by Eddie O'Dea - BURN Sponsored Rider

 A solo attempt at a 24 hour race is a lot to get your head around.  Aside from being a monstrous physical task, it is a huge mental undertaking.  The mind and body cannot be separated; rather the proper mental approach should complement your physical talents.

Before You Even Begin:

Your preparation should begin long before the race does.  Making sure your support is organized, your training is solid and your bike(s) are in order will add to your confidence and reduce your stress.  Stress will silently sap your energy, so to try to mitigate it whenever possible.

Pre-ride a course as soon as you think you will race it.  Obviously this is not always possible and sometimes you have to wait until the starting gun goes off to see what's in store for you.  During a pre-ride you should be finding the smoothest lines, the ones that will allow you to keep the most momentum with least amount of effort.  Memorizing a course will allow you to replay your laps over in your head, so when race time comes you will be able to ride without the tension caused by the unknown.  Riding with a helmet camera is another tool.  This will allow you to review the course at your convenience.

Right From the Start:

For a solo racer your biggest concerns are pacing and nutrition.  The right pace and refueling strategy will keep you riding smoothly straight though the race.  The wrong ones will have you sitting on the side of trail swatting moths from your lights at 3 AM. 

Most 24 hour races start Leman's style and the BURN 24 Hour Challenge is no different.  If you are strong runner and can keep your effort in check, move toward the front, and keep out of trouble.  It is seemingly inevitable that someone will either completely blow up 2 minutes into the run or someone will stumble taking another runner out.  Do not get caught up in this mess.  It's just not worth the trouble.  If you are not a strong runner then let the real runners go and save your energy for riding.

Once you are on the bike the real racing and pacing begins.  The pace to aim for is one you can sustain for the entire event.  This is going to be different for everyone and tough to judge if it's your first time racing for 24 hours.  A heart rate monitor is a great tool for monitoring your efforts, but it's not necessary.  Whether or not you use a HRM, you should try to keep your pace even by focusing on your breathing.  Your breathing should be steady and controlled even, not panting and heavy.

The terrain and elevation may change drastically, but your efforts should not.  When you come to a section of trail that is either too technically challenging or too steep for you to keep your effort under control just get off and walk.  It's that simple.  You may be tempted to attack these sections.that's your ego telling you can do it, ignore it.  If you repeatedly put out too hard of an effort throughout the early part of the race you may be walking the whole course before dark (or worse, sitting in the pit).  By riding up to these sections and simply walking up or across them you will be able to keep your efforts controlled and even which will save you energy for late in the race.

Eating is the yang to pacing's yin.  A 24 hour race requires constant refueling from the very beginning.  Believe it or not it's very easy to forget to eat.  You may be feeling good and don't want to stop at the pit or you just don't feel hungry.  You have to eat constantly.  Plan to take in about 250-300 calories per hour while riding, plus a warm "meal" or two at some point during the race.  The calories can come from gels, drinks, pb&j, BURNs, bars or wherever.  A variety will help keep you interested.  Read labels (before you ride, not during please) to determine how many calories your food choices yield.

Try to eat something like a gel, bar or banana at the same place out on the course each lap.  Pick a spot on the course that will facilitate eating and use it for every lap.  This will give you a cue to eat at lest once during every lap.

A warm meal is a nice reward.  At some point you will want to eat some "real" food.  Ask your support person to make something you know you can digest easily while riding.  It is best to prepare it before the race and have it heated up for you during the race.    Little things such as a warm tasty meal can help keep your spirits up during the lonely night laps and every bit helps.

Break It Down:

Try breaking the 24 hours into smaller segments in order to really get your head around racing for a whole day.  Getting through 8 hours of racing only to realize you still have 16 to go can be defeating.  Instead focus on 4, 6 or 8 hour blocks, this way you never have to think about this huge task at hand, but rather several smaller ones.

Don't get down if you have not achieved a set goal for a certain segment.  Instead focus on keeping a steady pace and fueling properly.  You will be surprised how these races shake themselves out in the latter stages.

Singin' the Blues:

Chances are you will feel depressed at some point during the race.  Most likely this will occur sometime between midnight and sunrise.  There is a scientific explanation for this that I am not qualified to discuss, just know it may come.  Let your support person know this may happen, so they can help you.  It may get so bad you may want to quit.  Don't give in to that despair.  This is part of the fatigue process.  Your body is sending signals to your brain that make you think you should go find a hotel room and sleep for a few days.  You'll have to overcome these feelings if you are going to make it through the night.

There are many methods to keeping one's spirits up in a tough situation, but singing may be the easiest to do on a bike.  Sing what ever comes to mind.  Make up songs if you wish, just keep riding.  If singing is not your thing, then try repeating an inspiring mantra.  Both of these strategies will help you take your thoughts off the negatives and focus on positives.

A Strong Finish:

The sun comes up and with it the reality of finally finishing.  If you have paced yourself well you will be tired, but still chugging along.  If you have not, then you may be digging deeper than you ever thought you could.  Either way it's time to start metering out your efforts so you can finish strong and leave everything out on the course.  So much can happen in the last few hours of a 24 hour race.  Some give up and some turn it up a notch.  Which one will you be?

Good luck and be safe.

Eddie O'Dea races competitively in 12 and 24-hour races throughout N. America for Kona Bicycles & Cartecay Bike Shop, qualifying at the 2004 BURN 24 Hour Challenge and competing at the World Solo Championships in Canada in 2004. Check him out at www.eddieodea.com

Questions, Comments or Concerns? Please email race director