By Cimarron Chacon
The 5th annual 6 hours in Frog Hollow went off under blue skies on Saturday April 19. The recent move to a spring date was just one of the changes this year that led to a sold out crowd of bunny’s, beginners, families and pro’s all showing up for the fun.
This year about 20 percent of the racers were first time mountain bikers. The race is also very family friendly. The Take a Kid mountain biking category had 6 teams for example. In this category children between 10 and 14 can race with their parents; who get a special number plate you escort their kids around the course for their lap.
But even though the race is fun, there was no shortage of strong competition. Getting in the elusive 6th lap requires an incredible pace out the gate, as racers must start their final lap prior to 2 PM. For the female solo category only the 1st place winner, Joey Lythgoe was able to pull off 6 laps, in 5:54:55. She was racing in a field of 26, an impressive field size of ladies for an endurance mountain bike event.
Dave Haward, solo male winner completed 6 laps in 5:17:36 min. All of Dave’s laps were sub- 1 hour, and his fastest lap of the day was 48:42 minutes. All the top 6 Solo Male racers achieved 6 laps, but Dave won with a comfortable 19 minute lead. This will be the first year that the race holds its own records on the new course, but we are guessing this record will be hard to beat.
The Duo Co-ed Category field was made up with a long list of top athletes. Going into the race it was anybody’s guess who the victors would be. All the places were incredibly close throughout the day, with Team Liv/Giant-Hub, Cary Smith and Amanda Cary coming out on top. Their lead was just 11 minutes ahead of second place team Him n Her Holley, the dynamic couple were not only racing for the podium, but switching off caring for their young child during their off lap. It was impressive to watch. Third , fourth and 5th place in that category were all separated by less than 5 minutes each.
While the top finishers were duking it out on course, many others were having a blast dressed in Easter themed costumes. There were smiles all around as everyone raved about the new course configuration.
See results on page 14.
Find race photo’s www.crawlingspider.com
Registration for the 25 hours in Frog Hollow opens May 7th.
