Why and How - My MG50 2019

Photo Credit: https://www.robmeenderingphotography.com

I’ve started this post a few times and since today is registration day for 2020, I'm just gonna send it. 

I don't have a single "why" for what led me to sign up for Marji. It wasn’t an impulse move; it was the continuation of a journey that I began when I decided to buy a mountain bike 3.5 years ago. Part of finding myself, my passion, a calmer mind, and physical well-being. Things that I'd been steadily losing as I made decision after decision motivated by fear, risk avoidance and attempts to please others. As my anxiety increased, it became unsustainable. Biking brought me from a place of isolation and disconnect through some substantial personal turmoil to a vibrant community and appreciation for what my body can do and who I can be. It's a journey that's only just begun. 

I'd planned on attempting the Marji in a couple more years when I was a little more seasoned. That changed shortly after the race sold out the first day last October and it was announced that the women’s field would be left uncapped to take an active step in closing the HUGE disparity in male vs female participation. I knew it was probably just a matter of time before I pulled the trigger on signing up. A little later my EPIC Mountain Bike friend, Dawn, added me to the Women of Marji Gesick group that had been formed by the race director and past female participants to provide guidance, support and inspiration. Soon after that, we met some of the Women of Marji Gesick in real life when we took a winter fat biking trip to Marquette and went to the Cognition Brewing Wednesday RAMBA ride- thanks Lauri and Lindsey!

The Marquette Trip that Sealed the Deal

Nothing made the decision more clear for me, than when I started discussing Marji with my oldest daughter, Hazel, (then 6). She peppered me with questions and worries- what if you crash? What if your bike breaks? What if you can’t finish- why would you do this??? She was voicing many of the same fears and insecurities that I had. It was then, that I knew I needed to try. I wanted to show her that it’s ok to try things that you aren’t sure you can do. It’s ok to be scared. It’s important to try hard things and TRY HARD.

My Biggest Why

I started to assess myself as a rider and the whys for certain aspect of my riding and life. Racing- why I do it and why don’t. Technical riding- what keeps me from trying some of the more advanced lines. Training- what was I willing to do and still stay true to why I love mountain biking. Another consideration is that mountain biking has been part of how I manage my day-to-day anxiety. At what point would that be negated by the anxiety created by signing up for something like Marji?  My significant other and riding partner, Steve, never came out and said that he didn’t think I could do it, but I’m not sure he was convinced that I would want to in the end. I'm not sure I was convinced at first, but I had to try.

Steve - always finds a way to send it!

A note about Steve- the Marji Gesick is a race meant for someone like him. Someone with a solid level of fitness and more technical skills than the vast majority of Mid-Michigan riders. When I first met him, I was shocked that this guy of prolific ride reports on the MMBA forum was a regular at the Sleepy Hollow and Rose Lake group rides. Nothing against these trails, but they are a far cry from Steve’s videos of epic drops and gnar sending. He rides pretty much every day and what sets his rides apart from most others’ is that he will session a rock boulder or fast corner for HOURS until he reaches a satisfactory outcome for the day or breaks his bike. Whichever comes first (the latter happens A LOT). We don’t have a ton of features or trails that offer this type of riding, but he finds it. Even if it’s a decorative boulder pile in front of a school or a nice piece of curb in downtown Owosso. Zero cares about what the general public may think of a 30-something year-old kid hopping around on a bike. He’s great at this. He is also great at encouraging me and others to progress. His support has been immeasurable. Along with his support, I also had my EPIC Mountain Bike family.

Vicky and Dawn - my first MTB Women Role Models!

I’ll probably write more about getting into mountain biking as a struggling-in-life 30 something mom with 40 or so pounds of baby weight left to lose another time. I’ll just say that it was intimidating and I wasn’t always taken seriously. My experience at Denny’s Central Park Bicycles has had a huge impact on my life as a mountain biker. They were the first shop to treat me like I was actually going to go out and ride my bike on a trail- and sold me a bike that would actually do that well (my main bike to this day). When I asked if there were any groups with women riders, Tommy, the bike salesman, told me about Vicky and Dawn and a group of riders that met on Wednesdays at a trail only about 12 minutes away from me. This group was a fun, welcoming assortment of all types of people with one goal. Ride mountain bikes together and have fun (woo!). Eventually this group became EPIC Mountain Bike. After showing up to my first ride (April 27, 2016), I continued to show up most Wednesdays and ride at the back of the pack- with some amazingly nice people providing instruction while sweeping (thanks Blue Jean Jon!!!). I was perfectly happy going at my own, safe, pace. After a few months, I started to get serious about getting the baby weight off. At the same time, I was pulled to my very first Strava QOM. It was actually a tie- but with a super strong rider (Michaela) within our group. A woman who had stood on the podium at Iceman. That little thing made me start wondering, could I become a “real” mountain biker?!?

Blue Jean Jon and Michaela

One of my first rides - EPIC before it was EPIC

In my past life, I was a musician and had started my college career at MSU as a music education major. As a musician, you learn that the fastest way to improve is to drill fundamentals. Scales, intervals, long tones, etc. Once you master these things, when you see them in a piece of music, muscle memory takes over and you can play something you’ve never seen before perfectly. Long tones build muscle strength for hours of playing. I used these principles for my riding. I set up cones to drill handling and cornering- simple figure 8 exercises quickly made me more comfortable in corners and tight trail sections. Log-over repeats, front wheel lifts, rooty sections, rocky climbs and descents. I was joined by a few friends and do-overs were born. We have a more challenging section of trail on one of the local trails and we spent (and still spend) countless hours going up the steep hills in the reverse direction. This work paid off quickly. I went from being a back of the pack rider, to hanging on to the front longer and longer. I suddenly started thinking that I really could maybe become a “real” mountain biker.

Do-overs are fun!

Having done numerous 5ks and half marathons, sticking my toe into mountain bike racing was somewhat of a natural progression. I did my first race (Skirts in the Dirt) in August 2016- before I became serious about improving as a rider. My goal was just to finish- I did and I had a phenomenal experience in the process. It was so fun and was such a supportive environment. It was by far the hardest ride that I'd done to that point on the hardest trail that I'd ridden. I was pumped! 

Skirts in the Dirt 2016 Action Shot! First Race! Hardest Ride!

I signed up for another race that winter- also at Cannonsburg. This time as a team relay with my EPIC riding buddy, Rei. I bought my fat bike after realizing how important to me my Wednesday ride days had become and not wanting to miss out during the winter months. I LOVE fat biking! This was a fun race, but the anxiety of racing had started. I didn’t want to let Rei down and I wasn’t sure I was skilled enough to ride with so many other people. These anxieties stuck with me through all of the racing that I did in 2017 (6 I think). In 2018, I only did one plus a relay. It was hard to pinpoint why I felt almost ill in the week leading up to the race. Was it that I was worried about letting myself down? Letting my EPIC teammates down? Ego? Embarrassment? Frustrations with the racing format? Passing/ being passed (by a lot of dudes)? Probably a bit of each of these things. 

Farmhand Fat Bike Relay 2017

I knew that signing up for Marji would be a lot different than the typical XC race. In some ways there would be less pressure. I wouldn't be jockeying for position or spending miles out of breath; this "race" is long enough and hard enough that there's plenty of miles to work it all out. I wouldn't have any results goals other than to finish. I still felt like I needed to get some races in as part of the training to work through the race anxiety. I decided to sign up for what people in our area consider the racing season opener, the Yankee Springs Time Trial. From the start of my bike racing life, I've generally fallen into the "sport" class. This time I decided I needed to up the mileage and length of effort, so I signed up in the "expert" class - two 11-mile laps rather than one. I'd become a strong sport class rider, but this was something I wasn't sure I was ready for. I did what I normally do and got to work. As training days melted away, the familiar sense of dread set in. I found myself in moments of panic and wanting to cry. But why??? I don't even know. 

Rust Shaker 2017

I put it out to the world in the Women of Marji group and hoped I wouldn't get laughed away or told to just grow up (I tell myself this all the time). Instead, I found so much support. The responses really helped me re-frame my thinking around the race and direct some of my nervous energy into excitement and focus. I was still anxious, but not panicking. Visualization, positive mantras, plans and preparation, and- for me- the most helpful strategy: approach from a place of gratitude. This really transformed everything. I am so incredibly lucky to have the physical ability to ride a bicycle, a community to ride with, friends supporting me at the race, and beautiful trails to lose myself in nature on. I already have so much that can't be measured by a stopwatch or race results. The race environment is exciting and there's so much to love about being among so many riders, supporters, and friends. It really puts things into perspective. I ended up having a phenomenal race at Yankee- I ended up with a much stronger ride than I expected and had a lot of fun. One of the suggestions was to do something silly to distract from the nerves- like paint your nails in a crazy color. I did that and had some company. 😂

Blue means fast, right?!?

After signing up for Marji, Laurie- another woman from the Marji group and who I'd ridden with when I first started- suggested the Hanson Hills 50 race. She would be supporting her husband on Marji 100, but wanted to do something bigger too. She wondered if I would be interested in joining her in training for it. It didn't take me long to say YES! I'd met Laurie through a co-worker back in 2015 or so. She is a really strong triathlete and had inspired my co-worker and I to sign up for the Hawk Island sprint triathlon (my first). She is an extremely positive, supportive, and motivating person. She works really hard and is a great mom to two young kids as well. The training was fun and she even organized a ride weekend with some other bad@ss women in our area! The race weekend was very special to me, as I got to share it with her, my two kids (their first time seeing me race), and my EPIC family who decided to sign up or support as well! In EPIC, there's this "power of suggestion" thing that means rarely, do we ever truly race alone. In this case, Steve W., Bob, Scott, and Rei decided that it sounded like fun and signed up. For most of us, it was our longest race to date. We spent the weekend camping at Higgins Lake and I got to share this experience with my kids, which is something I'll always treasure.

Me and my HH50 training buddy, Laurie

My crew!

After the HH50, I didn't have anymore races planned. I knew I needed to focus on skill development while maintaining the fitness base I'd built. I was lucky to sneak in a weekend trip to Marquette at the beginning of June to ride the RAMBA trails on the dirt for the first time. Through the Women of Marji group, I was able to connect with a Marji veteran who was able to show us through some of the course and once we tired of trying to navigate the gps course, we followed the EPIC Loop. This trip was eye opening. The trails keep you in constant engagement through ever changing challenges which made it extremely fun and rewarding. There is nothing really like it down in the lower peninsula. Mohican was probably the closest that I'd ridden- but add in a whole lot more tight and twisty and punchy climbs and stuff you ride up to, look down, and say "hell no" (at least I do). There were some rocky climbs that I had to walk (short distances) and tight switchbacks that required some dabbing. A few descents that were even tricky to walk down (no way I was riding down). Steve didn't have much trouble on the descents and made a lot more of the rocky climbs. All-in-all, I walked a lot less than I was expecting to and made way more climbs than I was expecting to. There are many technical sections where line selection is everything and the punchy-ness of the climbs really eat into being able to gear harder and hammer easier parts. Every time I tried, I found myself in a really bad gear for the climb and it's constant. Many rocks and roots.

I realized that, while really enjoyably challenging, for a long race, it was going to be absolutely EXHAUSTING. I was looking at an average speed of around 5mph- so it was going to be my longest day of riding, by far. For comparison, I was a little over 10mph at the HH50 and 12.2mph at YSTT. So, it was going to be a huge mental adjustment and metering effort for the long haul. I also needed to get my gearing figured out. My knee was feeling the fatigue of the punchy climbs. This trip gave me a good idea of what I needed to do to finish out my training and inspired me to want to do it. These trails are really that amazing (so, so, so much gratitude to Danny Hill and the RAMBA team).

The remaining months were spent focusing on challenging lines, continuous focus, climbing and climbing. I pretty much never stopped talking or thinking about Marji. I probably shouldn't have been at all surprised when I was joined by Bob, Rei, and even Steve W. on race day after they were able to transfer in. They each had their own reasons for signing up and the they all crushed it!!! I was so very proud of them and our other EPIC friends, Amy, Mike, and Earle. Having that shared experience really elevated the whole event and the 9 months leading up to it. Along with my Marji riding friends, we were joined by an incredible support team of friends, spouses, and significant others. I cannot thank them enough for dedicating their weekend to helping us and cheering. Thank you so, so, so very much Vicky, Dawn, Melanie, Michaela, Andrew, Jay, Laurie, Ashley, Linda, Nicole, Chad, and Steve. It made all the difference.

Today is registration day for Marji Gesisk 2020. Finishing in the daylight, feeling good makes me wonder if I should try for the 100. The reasons why, at this point, I’m thinking the answer is no is because I’m not sure I can do any more training than I did this year and I don’t think it would have been enough to add 50+ more miles. I learned from my single full-marathon experience that I should only attempt things that I can train properly for or learn how to quit before getting hurt. I’m not sure I’d be able to do either if I started it.  It also means more for my support team and less time to cheer, support, and be part of the event. I'm planning to sign up for the 50 and see where life takes me.

***Post- Registration Update***

I've got some training to do. In for the 100 in 2020. Darn that EPIC power of suggestion!

Dawn is gonna destroy her limits in 2020!

Some more nitty gritty (for anyone interested)


After hitting the register button, I began to plan. I’ve always been someone with a plan. And a backup plan. And contingencies for all the plans. I laid out a rough outline of big rides that I wanted to do and when I wanted to do them. I stayed very consistent on cross-training, which also kept me feeling good after the long rides. I’ll put the specifics of what I did below- though it’s just what worked for me. YMMV.

My Marji Training “Plan”:

HIIT workouts 4-5 times a week (I did 15 minute workouts from www.mommastrong.com, but there are many, many options out there). Run when possible. Ride my bike on my days- Monday, every other Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and early morning Sunday (or run). When trails weren’t ride-able, do a spin class. Track eating. The Monday, Wednesday, Friday rides were typically 10-15 miles on local trails, setting small goals for something in the ride. Could be something like trying to take hard lines or pushing the speed for a section or two. Hill repeats. Saturdays were usually to ride something longer and harder, race, or go to a ride event. My benchmark rides/races were as follows:

3/23 – Mohican (after a visit to Ray’s Indoor Bike Park the day before- working on some other fears)

4/6 – 50 miles at DTE Energy Foundation Trails

4/27 – Yankee Springs Time Trail Expert Class (2 laps)

5/18 – 50 miles at DTE Energy Foundation Trails – race nutrition test

5/25 – Hanson Hills 50 Race (learned a lot about pacing and nutrition)

6/1 – Milford Trail Festival (Highland & Milford, cut short due to rain)

6/8 – 30 miles on RAMBA trails – EPIC Loop and some Marji course

6/15 – NCT Coates to Marilla out and back

6/29 – Poto – 3 laps

7/27 – Highland – 2 laps

8/3 - Brighton Rec – 50 miles including 4 Torn Shirt loops

8/10 – Holdridge Grubers – 2 laps (wanted to do 3)

8/31 – 35 miles on RAMBA trails – Section 16 Loop, EPIC Loop, Dirty Mary, Cry Baby (Church ride 9/1)

9/7 – Grand Rapids trails – CSA, CSGA, and Luton plus connectors (47 miles)

9/14 - Triple Trail Challenge (Poto, Waterloo, DTE for 50 miles)

I meant to get in a triple Highland, but wasn’t able to. Highland imo is the nearby trail that most duplicates the amount of focus needed on the RAMBA trails. My training was meant to be achievable on my schedule, stay riding outside on trails that Steve and I love, and be able to continue to do the EPIC group rides and events. In the end, Steve and I were both able to complete the MG50 course and feel good at the end. This plan might not work for everyone, but it worked well for me and I learned a lot from each ride, especially nutrition and metering effort.