RocknRolla Posted April 20, 2014 Posted April 20, 2014 soooo.....nobody has anything nice to say about this race.?..one hellavu sales pitch you guys have going here. its crappy and crampy whoopoe lets do it again? Read Here It is often stated that this is a PROPER MTB race.The vibe of the race, the riders during the race and afterwards, is unlike anything you will find in the greater gauteng. Personally I think it is because of the shared suffering during, and the shared elation of finishing afterwards.The tales of cameraderie during the race is what lingers as well. The only expectation that you should have going into this race, is that it will be tough, very tough.If you come out the other side with the correct mindset, you will be rewarded by an experience that you will not forget. but I suggest you try it for yourself, and form your opinion afterwards, some love it - some hate it. Francois Pienaar 1
arendoog Posted April 20, 2014 Posted April 20, 2014 Started my Mm training in earnest today. Intensity level up at 90 % or cramps will get the better of me again .If i don,t cramp i can ride a sub 5h time .At 100kg this is a tall order ,but what a challenge ! Underachiever and IdeJongh 2
Twombles Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 How does this compare to the Cradle mountain trophy 75km. I see that its about 400m more climbing, but how much more difficult is the terrain?
jcza Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 How does this compare to the Cradle mountain trophy 75km. I see that its about 400m more climbing, but how much more difficult is the terrain? Much tougher and more technical than Cradle Trophy. Also bear in mind that the first 20km of Cradle Trophy was tar and dirt road after which you recovered for 30mins waiting to cross the river. Take your Cradle time and add at least a hour if not more.
Twombles Posted April 22, 2014 Posted April 22, 2014 Much tougher and more technical than Cradle Trophy. Also bear in mind that the first 20km of Cradle Trophy was tar and dirt road after which you recovered for 30mins waiting to cross the river. Take your Cradle time and add at least a hour if not more. Cool thanks, good to know that from the beginning!
arendoog Posted April 23, 2014 Posted April 23, 2014 My only marathon out in the Magaliesburg has been two Nissan races (70 km) from van Gaalens. How does the Monster marathon compare ? I can complete the vG marathons but feel it and am always happy to see the finish line. In the past 8 months I have learned to ride the technical stuff at vG of the strips, Pofadder, Dagga Pad, Greek Church, Yo Bliksem and the river route back to base, is that enough for one of these Monster marathons ?Sounds like you will be OK!
RocknRolla Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 Looked at last years time, and it took me 15 mins longer to do the monster than it took me to do the clarens race the past weekend. And when i did the monster i had completed sani and was in much better general shape than i am at the moment. In clarens we has kms of nice flat or down district road... None of that on the monster. Im too useless to do this years monster. Considered it, but this weekend settled it for me.
Gen Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 Looked at last years time, and it took me 15 mins longer to do the monster than it took me to do the clarens race the past weekend. And when i did the monster i had completed sani and was in much better general shape than i am at the moment. In clarens we has kms of nice flat or down district road... None of that on the monster. Im too useless to do this years monster. Considered it, but this weekend settled it for me. Oh my goodness.. I am now very afraid. So what are the winners times, and what would be a realistic time for me to aim for.. I aint in it to win it.. I just want to complete it in a so so time. Training wise I have probably not done enough long rides, .. had some good climbing practice, so I feel okay-ish about the climbing..
RocknRolla Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 Anything under 6 hours is pretty good for the average rider.I had a broken seat rail that led to cramping about two thirds into the monster, finished in about 5:30 Its a great race nonetheless. You will be fine if you dont burn your matches on the little monster and monster climb, because there is still lots of tough riding to do after that. If you get to the bottom of breedts not feeling shattered, you will comfortably finish the race. Try get one or two 6 hour rides ( distance not really an issue) with fair bit of climbing and you will be ok.
Gen Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 Anything under 6 hours is pretty good for the average rider.I had a broken seat rail that led to cramping about two thirds into the monster, finished in about 5:30 Its a great race nonetheless. You will be fine if you dont burn your matches on the little monster and monster climb, because there is still lots of tough riding to do after that. If you get to the bottom of breedts not feeling shattered, you will comfortably finish the race. Try get one or two 6 hour rides ( distance not really an issue) with fair bit of climbing and you will be ok. Many thx.
Dirt De Vil Posted May 7, 2014 Author Posted May 7, 2014 A couple of us went over Breedts Nek and did the climbs twice over with total distance 76km. It still came to about 300m less climbing than what we are going to face at the monster and from my understanding far less technical than the monster. We did the ride in 4hr30, thus I expect my time on the monster to be around the 6hr30 mark. Definitely not going to be an easy day. Oh my goodness.. I am now very afraid. So what are the winners times, and what would be a realistic time for me to aim for.. I aint in it to win it.. I just want to complete it in a so so time. Training wise I have probably not done enough long rides, .. had some good climbing practice, so I feel okay-ish about the climbing..
ACM Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 Would have loved to do the full this year as I've only done the half the last couple of years, but this will be my first mtb race since january when i broke my leg. So i guess another year befor i tackle the full monster :-(Looking fw to the race!!
Gen Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 Sorry Gen, somehow posted inside your post. For a moment there I was confused as to when I did that training
ChUkKy Posted May 8, 2014 Posted May 8, 2014 Im too useless to do this years monster. Considered it, but this weekend settled it for me. What?Cant you drink beer quick enough anymore? you should be ashamed RocknRolla 1
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