For the first time since I started writing my blogs I am finding it hard to know how to start. My body is tired and my mind full of mixed emotions that I am finding hard to put into words. So much dreaming, planning and effort has gone into this last weekend not just by myself, but all my family around me and everyone at Wiggle who have done everything to get me to the start line with everything in place to give me the best chance possible. I strive for perfection and plan everything I can to avoid mishaps and I am overjoyed to be able to say that Mountain Mayhem 2009 was perfection.

The weekend started for us on Thursday as we packed up and travelled to the Mayhem site at Eastnor castle. I wanted to get there early to get a good spot, but also so I could relax on the Friday and Saturday before the race. Last year I got it all wrong, as I was far to stressed and worked up about the event, but this year I was more relaxed but also far more focused on the job at hand. Having won Sleepless in the Saddle last year I now knew what it takes to win a 24hr solo. I did a practice lap on the Friday and quite happy with the course, although there was quite a bit of climbing at 350m per lap.

When the race day dawned I was feeling fresh and ready. I took to the front of the start line and waited for the impending chaos to begin. I’m not a strong runner, but always look to get back as quickly as possible to avoid any hold-ups on the course. I found myself onto the bike in second place (of the soloists) right by Ian Payne who I knew would be a threat. We rode hard together for the first half of the lap, but I knew the pace was too high to sustain, so eased off as we went up the “Kenda Climb”, a steep and fairly long fireroad grind. It’s easy to get carried away, but I kept telling myself how long this race was and found a pace that I was comfortable with. Some time in the first few laps Anthony White caught me and later passed me, and again I let him go as I felt the pace was too high.

I kept knocking out laps and contently stayed in 3rd place for a while, until I passed Ian. I was getting updates on my time and position from the pits and knew that it was now a two horse race. At dusk I closed the gap to Anthony and took the lead, it was all very reminiscent of last year, but I hoped the outcome would be different this time! I had the lead for a few laps, but yielded to Ant as he was on a charge. Darkness can sometimes slow people down when racing, but I didn’t feel disadvantaged at all, as my Lupine Betty and Tesla lights are a fantastical bright combination. During the night, around 2am it started to drizzle and I was at my worst, as although my legs were feeling fine I was really sleepy at was almost drifting off whilst riding. As I came through the pits after than I started using caffeine in attempt to stay awake, which worked well.

Around 3am I was passed by Chipps from Singletrack magazine, so I thought it would be a bit of fun to have a bet with him that I could beat him around that lap. I was probably at around 14 laps in at the time and he was in a team, so he probably fancied his chances. This was a real turning point in my race as it picked me up and I was flying again, needless to say I beat him back but also caught Anthony and went on to take the lead again. Dawn broke and with it a renewed vigour, but at Mayhem when dawn is at around 4am there is still 10 hours left to go so the race was far from over. At this point my lap times were hovering around 1hr, so I realised I’d have around 10 laps to go. It might have been a mistake to start counting down the laps, as the next 10 hours drifted by at the slowest rate ever! I was leading by a couple of minutes and was hearing that Ant was looking good, I had no chance to rest at all.

As each lap passed I hoped that I’d hear news that he had slowed up and that I could ease off slightly, but instead he was relentless and I started to wonder how long I’d be able to keep it going. Somehow I managed to draw strength from deep within and although some laps I felt I was slowing my laps were consistent and I was holding Ant off, even increasing the lead very slightly, 1 minute at a time. With just over 3 hours to go I had around a 10 minute lead and I knew that I would have to do another 4 laps. Part of me was secretly hoping that Ant would ease up and I could do a lap less, but I really wanted to get a lap up, so kept on pushing although I did hold something back in reserve just in case. As I came round to start my last lap, after around 23hrs 40min of riding I asked my pit crew one question “Is it safe?” and to my relief they replied “Yes”. Emotions took over as I realised that I had achieved what I have been wanting for years, since I did my first 24hr race as a team back in 2004.

My final lap was half pain, half joy as I knew I could take it easy and try to enjoy it. I talked to riders as we went round, getting some other peoples tales of how it went for them. When the moment came to cross the finish line I was blown away as I came around the final corner. A massive crowd had gathered to greet the finished riders. I gave Patrick Adams a hug and thanked him for the event and then I turned to Nia, went down on one knee and proposed. The event means so much to us both that it seemed like the perfect way to ask, and I had it all planned before hand.

All that is left to do is thank everyone that has helped me on my journey. I am lucky to have an amazing team around me and they put as much effort into supporting me as I do into riding. Ben, my mechanic from Wiggle knows me and my bikes as well as I do and thanks to him my bikes were faultless from start to finish. Every single lap Ben met me on the “Kenda climb” and ran alongside me, giving me info and I’d let him know what I needed next pit stop. My mum who will do anything and everything she can do to help to keep me riding like washing my bikes with the Mobi and making sure Nia and Ben are also fed and watered! My great friend Dave, who was supporting his partner Jo, who finished second in the women’s solo race was also fantastic and never short of encouraging words. The support and cheers from fellow riders and spectators as I was riding made a huge difference, having so many people calling your name and cheering you on is a great motivator. Last, but by no means least I need to thank Nia who has put up with me and my cycling for the last 8 years and supported me every step of the way. I would not have got where I am now without her and I am truly grateful.

A few stats from the event:
Laps completed: 26
Distance covered: 250 miles
Total climbing: 9100 meters

At no point during the race did I drop into the granny ring and I only walked one short muddy section once or twice during the whole race.

I went through at least 30 SIS Go gels, 10 packets of Clif Shot Blocks, 10 litres+ of High 5 4:1.

Full results can be found at www.osmountainmayhem.co.uk/

Photos from Sean Wilton

More pictures from the event

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 9:36 am and is filed under Athlete Diaries, Events, Matthew Page. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.