In the lead up to this event I had seriously stepped up my training in the last couple of months and in the month prior I was on the MTB every weekend. The aim was to finish in 5hr30 which would have been a 20min improvement on last year.

The end result was finishing 10mins slower but with a higher overall and category placing, it was indeed a tough day.

I started with the rest of the SXC boys but had no plans of sticking with them after the gun went off, this was exactly how it went. The first stage went by with out incident apart from hating the paddocks on the HT. The 2nd stage started well but as it went on I started to feel like I was going backwards, the elites came past as I was on The Kick (I think), kyle offered some words of encouragement and I carried on to the outer limits where soon after Ants went past and said Hi to which I almost failed to reply (apologies). I was riding solo for a majority of it and couldn't hold anyone's wheel, this was probably the lowest point of the race for me. On the fire roads back to transition the same was repeated and I rode into the wind alone.

A long break followed as I decided to make use of the toilets and ended up waiting for a min. Back out onto stage 3 and the legs were feeling good but my heart rate had been steadily dropping from the 160's to the 150's (eventually sitting in the 140's). I just couldn't get any level of intensity once off the fire trail and the last 30kms took a very long time. I was also struggling to get enough air in my lungs which wasn't helping, something which I am feeling the effects off today. The rocks and slower half flingers were adding to the mix and there were a few spills but fortunately not for me. At your call I still decided to take the shorter path as I knew it wasn't too bad, I was very glad to hear the PA and see the finish line.

I was disappointed with my time and possibly had accepted my fate earlier on as the clock clicked by.

The positives to take from this were the burgers ;) no cramping, not being dehydrated and I think a decent amount of nutrition (still work to do there). 2hrs after the race I was already thinking about next year and how to get it right.

Thanks to the rest of the SXC boys for continually raising the bar and making me work harder and harder. Some impressive results yesterday, well done.