Riding technical rocky stuff on your MTB - how to survive a marathon?

[FLYIT]

Enjoying the advice on this thread... makes me want to go straight back to VG and give it a go AGAIN!

mons 100 .you know that if you want some coaching all you have to do is ask.

[MONS]

mons 100 .you know that if you want some coaching all you have to do is ask.

Thanks FLYIT!! Appreciate it!! http://1.1.1.2/bmi/cdn.bikehub.co.za/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png

[Pusher]

thanks guys, good advice all round - so now that i know what i have to do to improve on the technical stuff how do i pick races that suit my current level of ability? To be honest racing and fast times are why i race a road bike, i just like the MTB for the scenery and relaxed vibe, leaving the heartrate monitor at home and not worrying about results ,seeding etc....

 

But in the same breathe i want to do events where i can at least ride most of the route! ive seen some trails are graded like at the bike park in 4 ways and kings kloof for example - is there a race difficulty rating? is it safe to assume the marathons are more technical than say the half marathons? should i stick to the half marathon events until i can nail trails like kings kloof,van gaalens and thaba trails in practice?

 

i managed most of the sections during the race on sat e.g. that first climb from the dual concrete - just those hardcore super rocky ones i really battled with.

The USN Cup this weekend is quite a relaxing ride. Fast and flowing single track!