Kona 100 MTB Marathon 2002, Builth Wells, Wales
Douglas Shearer

"During the race you will see at least 250 sheep". The over enthusiastic pre-race announcer gives yet another stunningly bad fact. I mean this is WALES, where the population of sheep is greater than that of people. You see more than 250 sheep going up Dumyat, on a Wednesday evening run.

This was the Kona 100, possibly the UK's largest mass participation MTB event. Over 1700 people started the 100km (62.5miles), and nearly 400 people took part in the 50km (31miles) fun event. After doing the 100km full version I can see why some people had decided to take the shorter event.

The course consisted of one huge loop, which incorporated fire roads, singletrack, farm tracks and short sections of tarmac roads. The previous weeks rain combined with the fact that most of the tracks were on MOD land meant that there was plenty of mud and water to contend with, and over-enthusiastic braking from those more used to flat and easy riding, soon caused massive bottlenecks and hold-ups.

A full susser would definitely have been an advantage, as some of the later sections were quite rough. A set of riser bars may have been good for reducing my neck pain, but more on that later.

Briggie had made the seven-hour journey on the Friday, whereas Scott, Andrew and I had travelled southward on the Saturday before the race. The free pasta the night before was more than welcome, and the dry conditions looked promising fro the next day. A lack of cable ties at sign-on meant that numbers had to be tied on using baler twine and electrical tape.

The combination of a human loudspeaker in a tent behind ours meant that it took a while to get to sleep, but most managed to get a good few hours in, and only a few bleary eyed people appeared on the race morning.
The race briefing said that we were to be at the start line half an hour before the race was due to be off at 10am. Due to partial laziness, the placement of our tent right next to the start line, and the fact that over a thousand (over-keen) people were queued up behind the start line an our before hand, we decided we'd sneak in just as they were off. This resulted in us being back in about four hundredth place.

The first couple of kilometres were on road and paced to stop people blowing themselves up in any sprint that might ensue. I soon started to make up places and counted over two hundred people that I passed on the first major climb and the following rock descent. I soon settled down but was still gaining places in the first sections of singletrack.
It was at this point it occurred to me that riding in the generally wet and muddy conditions of Stirling gave me a natural advantage on the wet slippery and ascents. Most of these people seemed out of place in these technical conditions. Not because of their lack of racing experience, but because of their lack of experience in adverse conditions.

Past the halfway point I was on target to complete in a time of around 5 hours, but my neck started to give me more and more trouble, and at one point had to lie down for some time in the heather to attempt to get some relief. In the later stages I was dropping people again, and was kept amused by a Cannondale Chain gang rider who was having a great amount of trouble with his gears and a rubbing rear disk.

The final descent into Builth wells was superb, with plenty of jumps to get some airtime on. A few riders could have made up some time if they had let go their brakes and enjoyed themselves rather than gripping the bars with a vice-like fear driven grip. The final corner appeared, and boy what a corner. It was extremely slippery, and I felt my back wheel sliding out. Indeed later I found out that one rider came off at that same corner and broke his nose.

I finished in a time of 6hours 30minutes and 1second, a second outside my minimum target. But it is something to aim for next year. An hour spent spread eagled on the grass in the campsite field allowed me enough time to recover. Andrew and Scott both came in over two hours behind me, and Briggie was over two hours behind.

Those who were still coming in ten hours after the event had started, would have been amazed to find that Nick Craig had won the event in 4hours 15minutes, which gives him an average speed of just under 15mph.

This was a great event and I certainly would recommend it to others. Afterwards it is such a great feeling to know that you have completed 100k, which makes it ideal for the first-time racer. Indeed several stories appeared on Bikemagic.com of 50+ riders completing the event. Its not so much about racing, but more about mass participation, seeing 1700 riders set of at the same time is amazing, and the heckling and laughing before the start is rather amusing. Well worth the journey, and the effort.

Some facts, tips and thanks:

• Two couples completed on tandems.
• Several riders completed with prosthetic legs.
• Get a full susser and riser bars.
• Train.
• Use the food stops.
• Thanks to Scott for the lift there and back.
• And thanks to the organisers for a great event.
  

Some notable Scottish results:

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