Boondoggles and marathons

​I tried several years to make it to the Fat Tire Frenzy at Beverly Park in Cedar Rapids. I'm not much of a mountain bike racer – I only started riding MTB a few years ago – but Beverly's trails are local favorites so racing there would be almost as familiar as Sugar Bottom. (From Iowa City Beverly Park is only five minutes further away, and its sandy soils often dry out days before Sugar Bottom's.) Having been foiled previously by nagging injuries or conflicting events, this year I was really looking forward to racing at Beverly...when the Fat Tire Frenzy suddenly disappeared.

photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/

The schedule for the Iowa Mountain Bike Championship Series (IMBCS) appeared in March without a race listed for Beverly Park. Weeks later a new race was added, the Beverly Boondoggle, with the ominous tag "Marathon MTB Only." What? Again, I'm not much on a mountain bike, so working up the nerve to race trails at all can be a challenge, but a marathon? What was going on? 
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I decided to ask around. It turns out several factors led to the new Beverly Boondoggle, mostly very positive developments, and in hearing about them I learned about the growing trend toward MTB Marathon as well.

Beverly Boondoggle
"Historically, Linn Area Mountain Bike Association (LAMBA) has organized a race at Beverly Park each year as LAMBA manages the trails at Beverly," explained Nicole Roth (ICCC). "LAMBA decided to change venues this year to host a race on their new trails at Squaw Creek Park in April, so Goldfinch Cyclery generously took the reigns on organizing the Beverly Park race."  
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It's Goldfinch Cyclery's first ever USAC sanctioned race, and with their typical flair they plan to do it right. "To keep things simple we opted to just offer the marathon this year but with a new course and a Le Mans-style hill-climb start," said Logan Orcutt.

"Cash pay-outs, donut trophy podiums, and food trucks -- Yeah, it's going to be ridiculous. We're also offering a 1-hour youth MTB marathon and we've partnered with the Iowa Running Company to offer a 5-mile trail run showcasing some of the park's most aggressive topography. The plan is to return next year with the traditional XC categories plus marathon options. Probably... "

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Marathon MTB Registration

Trail Run Registration

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Keeping it simple
The Squaw Creek Enduro last month was also a marathon. "I chose Marathon only for Squaw Creek because it's a simple format to prepare for and manage," said LAMBA's Noel Kehrt. "We were just dipping our toes in the water with a MTB event at Squaw Creek. That park is heavily used by many user groups; it's important to respect that and make a good first impression.  A full XC event would take over the park for a whole day, and I'm just not sure we're ready for that yet.

​"It costs a lot of money and time to put these events on," explained Kehrt.  "Time spent organizing a race could just as easily be spent building or maintaining trails. Or putting on beginner MTB clinics or something like that."​

Keeping it fun
Simple is good, but it's not marathon's only advantage. As Orcutt explains, "From a participation perspective, I like the marathon format as it feels more inviting and less intimidating to someone new to MTB racing. It's you vs. the course. It's about getting as many laps as you possibly can and doing it WITH everyone else toeing the starting line together." 
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Cameron Bimson races at Squaw Creek. (photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/)

​Ryan Bimson (CRCX) plans to race the Beverly Boondoggle with his 11-year-old son Cameron. "Last year the Beverly marathon was my first ever mtb race of any kind. I like that it was more informal and that all abilities rode together. You can make it as challenging as you want or just a fun ride.

Going   long:   Endurance   MTB

"This spring Squaw was coming up and as Cam has been doing more mtb races this year I asked if he would want to do it. I told him it was a 4 hour race, but you just ride as many laps as you can, he could do whatever he wanted to do. I gave him different options to think about, like he could ride for a couple hours and just quit or he could take a 30 min break and ride again, or really however much he felt like riding. I did not ever think he would ride the entire 4 hours plus.

Nicole Roth races at Squaw Creek. (photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/)

​"I like that the Boondoggle has the junior 1hr marathon race as it might make it less intimidating to the kids and parents. But it also puts in writing that juniors are welcome to come out to race it. I will ask Cam if he is going to do the junior 1hr race or the 3hr marathon race, but I'm pretty sure he will say he wants to do the full race!"
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Fun for everyone
"If you’re new to racing or don’t consider yourself a 'racer' you can also think of a marathon race as a big group ride that supports local organizations and the trails," says Roth. "If you’re slower, it doesn’t really matter. You can take a break every lap if you need to.

"These races attract a fun crowd so there’s usually food, beverages, music, and fun at the start/finish of

each lap. And nobody but you and the race organizer will know what number lap you’re on. An extra cool thing about the Beverly Boondoggle is that proceeds of this race are going back to non-profits that support the trails and promote cycling advocacy in the area, so it’s an awesome event to support.

"Mountain bikes. Goldfinch. Beverly. LAMBA. All great things!" It’s gonna be a fun day. I’m super pumped to toe the line at the Beverly Boondoggle and while I’m hoping to see all the familiar faces at the start line, I’ll be even more excited to see some new faces out there this year!"

John Stonebarger