Mill Mountain Mayhem 10k - 4/18/09

We had perfect weather for this race. As some of you know this race has been over a year in the making. It has been an interesting process but worth it. The Roanoke City Parks and Recreation workers involved in this race were a huge help leading up to race day and during the race. Thank you.

This race is part of the Roanoke Non Ultra Trail Series (R NUTS) and this course is like a mini ultra trail run. It is a challenging course with over 1250ft of elevation gain and loss, lots of rocks, and a screaming fast 1.5 mile technical downhill to the finish. This course is very similar to the Promise Land 50k that Gina and I and a couple of other Mill Mountain Mayhem participants will be running next weekend.

We had 86 participants in this first year race. I look forward to this race growing. It is by far the Roanoke Valleys toughest 10k race. Each of you should be proud of your ability to run and finish such a tough course. It is a great accomplishment whether you were a front runner or at the end. These races are here for you to challenge you. There is only one winner and if you’re like me you will never see this person except at the start line. Challenge yourself and make a goal of matching or exceeding your time in 2010.

We had 6 people participate from out of state (thanks for coming to play with us), 32 from outside the Roanoke Valley, and 18 people that were new to Mountain Junkies LLC races. One of these was the winner David Cheromei, who ran the course at an amazing 5:41 per mile pace. Hard to believe. He crossed the finish line moving so fast that he had to hurdle the metal gate 80ft away. To me this is as amazing as our last finisher, Ray Gilbarte, finishing the race at age of 71.

Thank you for participating. I like seeing each of you compete and am enjoying the little community this R NUTS series has created. I look forward to the last race in the series, the Trail Nut 10k and Half Marathon, and what can be dreamt up for 2010.

Don’t forget the Sponsors:
Gilbert Chiropractic
Joel Gardner DDS
Super Shoes
Outdoor Trails
Road ID
Dick’s Sporting Goods

Josh Gilbert
Head Mountain Junkie

4/4/09 - 6 hours of Warrior Creek

I've been wanting to participate in a "hour" race for a long time. This was just the place to do my first multi hour event. I haven't been riding my mountain bike much this winter or spring so I choose to sign up in the Male Duo Team category. I figured 2-3 hours of riding at 100% would be enough for my legs.

So I called up a buddy from the 2008 Virginia Derailer Series and we set out to have some fun in Wilkesboro NC. Gina signed up with 2 other girls and they raced in the 3 Person Female Team category and did really well. We ended up having a group of 9 guys/gals from the Roanoke area participating in this race. It was fun group to hang with.

We headed down to Wilkesboro on Friday to get in a course pre-ride. Unfortunately it rained 3 days prior to the race so the course was a bit muddy on Friday afternoon. Fortunately the wind picked up in the afternoon and helped dry the course out for Saturday. The course ended up being in great condition.

The course was 10.5 miles of rolling, curvey, and in a couple places hilly singletrack. This course had the most berms on it of any trail I've ever been on. You could practically ride sideways in some of the curves. It was a blast and a real lung burner. The trails winded in and out around the lake so you could see water in a number of spots.

The race had a last lap cut off at 3:30 so our team only got in 5 laps. I did 2 and Vandenberg did 3. It was a great time. Ride a lap, hang out for an hour, clean up/lube the bike, eat, hydrate, and then get out there and hit it again. It made for a fun and entertaining day.

The Brushy Mountain Cycling Club (BMCC) did a great job with this event and cutting the trails. I think we'll head back here in the future.