| Marin Whyte Winter Series Race Report |
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Race report on the Marin Whyte Winter Series Race 3 - Thetford Forest by Lt Mark Edmondson.
I had missed race 2 of the 4 race Winter Series, as it was scheduled the day my wife turned 40 - some would say my priorities were not quite right! Having finished race 1 in 48th place, I turned up at Fire Road 6 on the Brandon side of the Forest in Elvedon near Thetford. The usual buzz got me on the way down the Fire Road and as the event tents came into view my pulse quickened a few more beats. The temperature was in the minus range, but the sun was shining through the fog and all was set for a perfect MTB race. Having signed on and checked my bike over one last time I made for the start line about 25 mins before my category, the men's 18 - 39 2hr enduro (more like a sprint as I am more used to the longer endurance events). I was slightly surprised to see so many in front of me and quite annoyed with myself for being so close to the back of the field again! Although cold, with some pre race banter the time passed quickly and before I knew it I was off. After the first couple of hundred meters of melee the race calmed to a Fire Road procession, albeit at a reasonable pace, with only minor places traded here or there. Then about a mile in we encountered the first of a number of short sharp climbs. This was a chance to make up a stack of places - so a good stamp at the bottom, keep the speed up and keep going to the top and see what happened. It worked, with a good 20 or so places made up. With my position being near the back I decided there and then that the Fire Roads and climbs were going to be my chances to make up ground. The singletrack in Thetford is sublime and it is impossible not to enjoy it so with my plan to attack on the Fire Roads and climbs I was going to really enjoy the rest and that is exactly what I did. The plan was going well and I think for the first time in these shorter distance races I managed to control my drinking/gel strategy to actually aid me instead of going off like a hare, with a sky high heart rate, and then falling back into plod mode. I was learning about race craft and putting all the reading and training into practise. The course was slightly longer than race 1, at 7 1/2 miles, so as the clock approached 2hrs and coming up to the end of my third lap I knew I would get another one in. I crossed the line with 8 mins to spare and headed off for a fourth circuit. I knew I had probably just about found my place as I was not doing much overtaking but more importantly I was not being overtaken. There were a couple of targets during the last lap though and after catching and passing the first one I set about the next, another couple of hundred meters in front of me. It took a couple of miles to get him but again I stuck to my plan of enjoying the singletrack, which was now virtually a clear run, and digging deep for the climbs and Fire Roads. I caught him with about 2 miles to go and from there just got my head down for the finish. The course had a nasty sting in the tail, with the steepest and longest climb only a couple of hundred meters from the end. As I got to the bottom I could see a group of three or four riders about halfway up. That gave me that last bit of drive and I managed to overtake a couple of them and end up in 34th place, a 14 place improvement on last time. Here’s looking forward now to the last race of the series and further improvements Lt Mark Edmondson RN CBRN PolMoD London |
