Endurance races such as the 6,8,12 and 24 hrs sound like a daunting undertaking on an MTB, especially to someone new to the sport. I've been asked to give newbies some advice on entering their first endurance event. So here we go ...
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The Race The races usually start as a LeMans style start meaning your first rider has to run (or walk if they choose) from the start/finish line a 100 metres or so to where another team member holds their bike. From then on during the race you simply wait at the transition area and either a) grab the number off your team mates bike, or b) slap their hand depending on the races rules, before heading out yourself for a lap. Riders on Track - Only 1 rider per team is allowed on the course at one time. Your team is given a race number on coreflute or laminated card that needs to be swapped from bike to bike each time you change rider, or in some cases the slap of the hand is required if all riders have separate numbers. How many laps a rider does each turn is your teams choice. Usually we assign a team leader who makes the final decisions for the team.Also, if you join a non serious team, you can do 1 single lap and not ride again if thats what you want to do.Getting Passed- When faster riders do approach you they will call out something like Track right or Track left or On your right (or left) and this means they are passing you on the side that they have called out. So Track left means they will ride past on your left side. All you need to do is try to give them room IF it's available. Some new or less fit riders prefer to just pull over and let the faster rider past. If they are trying to pass in a section of trail with no passing room then you do not have to give way. However, if you are not racing at a pace likely to reward you of a podium it's nice if you do make it as easy as possible for them.Another important thing to think about is if you are walking a section then do not walk on the racing line. This is especially important on climbs where stronger riders are often balked by walking riders. Pre Race Prep - Your diet and fuel intake is vital. 6,8, 12,24 hours is a long time to compete for. Even more critical if you are a solo rider or in a small team.Drink plenty of water a few days prior to the race and then drink plenty of sports drink like Gatorade during the racing. Drink at least 1 full litre every hour you ride in warm weather! Start eating good balanced meals a week prior to the event and in the final few days prior to the event make sure you eat meals with plenty of carbohydrates and protein. Dont eat too much in the way of sugary foods during the event as this makes your body respond with insulin in a way that creates an energy low making you feel flat and wasted. During racing eat small amounts and eat often. Its important to not let your fuel reserves drop to low levels. It is very hard to recover once you've run out of the energy stores in your body.Stop training hard at least 3 days prior to the event, 5 - 7 days is even better. No point trying to get your body energy stores up and then using them doing more training. Better to let your body recover and wake up itching to ride on race day!Night Riding - This is NOT compulsory. You dont have to ride any of the night laps if you dont want to, or simply cant afford the lighting system. You can simply go to sleep or wait out the night time until morning and continue on again. Again a non serious/ newbie team should allow for this.
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Facilities Battery charging station is another facility usually provided for these events. Its a board full of power-points for us to plug in our chargers for our lighting system batteries.food and drink check with the promoter to see what they will have available.
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What to Bring Food plenty of easily digestible food preferably reasonably high in carbohydrates and protein for energy and muscle repair. Some snacks with some sugar content (use mildly) also but dont eat these right before your turn at riding. Clothes Nights can still get chilly in the bush (even in summer if the weather turns nasty) in the wee hours so some warm clothing is advisable as fires and generators are often banned at events. Gas BBQ/ stoves are fine. At least two lots of riding clothing, more if you have it. Sunblock It can get hot by day out there and sunburn is nobodys friend when the dust gets thick and the night sets in.Meds and Supplies any medication you might need such as asthma sprays, insulin (should you be a diabetic), 
tablets, contraceptives, antihistamines etc. Illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs are obviously not allowed. Massage Oils if you have someone to massage you is a good idea also. Massage can seriously help to fend off the muscle fatigue.Personal hygiene products.Bike Related Apart the obvious stuff like your bike and riding gear be sure to check you have your riding shoes and helmet with you. Forgetting them seems to be a common mistake.Riders are not permitted to ride without a helmet!Spare tubes is a must. You are not allowed to get assistance from anyone else while actually on the course so know how to change your own tube. A puncture repair kit also in case you start running out of tubes.A spare tyre is a good idea also in case of a bad slash to the side walls. Other things that you might like to bring along are spokes, spare tyre, spare rear derailleur hanger.Chain lube is a must! You will re-apply that a few times during the racing and having a well lubricated chain goes a long way to reducing your friction and therefore hopefully putting off your fatigue.To see my full list check out this Endurance List
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Race Outlook Its many hours long. Thats a long time to stay awake and keep getting on your bike. As a newbie you will likely be taking around twice the time the fastest riders do to complete a lap. So dont go out there to win it in the first lap you are on the course. Save your best till to the final hour or two when the race is winding down. Until then just cruise it and enjoy the atmosphere.If you are in a newbie team then the best thing is nobody expects you to be fast or even ride all the time. If you feel you've had enough for awhile, or even for the rest of the race you can just say so and none of your team mates will care.
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MTB Dirt Teams In 24, 12, 8 and 6 hour events MTB Dirt enters several teams and solo riders from our forums. Some MTB Dirt members choose to ride as separate identities but many like to join our crew and make the whole event that more social.You may be able to organize your own team and simply want to be a part of the MTB Dirt crew and thats fine also. As long as your teams name starts with MTB Dirt and most of your team are members of the MTB Dirt forums then you are welcome.Other people want to be in a team but dont have one to enter. They simply let us know and we add them to the list of riders waiting for teams and get placed with riders of similar ability or attitude towards the race. We have a thread in the forums for that called the Teams Organising thread and its always a Sticky thread under News and Events.The MTB Dirt Teams are organized as serious, semi serious, non serious and newbie.Advantages to being in an MTB Dirt team include the Gazebos that many teams bring and share for cover. Our 'Gazebo City' is usually located right next to the start line transition area so we get the best view in the house and can see our riders coming well before they reach the start finish.Because we have so many people under our Gazebos you get great support and company for the whole event. Help with bike maintenance is never far away for example.
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Race Day Arrive as early as possible on race day so you can set up camp etc well before the race starts. You wont feel like doing it later. Its best to be there and ready to go a couple of hours before the start time so you can then concentrate on hydrating and eating a bit ready for the race. Also the riders briefing and registration need to be taken care of.Riders briefing is simple: the race organizers talk: you shut up and listen. Registration is simply checking off you are there and receiving your race number etc.Entering the Event There will be online registration to the events as well downloadable forms for those preferring to post entries in. Its best to enter as early as possible once you have your team organized as this helps the race organizers to have all facilities, numbers etc processed for the day. Its amazing how much work they have to put in to run an event like this. Most people have no idea of the costs, and time that has to be put in months and weeks ahead of time let alone how much is done the day before, race days and the following days after. Everything from preparing the track, getting sponsors, setting up the computers, timing, facilities, cleaning up afterwards, correlating the info, taking down the track and thats aside from staying awake longer than us racers to actually run the event itself!Registration You need to get registered for the race asap if you arrive on race day so find your team leader and team mates and see if the team has been registered yet. If so someone will have the race number already. You still need to register personally though so you can sign the indeminity or you won't be allowed to race. Security Although theft has rarely been an issue I'm aware of it's best take precautions anyway. If you are in one of our MTB Dirt teams you can leave your bike and riding gear in the MTBDirt staging area by the gazebo's with reasonable safety as one of our team mates are always around to watch. Valuables should be kept on you or locked in your car.
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After the Race (Presentations and Packing Up) When the race is over it's presentation time. You are free to leave for home though if you want to though. Sometimes there is time to pack your gear up before hand. The presentations are good to see and give some accolades to those who did well. Often there are some random prize giving to those present too. It's good to sit around and recall the race over a beer or softdrinks with your MTB Dirt team mates as well.PLEASE leave the place as you found it! Take everything with you! Bring rubbish bags.We also appreciate a few hands to help pull down the Gazebo's as well.
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Getting Organised Watch the forums under News and Events here at MTB Dirt and youll see the discussions as we get things sorted closer to the event.Wrapping it upIn the end you ride for your own achievement, set your own goals and try to nail them.Hope that helps to understand what it's all about.
