravan which Granny kindly let us borrow (luxury for a bike race) wee bike ride to spin legs, organise food, race food, bike clothes, cosy clothes and first aid kit! The list goes on. David and I set off down the road to Nevis Range a little later than planned due to minor caravan issue with jockey wheel. We had a smooth trip down with one essential stop for a cone of chips in Aviemore. On arrival I registered and decided that I would like to go for a wee recce of some of the route. Fiona from No Fuss pointed out on the map the best bit to do so off I went. I managed to get lost with another rider in the muddy bog of a wood and also attempted the rocky climb from the car park taking a spectacularly embarrassing fall over the side, I was brave and did not cry! I called it a day there before I dented my confidence anymore and also to escape the infestation of the dreaded midge! We headed back to the Mart where we had parked the caravan, I jumped out on route and rode my bike through the single track and down a tricky step section so was feeling slightly better that I conquered that. I had a big bowl of pasta. Later to bed than planned but snug as a bug!

Sat Race Day

5am Wake up call from the engine of an early morning lorry driver! I kept snug for another couple of hours before finally getting up and forcing down porridge and a banana. Not sure that I have ever been so nervous, I actually asked David if he would be terribly annoyed if I did not race! No response....then 'wise up'. Ok I can do this....could I? Now for the pre race problems to begin, the one's no one talks about but that are very much part of the course..... No 2s, morning poos, race belly, whatever you want to call....caravan rules, under no circumstance should you poo in the caravan, for obvious reasons of smelliness! Toilets at the Mart were not open so had to dash up to the main toilets at gondola. Too much information, well next up is chaffing....big problem on a long ride. Having a comfy hoo ha was going to make all the difference so got that sorted with a generous dose of Vaseline and just hoped it was not going to be an issue! David sorted out my bottle for my bike and pocket of nutrition on my top tube and off we went up to the start.

 



Looking a bit possessed while Flare teammie Nienke ensures me in her lovingly Dutch way that I can do it! Love this girls enthusiasm and passion.

I felt physically sick and just wanted to get going. 9.30am and off we went, a mass rolling start down the road which was easy paced and calmed me down, we left the lead car and headed right onto a fire road, before long everyone got settled into their own pace and started to space out. I had to remind myself that other riders would be smashing out single laps as part of a team and that I had to race my own race at my own sustainable pace in order ride for ten, possibly 11 hours if I made the cut off of 7.30pm to get in the final lap which had to be completed by 8.30pm. First lap was quite relaxed and slightly shorter in order to allow everyone to space out. The course lap was tough and consisted of long climbs which I love and fast, rocky fun descents with technical parts too. I really enjoyed the World Champs descent from the very top of the course and rode it more confidently each time. I decided that I would not attempt the rocky climb section that I took a fall on the night before and would probably be quicker to walk it anyway, that and one short mud bath root section saw me dismount. Other than that I had cracked the course and somehow churned out lap after lap after lap with a couple of offs but nothing major to shout about.

Lap 5 and 6 saw me hit the wall and I started to question if I could actually keep going. At that time it was a mind game and I had to dig deep and not let my mind fail me as I knew my body could keep going. I had done the training! Lap 7 and 8 saw me get into a rhythm again and take on a second wind, heading off into Lap 8 David told me that at that pace I would get in Lap 9. Right enough I came over the line of Lap 8 with 20 mins to spare before the cut off so had time to make my 9th lap. Would I stop as I had reached my goal of 8. I could hear 'Go Kerry Go' from lots of the local riders from home and asked David if I should go, one nod and I kept going! One final lap, I had enough in the tank to go over and above what I had set out to achieve. What a final lap it was, all the riders were buzzing and counting down the clock on the way round encouraging each other. I rode the descents the fastest I had all day as I had nothing to lose now, crowd support and atmosphere was amazing, cow bells clanging and spectators running up the short sharp climbs with riders, everyone was buzzing. Was impossible to give up! Boom I finished my last lap in 1hr 11min which left 10 mins to spare! 9 laps, 10 hrs 50 mins of riding and I think approx. 14000 ft of climbing. I did it!!! Wow!!!

 

 



Over the mat for 9th time. Laugh or cry. Absolutely exhausted!

 

 

The look that says I gave it my all. Just before getting a massive hug from David!






 

Absolutely delighted that I had ridden pretty much straight for nearly 11 hrs, one pee stop and a few more moments to pause and take on some solid food. I completed the 9th lap, I gave it absolutely all I had! Crossing the line finished off with lots of hugs then I wobbled back to the van to take a moment and let sink in what I had achieved. My fantastic team mate Nienke who took the Female Pairs win with Marie Meldrum popped her head round and gave me the biggest hug ever and asked how I had finished. I thought 4th of 5th which I was delighted with but David came along to let me know I had managed 3rd!!! Over the moon does not even come close to how pleased I was. What a weekend! Congratulations to Gillian Pratt, Strathpuffer 2015 Winner who is made of tough stuff who took second and Hannah Barnes  http://www.hannahbarnes.co.uk/ who was unstoppable and took top spot. Well done to each and everyone who took on 10 Under The Ben 2015, it was tough!

 

Big thanks to the fantastic team, Fraser, Spook and Fiona and their invaluable volunteers and marshals at http://www.nofussevents.co.uk/ for putting on another epic 10 Under The Ben. Special shout out for the crazy dancing lady on the big climb! Also to Nienke, one of my team mates from Flare Clothing Co  http://flareclothingco.com/collections/new-products who has been such an inspiration and help to me over the past few months. You can read about her crazy and ever inspiring adventures here http://nienkeventures.blogspot.co.uk/ 

 

My main support for the day was my hubby David who despite being in agony with a separated shoulder after going over the bars at the SES Enduro the previous weekend he was there like clockwork changing my bottles and forcing me to take on food! I could not have done it without him! I am a lucky girl!

 

Looking forward to my next adventure, if I ever recover from this one!

 

Biking Hugs

 

Kerry