Leaving behind cooler temperatures and Jasper鈥檚 familiar mountain terrain, Chris Peel, Cameron Vos and Derek Anderson recently returned from North Dakota鈥檚 badlands鈥攏estled in Theodore Roosevelt National Park鈥� where they competed in the fifth annual Maah Daah Hey 100, a 106-mile biking race that鈥檚 as grueling as it is beautiful.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like no other place I鈥檝e ever biked before,鈥� said Peel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so stunning and unique.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to compare鈥攈ere in Jasper we can climb and descend for long periods, but there it鈥檚 constantly up and down which makes it pretty challenging. And the climate is completely different than here.鈥�
The course took riders on a journey up and down Devil鈥檚 Pass, around narrow, winding paths with 100-foot drops on either side, past grazing buffalo, and through the Little Missouri River. To appreciate how difficult the race is you only have to look at the race鈥檚 heat-induced dropout rate. With temperatures hovering around 37 C, only 59 racers out of more than 100 actually crossed the finish line.
This was Peel and Anderson鈥檚 second year in a row at the race, which helped them prepare for the dry desert heat. However, for Vos, the unfamiliar heat mixed with stomach issues almost made him call it quits.
鈥淚鈥檝e had challenges racing in heat before, but I鈥檝e been getting better so I wanted to see how far I could push myself. I knew it was going to be hot I just had to figure out a way that I could manage the heat,鈥� said Vos, adding that he stopped every 15 minutes to douse himself in ice water.
However with about 20 miles to go, Vos came down with a crippling stomach pain.
鈥淔or about six hours I hadn鈥檛 felt very good, but I was still meeting my goals and I just kept going, but then all of sudden it felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach,鈥� Vos said. 鈥淚 was feeling so sick and nauseous. I started to shake uncontrollably and my whole body was exhausted.鈥�
Vos pulled in at one of the race鈥檚 checkpoints. After vomiting several times, he waited for about two hours to see if he could jump back in.
鈥淎t that point all I could think about was finishing. All my other goals kind of went out the window, but not finishing was never an option,鈥� Vos said. 鈥淚 had drove all this way and made it this far so I just got really stubborn and basically forced my body to keep food down.
鈥淚t was really a mind over matter thing.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really impressive that he didn鈥檛 quit,鈥� added Peel. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in that state there are so many people offering you drives back to the start and when your brain isn鈥檛 working properly that can be really appealing.鈥�
After 15 hours and 25 minutes, Vos joined Peel and Anderson at the finish line. Peel had completed the race a few minutes earlier with a time of 15 hours and one minute while Anderson dominated the competition, coming in fifth place overall with a time of 10 hours and 28 minutes.
鈥淚 had some success last year so I wanted to see if I could do it again,鈥� said Anderson, adding that he came in fourth place last year. 鈥淒ue to injury and mechanical issues, this was my first event that I started and finished this year, so it was good to get that monkey off my back.
鈥淕oing into this race, I had no idea where I was fitness-wise, but I just stayed focused and did my best and worked through the challenges.鈥�
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
