Marathon Mountain Bike Racing continues to grow and evolve. While some events draw huge crowds, other draw a smaller number of entrants – but a sign of a good race organiser is their ability to adapt to meet the needs of the racers who make their event. There has been a variety of news coming from the Australian Marathon scene this week. With the Kona Odyssey drawing ever closer, many racers will be fretting over their preparation for what is arguably one of Australia’s hardest Marathons, if not the hardest. There are still spots available for the 100km race, but the 50km Kona Shorty had been sold out since December.
Race Director John Jacoby (known to set a hard course for any of his events) did share his concerns.
“We are very cautious about extending the field limit, as we do not want to compromise the riders’ experience by squeezing too many riders onto the course and causing congestion on the trails. We will start the 50km riders in two wave starts to spread the field out and have also made some slight changes to the course from last year to help handle the extra numbers.” This is possible due to transponder based timing, but it does make your race an individual effort. If you’re conserving your strength in the front bunch, but the first waves front group was moving at a slightly faster pace, you may have missed out on a potential result. Enter online if you have missed out previously.
The Elite start of the 2011 Capital Punishment. Photo: Aroc Sport
Capital Punishment is the opening round of the Real Insurance XCM Series on the 17th March 2012. It is a classic point to point event, taking in many of the best trails around Canberra that the locals will let you know about. Alas, the event is sold out, but you can register on the waiting list. The starting list is looking pretty sharp already, so it will be interesting to see what changes occur before the gun fires in mid-March.
Justin Morris at the finish of the Husky 100 ©MarathonMTB
Some of the biggest news this week is about a permanent shift on the calender. The Husky 100 has not only moved to June 30th, but it’s taken on a new sponsor, becoming the Stevens Bikes Husky 100. Although previously affected by wet weather, it is hoped the new date will make for more favourable conditions for the super trails on the South Coast. Entries opened today, and you can even win two great Stevens Bikes. This is also part of the Real Insurance XCM Series, so it will carry useful points for those who are eager to boost their pointscore.