Moat Mountain 24 Hours of Great Glenn
Back to the Land of Oz
August 7-8, 2021
Gorham, NH
Joel 1st solo single speed
Jess 1st solo overall female
Great vibe, friendly fellow
racers, challenging yet fun course, top-notch racer amenities, and beautiful
location- all of these made Moat Mountain 24 Hours of Glenn a race the Nankmans
can whole heartedly recommend and will be back to again in the future. Want
something unique and interesting about a race? How about a floating yellow brick road
bridge through a pond; one can’t get more fun and excitement than that during
a race
Location and Race Venue
The race venue is at the
bottom of Mount Washington. Those bumper
stickers “This car climbed Mt. Washington”,
that’s the place. The view of the mountains in the back ground,
especially at sunset and sunrise, was spectacular.
There was ample parking and camping spots, with a separate area set
aside for solo riders. It was a tight squeeze for those that showed up a
little later in the day on Friday; i.e us a just a few others, but all solo riders had direct access to the
course from their pits. Registration,
racer meeting, and awards took part in this huge circus-tent set-up, which was
nice to have shade for these events; in addition, this tent was the transition
area during the race. The race venue
also included access to The Glenn House Hotel and the Base Lodge, with the
course going directly by these places. Having
these establishments along the course just meant more spectators and more going
on during the race. In addition to these
places, Gorham in a unique little town with something to offer to everyone as a
tourist post race. Drive to the top of Mt. Washington (we did). Head into town
for food and drinks. Visit Moat Mountain Brewery just down the road. Post race, Joel and I slowly and painfully walked the
few minutes to the Glenn House post race for drinks and to enjoy the view from
the back seating area. However, dog
owners take note- no dogs allowed at the race.
Any chance of changing this in the future?
Course
The race is located at the
base of the tallest mountain in New Hampshire, so what sort of course would be
expected? There certainly was climbing,
and a fair bit of it. A bit more than the standard elevation gain and loss for
a 24 hour race but nothing was sustained, just lots of shorter ups and downs. The
course included cross-country ski trails and mountain bike specific single
track which made for everything from gravel double track to gnarly
and rock single track, smooth bermed trail, to grassy paths. The course had a fair number of wooden
bridges, that I do admit became quite slick after the rain. There were many features of the course that were
exciting loop after loop. There were purpose built skinnies and log overs in the
open field. Riders went over and under a wooden bridge and through a tunnel. All those were fun to ride but the highlight of the course was
the floating bridge across the pond. The race theme being Wizard of Oz,
the floating bridge was painted to mimic the yellow brick road. Riders could take the direct route via the
bridge (photo evidence on the race website shows some did fall into the pond) or go around the lake adding many
minutes to their lap. A blueberry patch, hotel grounds, the race venue, huge
boulders were all traversed during the ride.
Overall the course certainly was more challenging than the
“typical” 24 hour race; there was no slacking and one had to be mentally and physically alert at all times. But this was a good thing, both Joel and I are pleased with that; it was
tough yet fun and never boring.
Amenities
The organization and
volunteers were probably the best part of this race. Everything was so well put
together and the volunteers were everywhere and friendly every step of the way. As
noted above, race happenings were under a huge tent, super nice during the hot
summer days. With registration racers received a T-shirt, numerous small
sponsor goodies, and a tote bag. All racers were given a ticket for a beer on
Friday night and a meal ticket for Saturday night. However, solo riders and
race directors take note…how are solo riders to use a meal ticket on Saturday
night, they are racing then? Maybe also have
the meal ticket valid for Sunday afternoon after the race? We gave our meal tickets to the friends and family of people camped near us, at least the food went to good use.
Post race when awards were happening each rider was awarded a complimentary beer
from Moat Mountain and waters/sodas were available. During awards there were
raffles, many free goodies were given out, and race merchandise was for sale. Awards were very basic; no prizes, no
cash, just a custom race medal.Spectators and Support
This is one thing that made
this race extremely unique, special, and fun- the amount of spectators out on
course. During the entire race there
were people cheering somewhere. A big
part of this was the venue. The course
went by the outside veranda of the Glenn House Hotel; in which with the exception
of the early morning hours people were always out sitting and cheering on
racers. In the blueberry field area
there was some sort of B&B or similar in which people were sitting on the
porch cheering on racers; the smell of pancakes and bacon from this place
early in the morning was amazing. Many
of the ski trails were also open to walkers, and a fair number of people were
out enjoying the trails and supporting racers at the same time. The race organizers and volunteers were great
motivators, some even dressing up in costumes and holding signs at various
places numerous times during the race.
And lets not forget fellow racers.
So many of the racers were cheering each other on; both while racing and while hanging out while their team members were riding. Many of the solo riders became familiar with
each other during the event and we supported each other, especially as it came
time for those last few laps. What an
amazing vibe to know there were so many people out there cheering, motivating,
and supporting all the racers.
Personal Account
Both Nankmans took top podium spot in their divisions. Myself earning the top spot of the open women via 17 laps and a finish time of 23 hours 27 minutes. Joel won single speed in a total race time of 23 hours 27 minutes with a total of 19 laps. We both rode strong and felt good about our efforts. A rain storm Saturday night halted progress for a few minutes for each of us; but luckily the rain hit just as both Joel and I were at our pit putting on our Lupine Lights and making some gear adjustments for the upcoming night laps; so we just took a little slower to do those things. After the rain it did get quite slick on the course, there was definitely some walking at times. When racing solo sometimes better to take it slow and cautious than to crash and get hurt. Both of us did take a short nap; myself sitting the van for no more than 45 minutes and Joel sitting on a chair in the transition tent for about 30 minutes. We rode together for a bit at this race, but not as much as usual. We each did our own thing until Sunday morning, where we joined each other for the last few laps.
In summary this was a great
event; one we would recommend and one we would come back to. Great course, supportive and friendly race
vibes, good amenities, and a unique location.
- -Words by Jess
-Photos by Joel and race photographer Joe Viger