The hub for marathon mountain biking
The Highland Fling has, over the past 13 years, become a staple and a classic event on the Australian MTB calendar. The 120km jaunt through the singletrack, forestry roads and farm tracks of NSW’s Southern Highlands has attracted tens of thousands of competitors from around the country and the globe over its existence. Due to […]
Responding to popular demand, we’re publishing a new series on how to train, prepare, and race your first marathon. Not your first marathon? Read on anyway and pick up some tips we’ve put together from years of experience. First up, here’s our best advice on how to prepare for your first marathon MTB race, including […]
The 2017 Cape to Cape has been running like clockwork. About 1800 riders have descended into the red dirt, loam, sand and limestone trails of Margaret River, for the 4 stages of racing. Brendan Johnston is leading Open Men and Samara Sheppard is leading Open Women. But, there’s 50km still to go and nothing is […]
Marathon races in Australia are often mass-participation events, where ‘completers’ outnumber ‘competers’ by huge margins. Cross Country Olympic racing (XCO), on the other hand, usually attracts hard-core racers chasing medals and jerseys. But even if you’re a marathon ‘completer’ when you get out to race, there are lots of reasons to love, watch, and even […]
It’s one of the questions we’re asked most often here at MarathonMTB.com, so we chatted to our team of marathon riders and put together a bunch of answers, starting with the most pressing one… What to drink? What should I drink in a marathon MTB race? It really boils down to a couple of choices […]
Like grief, or a long-term relationship, a marathon mountain bike race is a journey through a spectrum of emotions, from joy to despair. Here’s our take on the seven emotional stages of a marathon mountain bike race. 1. Anticipation You sign up. You call your mates and tell them to sign up. You’re all signed […]
Since finishing my PhD earlier this year I’ve gone back to tutoring. Sixty per cent of the academic workforce in Australia is casual, an issue that I’m probably not going to explore in a blog about mountain biking, but one that I thought I’d mention in case you’ve ever wondered why I never seem to […]
With an incessant, pounding rain in the Nomad ger camp in Mongolia the night before stage 5 much of the bunch were feeling apprehensive about this shorter but very difficult stage. The rain added an extra element of stress to what was already shaping up to be a brutal and decisive stage in this years […]
What’s my favourite thing about mountain bike stage racing, you ask. The camaraderie? Wrong! The epic scenery? Wrong! Visiting new places and experiencing new cultures? That’s great, but wrong! Nope, it’s the buffet breakfasts. So. The Redback got off to a good start for me when I hit the buffet at the Mercure Alice Springs […]
Returning to racing Recovering from injury has taken longer than I’d hoped (you can read more about what happened in my last blog), but I finally got rid of my walking stick about five weeks ago and got the all-clear to start some strength work on my weak left arm and shoulder, so it’s time […]
