It's been a busy two weeks!

Consol Energy Racing team members participated in three events over the past two weeks, adding a pair of first place finishes to our growing list of awards. 

Kurtis Hoffman competed in back-to-back weekends, posting a third place finish in his division at the “Derek Hotsinpiller’s Fallen Stars 5K” before winning his division last Saturday at the “Cecil Jarvis Greater Clarksburg 10K”.  Mandy Anderson also ran the Clarksburg race, finishing in the top 5 in her age group.  Mandy’s division was the largest in the event and she beat 25 other racers to claim her spot.  Congratulations to our two fastest runners!

 

Three Consol Energy Racing cyclists were in action Saturday at the “Big Bear 2x12 Mountain Bike Relay” near Bruceton Mills, WV.  The 2x12 format saw duo team members each riding a pair of 12 mile laps; first team to complete the nearly 50-mile circuit wins. 

The Sheets brothers teamed up for the second time in the three-year history of the race.  They were able to shave nearly thirty minutes off their time from 2010, despite a flat tire and some chain issues, to finish sixth. 

Jason reports: 

"I teamed up with Dynamic Physical Therapy Cycling rider Chris Jones.  Chris is a strong rider and was able to build a gap on the 15 teams in our division on his first lap out.  I’m not as fast as Chris, but I was able to maintain our lead as we led wire to wire for my first ever top-spot finish. 

It was much closer at the end than I realized.  I had the fastest guy in our division (and eventual second place finisher) chasing me on the last lap with first place on the line.  In the finish area right after the race he said something to me like “ I was hunting that CONSOL jersey down”, to which I replied “yeah, and I was right here waiting for you”.  At least that’s how I think the conversation went, I was pretty tired."

Below are some photos of the Big Bear action.

Race Around the Bend aka the North Bend Death March

Here's the latest race recap as narrated by Jason Stewart:

For the seventh week in a row, a Consol Energy athlete claimed a podium spot after a hard fought effort.  Travis “Warhorse” Olson took the top spot in his division at the WVMBA “Race Around the Bend” event at North Bend Sate Park on Sunday, June 3^rd.  Joe Sheets, Jonathan Sheets, and I also raced the 14 miles of flowing singletrack, hair-pin switchbacks, demoralizing climbs and exhilarating downhills.  None of us had ever ridden the course and we all put up strong results for our first time out, with Travis being the lone Consol rider to finish on the podium.

The beautiful weather and perfect trail conditions that greeted us gave no warning of the suffering that we were about to endure.  The race started with a quarter mile prologue through a grassy field.  The mowed path rapidly bottlenecked from a width of about one hundred feet down to a mere twenty, and eventually down to two, creating a hectic scene as riders fought for position.  All the Consol riders made it safely through the melee and entered the singletrack within a few moments of one another.   Joe was second in line behind Travis when he had his first mechanical problem of the day, flatting before the first climb.  While Joe repaired his wheel, the rest of us started the long march up the first of many heartbreaking hills that we would endure before reaching the finish line.  After finally topping out, I started to open a gap on some of the riders around me.  “What are these guys waiting on?  Why isn’t anyone else hammering?  I’m the fastest man alive.”  All these thoughts went through my head as I cruised the doubletrack road towards the dam.  At the base of the next vertical cliff up which we were supposed to ride a bicycle, I quickly figured out that everyone else was conserving their energy for the later miles instead of hammering the roads, and that in fact, I was not the fastest man alive.  Not even close, as it turned out.  Not even the fastest guy named “Jason” in my division.

North Bend had plenty of tricks in store for us.  The steep grade on all of the climbs, the technical rock garden and tunnel near the end, the hidden curves through the last field, and the off-camber hillside sections all made for a surprising and challenging course.  Congratulations to everyone for finishing the race in one piece.  Good job Travis, and good luck as you chase down the WVMBA series Clydesdale title. 

North Bend results are here.

Thanks once again to GU Energy for the much needed hydration and fuel to carry CER riders around the course.

North Bend Survivors

Next up, CER runner, Kurtis Hoffman will be racing the Derek Hotsinpiller’s Fallen Star Memorial 5K race.  Come on out and join Kurtis for this great memorial event.

The next mountain bike race will be the Big Bear 2x12 Mountain Bike Festival on June 16^th.  That event will see Consol racers returning to Big Bear for the second time this year to compete in the two-man, two-lap team format.   Good luck to everyone.