'Child Labor' Does 8 Hours of Labor at San Felasco (9/4/2011)

It's Labor Day weekend and that means it's time for the 8 Hours of Labor at San Felasco endurance race. I got to join forces with two of my racing friends, Trent and Bryce, to compete in the 3-man team race. The name of our team was Child Labor--(get it?)--and we had a really good time taking on all of the adult teams we were competing against. In fact, we were the youngest team ever to do the race, with a combined total age of 33 years.

 The start of the race required everyone doing the first lap to run from the starting line across a field, to a spot called the bike corral, where we picked up our bikes and started riding the course. Because I didn't get a chance to pre-ride it with Trent and Bryce the day before, I got elected to do the first lap. This was fine with me, because I was going to ask if I could do it anyway. I like to run.

This guy's face just cracks me up. Guess he was surprised he was getting beaten by an 11 year old.

My dad was also doing the first lap for his team, and he wanted me to stay next to him during the run so he could make sure I didn't get trampled. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't keep up with me, and I passed him and a bunch of other adults. I was one of the first group to get to my bike and on the trail. Unfortunately for me, the run took a lot out of me, and I got passed right back on the first climb by many of those adults.

Me on the trail

Trent having fun on the trail

When I finished with my first lap, Trent took off for the second, and Bryce did the third. We were making really good time at right around an hour per lap. It was a tough ten mile course, with a lot of rooty sections and climbing required, but I think we all did a great job. I even heard some adults talking about how surprised they were to get passed on the trail by kids.

Trent hands off to Bryce

Bryce on the trail

When Bryce finished his first lap, it was my turn to go again. Our hand-off was pretty sweet and I took off.

Starting lap 2

By the time I was done with my second lap, I was getting pretty tired, and I suspect Bryce and Trent were too. We were hoping to get a total of 8 laps in, but we also knew we'd be cutting it close to the cutoff time. In fact, when Bryce handed off to me for the last time, I knew I had to get back in under an hour for Trent to be able to get one more lap in. (No pressure.)

Trent gives me a good push-off to start the last lap

The sprint to the finish

Unfortunately, my legs quit obeying me about half way through, and I didn't quite make it back in time. So we were only able to get a total of 7 laps completed. The good news is that out of 29 teams, we still came in 22nd. Considering we were competing against some teams of riders who normally race in the Sport and Expert level categories, I think we did extremely well and I am very proud of my team, Child Labor!

When we were all done, I was hurting all over, especially my neck, back and legs. Lucky for me there was a chiropractor giving free massages and adjustments and I was able to get some of the kinks worked out.

For this race, I wore my helmet-cam, like usual, and my dad put together a short video of some of the action. Check it out below.



Next weekend, the Florida State Championship series starts in Tallahassee. I am really looking forward to this one, because I didn't actually start racing last year until after this race, so the trail will be completely new to me. I'm also excited to see all of my Florida racing friends again. Hope to see everyone there!!

**Mountain Bike Mike would like to thank Mrs. Kovi for some of the great pictures I "borrowed" for this post.**