Fight For Freedom Race, Williamsburg, VA

HOT! That about sums up the day. When I got home from the race, the thermometer under our deck, in the shade, read that the maximum temperature for the day was 101. Who was foolhardy enough to race in that heat? Sonya Gagnon, Byron Gonzalez, Thomas Flynn, Mike King, and Matt Juaneza. Wahoo! I was glad though to be able to support Richmond Cycling Corps and their cause.

My race wasn’t until 11:30 but I got there early to pre-ride the course since I hadn’t been to Freedom Park before. I wasn’t sure if that was smart due to the amount of water I lost just from pre-riding, but I made sure to hydrate frequently. Because I was early I got to see Byron start his Beginner men’s race.

There were 4 of us in my Sport women’s race. There was a downhill start on a fireroad before a sharp right hole shot into the single track. I was able to get in the woods first, with my (friendly) nemesis of 2012 Emily Croft on my wheel. (Just turned 14 and she usually kicks my butt? What?) I could see/hear the other two women close behind. As we kept riding, soon it was just Emily left on my wheel. A couple miles into the race, Emily called out to me that she had dropped her water bottle. I was thinking oh no, in this heat, that’s not good at all. I yelled to her to let me know if she started feeling dizzy. The place where the water station was, was about 4 miles on. We kept riding, and I made sure I could always hear Emily behind me. The heat was oppressive, even the draft created from moving through the air was hot, it felt like riding in an oven. After a few miles Emily yelled out that her energy level was dropping fast, she was getting weak, so I stopped and had her drink from my camel back. We went on, and finally got to the water station. I yelled out to her Dad that she needed electrolytes then went on my way without worrying about her anymore. I honestly thought she’d hydrate and still be able to catch up with me because she’s so fast, but it turns out she decided to end her race because she was too far in the negative with dehydration. But of course I didn’t know that so for the whole race I pushed hard thinking she might catch me any second. Towards the end I could feel my body slowing down, but the other girls didn’t catch me.

I loved the trails! No obstacles just really tight singletrack. Very narrow (caught my bars on a tree once) and constantly either going up, going down, or turning. A very fun course.

After I got back to my car I felt worse than during the race, I could hardly stand up straight and was seeing small black stars in my vision. Got myself to the air conditioned visitor center and hung out there for about 45 minutes.

Final results showed myself as 1st in Sport Women, Byron 1st in Beginner Men, Mike 8th and Matt 9th in enduro (kudos to anyone who did enduro in that heat), and Tom 9th in Sport Men 35+.