training program for 45 mile XC race?

[ShannonG]

Hi everyone,
I just signed up for a 45 mile XC marathon in Sept 07. I'm an avid road cyclist and not so great mountain biker and I was wondering if anyone knows of a training program for XC racing? The mountain bike magazines don't seem to print them the way the road rags do.
Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[rocknrollgirl]

Hi there,
Well, to start with ride, ride and then ride some more. I would like to say just kidding, but I am not.

Where is the race?
What will the course be like?
How technical is the terrain?

You will need to work on your off road endurance and your bike handling skills. 45 miles on a mountain bike is a big undertaking. The furthest I have ever ridden in one shot is 30 miles, and I was very thankful to be done!

You have plenty of time to get ready, but I would suggest you start now logging saddle time off road. Maybe start with a day set aside for skills, one endurance ride, and a couple of days of moderate spinning.

One book I can suggest is Mt Bike Like A Champion by Ned Overend.

I am sure you will get lots more advice from the girls here. Please keep us posted on your progress. I love endurance races, and I am sure you are going to have a blast. If I come across anything in my reading that looks good, I will send it your way.

Ruth

[tattiefritter]

Second all rocknrollgirl has said, you need to spend lots and lots of time on a mountain bike. The most I have ridden off road is 50 miles (and it was completely off road) and it was all about pacing, fuelling, hydration. The terrain wasn't the most technical but it was very "undulating" and I wasn't racing but my whole body and mind was knackered by the end of it.

Our weekend long rides are normally between the 25 - 35 mile mark and terrain type, technicality and condition all play a part in how long it takes and how much effort is expended to complete it. I'm not actually in a race but I ride with men so I'm always working harder than they are to keep the pace. You need to know what possible range of conditions you may face on the day - for example is it a fast course in the dry but turns into an absolute speed sucking quagmire if it is wet? If wet slow conditions are a possibility you need to get out and develop the bloody mindedness to keep plodding along in those conditions.

If the course is technical up or down then you need to get out and ride technical sections with a tired mind and body. Technical climbs and descents become the wrong side of challenging when you are tired. I could go on but I think you get the picture.

I have ridden an Enduro event, it was 47miles with 6000ft of climbing in lots and lots of short and often steep climbs which grind you down, but I really enjoyed it once I got out of the crowd (its what I hated most about the event).

You don't say where you are but in the UK there is a marathon series run in conjunction with Merida bikes where you can ride up to a 100K offroad. They have a section on training for the events on their website, hope its of some use:

http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/training/training.php

We are actually thinking of doing the Penrith event, at least 75k, if we're feeling frisky then the 100K