2018 AZTR300/750 Race Discussion Thread

[flyboy]

Interesting drop into Mormon Lk for Beth S and Dave H, taking AZT to Dbl Sprngs CG then doubling-back on the paved road to the store.  Saves on 500ft of elev gain over Navajo Sprngs direct drop from the ridge to store but adds ~4miles (?) of bonus distance.  I've dropped down both the Nav Sprngs trail and road 219A/90N a little further North, and have my personal preference btwn those two were I ever in that situation again.  Maybe they were pushing past the store and gunnin' for Flag, then reconsidered.

Mike, it was a long, cold, windy day today and I was over the hab for the day. I preferred the easy distance with a tailwind back to route over another potential hab. Its brutal out there!
Dave H.

[AZTtripper]

Dusty has arrived at 5:48

[schillingsworth]

Dusty has arrived at 5:48

Dang!! Sub-8 finish, awesome!! Congrats Dusty on a tremendous ride.

[aarond]

What a long day and a cold night hiking up oracle ridge carried way too much water.  Then partially destroyed myself in the heat like everyone else hiking over picketpost.  Great pizza in Kearney then another hot hike over Ridley.  Kept pushing and then hit the torture of oracle ridge where I got into a bikepacking state of mind which truly warped time and made climb endless.

[aarond]

was buffeted by cold wind all night. It has been great and motivating meeting everyone along the way!  Having a good ride this year and keeping a good attitude.  I have been avoiding turning into a zombie this year, getting a little sleep at night and staying off the sugar and I think this run will take a lot less out of me than past runs.  Waiting in summerhaven for store to open at 10.
Everyone still out there (including me) keep pushing, you are awesome and simply finishing this monster is an accomplishment of a lifetime.

[ScottM]

Dusty!  Yes.  Hell of a rookie run, esp for a guy from Alaska. I'm impressed.

Cold winds at the canyon last night and this morning.

Still looking to check Redington's informal cache off the list.

[AZTtripper]

Nicely worded Aaron. I know Kurt was rooting for you from the finish here.

Dusty finished super strong, fighting high winds with blowing snow. I asked him how his face was so clean? "I guess it was the snow", hilarious.

Sub 8 is impressive, a winning time 6 out 8 years if I remember right.

[mikepro]

Mike, it was a long, cold, windy day today and I was over the hab for the day. I preferred the easy distance with a tailwind back to route over another potential hab. Its brutal out there!
Dave H.

Solid ride/hike so far, smart nav choices, keep it up!  Finish strong!  Make no mistake, I'm pulling for you all to finish the beast.  Just be glad it's not raining and turning the dirt to sticky peanut butter.

[mikepro]

... and staying off the sugar

This I have pondered and thought about often, as the cause for sluggishness and other things ... super hard to not reach for the Gatorade and Dr Pepper in every convenience store, tho' ... will be curious to hear your thoughts after you finish your solid run this year.  Keep it up, Aaron!

[bmattingly]

Cool riders fighting up Oracle Ridge.  That Mother is a beast.  Traverse of death is not as overgrown as many years ago.  Aaron is close to Denberg but apparently moving in stealth mode?  Is he doing the 300 or 750?  Maybe they have connected in Summerhaven before the big nice ride down the backside of Lemmon into Tucson.

Yesterday was incredibly windy in Flag.  Felt for our racers struggling through it.   Must of been freezing last night on the North Rim.  Amazing finish by the Alaskan.  Looks like winds will be less today and even moreso tomorrow.  Temps will be climbing tomorrow too.

Impressive 750 run by many.  Keep cranking.

[aarond]

Great finish for Dustin on his first run, I ran into him between payson and pine and he looked so rough, limping along with horrendous saddle sores that I was pretty sure he would drop in pine.  Way to tough it out!

[AZTtripper]

Max has just under 12 hours to better his personal best.
Wind seems to be letting up some.

[krefs]

Hey all! I'm staring at my computer back at home, thinking my brain is now able to put together sentences, but I might have not yet have had enough coffee yet this morning. It was fun reading all the discussion from during the race - there are so many inspiring rides and stories on out on the trail. My own ride was an amazing experience - really fun overall until hitting Grand Canyon. The riding on the AZT is, as everyone knows, unrelentingly challenging, and this year more than ever, I was really enjoying the technical riding since it was so engaging. I pushed a comfortable pace for the 300, shared some great hours of riding with Neil and Kaitlyn each, and then followed their tracks into Picketpost.

Kaitlyn's ride was so spectacular to see first-hand - after all the energy she's put into past AZT race and time trial efforts only to be met by bad luck, everything came together for her on this one, and she stomped out one of the fastest rides ever in the 300, and with a smile! Her persistence and vision has proven to be a formidable combination. Although she and I aren't together any longer, we're still one another's biggest supporters, and her massive ride provided a deep well of inspiration for the remaining days of my ride.

North of Picketpost, I transitioned into pushing the pace on the most rideable sections and dialing it back and being patient on the more technical and unrideable terrain. The heat nearly melted me on the new dirt sections near Gold Canyon, but being off pavement and at the base of the cliffs at the edge of the Superstition Mountains was well worth the extra effort and time. Highline Trail is improving nicely, but it's still quite an adventure to traverse. And the 50-mile boulder field (as described by Cjell Mone a few years back) north of there was just as rocky as ever. (John Schilling: I said hello to all those rocks for you - they asked how you have been and when you're coming back for another visit!). By Mormon Lake, I was still feeling strong, so I continued to push the pace all the way into Flagstaff, quickly grabbed some food, and climbed into the night. I was excited to get out north of the Peaks to sleep that night, but as soon as the descent began, I couldn't keep myself on the trail despite feeling wide awake, so I had to stop. That was the first sign the lack of sleep was starting to really catch up with me.

After a few hours of sleep, I hit it out across the dirt roads and 2-tracks of the volcanic field, once again feeling strong, but the fatigue in my legs was becoming more obvious. I was eager to get to the Canyon, and after a quick stop at the post office in Grand Canyon Village to grab a pack, running shoes, and trekking poles, I found myself at the South Rim. The crossing was uneventful, but it was a struggle - one foot in front of the other, tired legs, a knee that was not happy with hiking downhill, and patience that was wearing thin. My running shoes were actually less comfortable with the heavy pack than were my cycling shoes, so gave up on the running shoes just a few miles into the hike. By the wee hours of the morning, my brain decided it was time to get creative and started spicing up the darkness with all sorts of strange hallucinations. I had been pushing the sleep deprivation envelope too far, apparently, and it got a little frightening at times as I neared the North Rim. The crossing took ~14 hours with just a few quick breaks along the way, but it felt like it could have taken days.

Back on the bike, I was weaving all over the road in the day's first light, trying to keep my eyes open and to not be too alarmed at my brain's growing dysfunction. I got frustrated with myself for letting things get that far and ignoring the early signs that I should have been sleeping more. But that internal dialogueseem and a steady stream of food seemed to wake me up, and before I knew it, I was blasting into Jacob Lake with a huge tailwind. Fresh cookies, coffee, and the thought of the trail's amazing final descent to the border got me excited again. And that last segment of AZT was delightful - my grin returned, I hammered as hard as I could, and by mid-day, I could see the end of the trail. A few tears flowed, I stopped to absorb the view, and then I dropped off Buckskin Mountain on what's got to be one of the sweetest sections of the entire AZT, wrapping up the 30-hour push from the Peaks to the Border.

It was a huge relief to finish, but having really enjoyed so many of the miles, I was somewhat sad to have things come to an end. My final ride time was 6 days, 6 hours, and 6 minutes according to Tim's race-starting clock, a rather beastly time as has been pointed out. This ride was so incredibly different than my 2010 through-ride - that year I knew so little about the trail, what to expect, if I could even survive the adventure, and so on. This time, it was all about controlling the controllable variables as carefully as possible and keeping my focus 100% on moving forward quickly and with a smile. And all that worked out - I had zero mechanicals, only one crash, only found my frustration growing a handful of times, and really enjoyed the experience. I'll share a bit more about my gear and all that jazz over on Instagram in the next few days, so check that out if you're so inclined. And thanks to all of for exuding so much positivity - I could feel it while I was out there!

And now I'm watching all the dots with all of y'all! Dusty's ride that just ended at the Utah border was so impressive - a huge congrats to him!

[krefs]

Aaron - keep crushing! I can't even imagine how hard that climb up Oracle Ridge was, but now all the big obstacles are behind you!

[Jeff Z]

Hey all! I'm staring at my computer back at home, thinking my brain is now able to put together sentences, but I might have not yet have had enough coffee yet this morning. It was fun reading all the discussion from during the race - there are so many inspiring rides and stories on out on the trail. My own ride was an amazing experience - really fun overall until hitting Grand Canyon. The riding on the AZT is, as everyone knows, unrelentingly challenging, and this year more than ever, I was really enjoying the technical riding since it was so engaging. I pushed a comfortable pace for the 300, shared some great hours of riding with Neil and Kaitlyn each, and then followed their tracks into Picketpost.

Kaitlyn's ride was so spectacular to see first-hand - after all the energy she's put into past AZT race and time trial efforts only to be met by bad luck, everything came together for her on this one, and she stomped out one of the fastest rides ever in the 300, and with a smile! Her persistence and vision has proven to be a formidable combination. Although she and I aren't together any longer, we're still one another's biggest supporters, and her massive ride provided a deep well of inspiration for the remaining days of my ride.

North of Picketpost, I transitioned into pushing the pace on the most rideable sections and dialing it back and being patient on the more technical and unrideable terrain. The heat nearly melted me on the new dirt sections near Gold Canyon, but being off pavement and at the base of the cliffs at the edge of the Superstition Mountains was well worth the extra effort and time. Highline Trail is improving nicely, but it's still quite an adventure to traverse. And the 50-mile boulder field (as described by Cjell Mone a few years back) north of there was just as rocky as ever. (John Schilling: I said hello to all those rocks for you - they asked how you have been and when you're coming back for another visit!). By Mormon Lake, I was still feeling strong, so I continued to push the pace all the way into Flagstaff, quickly grabbed some food, and climbed into the night. I was excited to get out north of the Peaks to sleep that night, but as soon as the descent began, I couldn't keep myself on the trail despite feeling wide awake, so I had to stop. That was the first sign the lack of sleep was starting to really catch up with me.

After a few hours of sleep, I hit it out across the dirt roads and 2-tracks of the volcanic field, once again feeling strong, but the fatigue in my legs was becoming more obvious. I was eager to get to the Canyon, and after a quick stop at the post office in Grand Canyon Village to grab a pack, running shoes, and trekking poles, I found myself at the South Rim. The crossing was uneventful, but it was a struggle - one foot in front of the other, tired legs, a knee that was not happy with hiking downhill, and patience that was wearing thin. My running shoes were actually less comfortable with the heavy pack than were my cycling shoes, so gave up on the running shoes just a few miles into the hike. By the wee hours of the morning, my brain decided it was time to get creative and started spicing up the darkness with all sorts of strange hallucinations. I had been pushing the sleep deprivation envelope too far, apparently, and it got a little frightening at times as I neared the North Rim. The crossing took ~14 hours with just a few quick breaks along the way, but it felt like it could have taken days.

Back on the bike, I was weaving all over the road in the day's first light, trying to keep my eyes open and to not be too alarmed at my brain's growing dysfunction. I got frustrated with myself for letting things get that far and ignoring the early signs that I should have been sleeping more. But that internal dialogueseem and a steady stream of food seemed to wake me up, and before I knew it, I was blasting into Jacob Lake with a huge tailwind. Fresh cookies, coffee, and the thought of the trail's amazing final descent to the border got me excited again. And that last segment of AZT was delightful - my grin returned, I hammered as hard as I could, and by mid-day, I could see the end of the trail. A few tears flowed, I stopped to absorb the view, and then I dropped off Buckskin Mountain on what's got to be one of the sweetest sections of the entire AZT, wrapping up the 30-hour push from the Peaks to the Border.

It was a huge relief to finish, but having really enjoyed so many of the miles, I was somewhat sad to have things come to an end. My final ride time was 6 days, 6 hours, and 6 minutes according to Tim's race-starting clock, a rather beastly time as has been pointed out. This ride was so incredibly different than my 2010 through-ride - that year I knew so little about the trail, what to expect, if I could even survive the adventure, and so on. This time, it was all about controlling the controllable variables as carefully as possible and keeping my focus 100% on moving forward quickly and with a smile. And all that worked out - I had zero mechanicals, only one crash, only found my frustration growing a handful of times, and really enjoyed the experience. I'll share a bit more about my gear and all that jazz over on Instagram in the next few days, so check that out if you're so inclined. And thanks to all of for exuding so much positivity - I could feel it while I was out there!

And now I'm watching all the dots with all of y'all! Dusty's ride that just ended at the Utah border was so impressive - a huge congrats to him!

I don't have much to say more than everyone else about what an impressive ride that was. But I will mention that I thought you were bonkers when you said you were shooting for 6 days. Maybe not so much.

Glad you made it in one piece. Very interested to see your setup and such.

Nothing quite like standing out on top of Buckskin getting ready for the final descent. A weird mixture of "hell yeah" and "over already?".

[treekiwi]

Hey all, after surviving the heat down south, now it's kinda cold and windy. Got to Pine today, That Brewery no longer rents the cabins so found an Airbnb. Need to restock in am and head up the rim. My lung infection continues and I shall cough and splutter my way north....wish I could get this plastic bag off my head so I could breathe. 
Team Pneumonia shall sally forth!!

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

[AZTtripper]

Mad Max Morris arrived at 10:21

[dream4est]

At motel 6 in flagstaff
Got poles and padding at Wal-Mart
I am feeling great
Ready to finish this up
Its cold out last night my 8.5 oz sleep kit and 2/3 layers got shut down hard all night
But my bike and setup is so light canyon hike will hopefully better my 15.5 hr best time.
7 300's was nice but this 6th 750 is gonna be so sweet to pull off.

[bmattingly]

Mark,

You enthusiasm and determination and commitment is way impressive.  Way cold out last two nights.  Good job getting a little shelter.  I think the weather is improving for all of the rest of your runs.  Will look for you out on the AZT today.  Enjoy the rest of your run!

[schillingsworth]

Freakin' Justin. Dude bonked hard at the beginning of the race & almost quit, then took a wrong turn and wandered around the wrong side of the Santa Rita mountains for hours. He stuck with it and one by one kept passing rider after rider and now look...4th place finisher. Dude. That's macho. Congrats. Love the LIVE feed videos from both he and Max along the way.