Big Day Brewing 24 Hours of Great Glenn
24 Hour Mountain Bike Race
August 1 - 2, 2026
Gorham, New Hampshire
Jess fastest female overall with award for first place age group division women 41 plus
Joël suffering a significant mechanical issue with his bike still hiked his way
to 8th place single speed men
This was the 4th, or maybe 5th, edition of 24 Hours of Great Glenn for the Nankmans (this was a point of discussion, one of us said 4th and one said 5th, and we never really figured it out exactly). This race is one of our favorites and keeps us coming back again and again.
2026 started off just as all the previous time have, arrival at the race site late morning on Friday to get a primo solo participant parking spot. By now, many solo riders are repeat attendees thus the “hellos” and “good to see you again” were rampant upon arrival. Joël and I parked our van and set-up at our usual camping spot. Historically this is adjacent to Liz and Company (aka Jacob and Josh) whom we have gotten to know over the years. We were patiently awaiting their arrival only to later find out they were racing as a team and were in the other campground. (Solo riders get a special camping area so they can have direct access to the course whereas teams are in an area that is close to but not necessarily adjacent to the course). Luckily, Joël and I still got to catch-up with all of them during the weekend but we did miss our boisterous and fun neighbors.
The afternoon was spent doing some basic race prep and
then relaxing. Movie watching, book reading, and game playing. Once time for registration and the pre-race
party rolled around we heading over the gigantic tent for the festivities. Registration was smooth and quick; picking up
our numbers and timing chips along with many of the race goodies including but
not limited to a water bottle, food tickets, T-shirt, and some sponsor
goodies. Next up was beer and music. All racers are invited to attend the pre-race
party. Beer provided by sponsor Big Day Brewing and a local band had racers
relaxing and socializing. What a great way to chill out and suppress some of the
pre-race nervousness. After some
libations Joël and I headed back to the van for dinner, the usual kielbasa
sausage, pasta in cheese sauce, and salad. Side note: in our early years of
racing we kept to a rather rigid pre-race routine; lessen time on our feet, no alcohol,
get to be early. Now that we are old and have been around the block a few times
we have realized having fun is top priority we never pass up the chance to have
some drinks and hangout the night before a race.
To bed at a respectable hour on Friday combined with a
sleeping in a bit on race morning we both woke-up feeling ready to be awake for
the next 30ish hours. Easy breakfast of oatmeal with nuts and berries, apple juice
and coffee done in no time. After all these
years of racing Joël and I have our race morning routine down to a science thus
things get set-up efficiently and without problems. Cooler with pre-filled
bottles, food tote with pre-arranged race food, lights and electronics, extra
clothing all in their pre-determined spots and ready to go. Joël gave the bikes a good check-over and did
the last few maintenance items and we were ready to go. The race meeting
started promptly at 10:30am under the big tent. Rules were gone over and race
items discussed by the race directors dressed as Flintstones characters to
match the race theme of prehistoric times and dinosaurs. Racer meeting done with a bit of time to head
back to the van for the last minute items of another snack, more fluids, one
last port-o-john stop, and ample application of anti-chafing product Chamois Butt’r
before heading to the start.
A lemans start had racers lined up to run to their
bikes. Bikes were laid out on the grass near the timing tent and races had to run
one lap around the pond before getting on their bikes. Riders who were members of multi-person teams
where every second counts sprinted where solo riders whom were conserving
energy walked or jogged. By the time
everyone was on their bikes the field of racers was well spread out before
hitting the trails. Note: this event had both a 12 hour and 24 hour event along
with solo, duo, and multi-person teams for each length event.
The course.
Starting off on gravel double track that passes over a raised elevated
bridge, by a beautiful marshy area and fields of grass and flower. This is all
wide enough participants have a chance to get into a grove and spread out. There are a few short ups and downs before
the course turns into the first single track which is new to the event. This trail
was fun, it was like riding a pump track that was fun and flowy. After this more double track of gravel and
grass with a few substantial climbs that are walk-worthy for single speeders
and for any person later in the race.
Anyone else notice along these trails the huge boulder with trees growing
out of it and a big rock with a kettle hanging over it? After a quick gravel descent it was time for
a hard right onto Rocky Sand Witch. A newly built single track trail that was
greasy, loomy, thick, and gooey. This will be a fun trail years from now but let’s
just say during the race it was far from the favorite of many riders. It was rocky, rooty, and slippery. To quote
one rider as a line of us solo riders were all attempting yet failing to ride a
portion of trail “this is one f-ing aggressive switchback”. And yes, that rider was reminded of the rule
discussed at the pre-race meeting of no profanity. Another rider and I chatted as
to how this portion of trail reminded us of the swamp of never ending sadness. OK, to give it a good quality, one highlight
of Rocky Sand was a really awesome curved wooded bridge. The end of this trail never
came soon enough as it entered onto gravel double track. More double track lead to my favorite part of
the course which was some super rocky gnarly single track. Many riders know
this trail because it has a hard 90 degree right turn that goes up over a big rock. So much fun. This empties onto more gravel which
lead down along a beautiful bubbly creek and fields of flowers. Across a wooden
bridge that was always packed with spectators, even at night, past the Glenn
House hotel and through the tunnel brought racers to the back portion of the
course.
After passing through the tunnel, which is always so
well decorated to match the race theme, it was time to climb the infamous Blueberry
Hill. Switch backs leading up the side
of the mountain throughout a blueberry patch had some riders walking right from
the get-go and many more racers walking as the hours and miles went by. Despite the burning legs and lungs, one good
thing about this climb, at the top the view is amazing! Much of Mount Washington
is visible along with many of the peaks of the White Mountains. At night, the
lights of the weather station at the top of the Mt. Washington Auto Road can be
seen. No matter how one feels seeing the
sunrise and sunset from here is spectacular.
After finally getting to the top of Blueberry Hill riders are rewarded
with some techy and challenging yet fun single track. A bit of awesomeness and then another grinding
climb up a tiny bit of pavement leading to a gravel road. This section of the
ride had some amazing spectators out there even during the overnight hours. Music
playing and motivating cheers were never ending. Numerous riders rewarded themselves with a
dip in the cold pond at the top of this climb before heading into the next
section of once again challenging yet rewarding single track. So many bridges along with slippery roots and
rocks kept us on our toes. After this
came the swooping endur-bro berms that were always fun no matter how tired or
exhausted one was. Back through the tunnel,
some gravel past the Glenn House, a little bit more trail, more gravel and
grassy double track through the fields and then it was time for the very last
portion of single track. This was short
but steep climbs separated by some tight switch-back turns. And oh yes, throw
in a bridge and some rocks and roots while riding this already tough terrain.
It was a struggle but always a good challenge to do ones’ best to pedal it
all. After this participants were rewarded
with some fast whoopy descents with more berms that ended on a short fun little
single track. A short jaunt on a grassy trail lead to the floating bridge. A mainstay
of this event is the floating bridge over the pond. It changes slightly every
year but essentially riders need to be ready for a bridge about three feet wide
that move underneath them. And this year it was set-up to mimic a pump track. A
little daunting but well-worth the ride. I don’t know, but did anyone go into
the pond? After the floating bridge time
to dismount to walk through the timing tent where even with using electronic
timing riders numbers were manually recorded as to not miss a lap. Exit the tent, remount, and out for another
lap.
Alright, course review done. Now how about the
individual, personal Nankman report. As the blisters heal, the chafing stops
being so painful, the tingling in the feet resolves, and the muscle soreness
improves both Joël and I are going from the mental state of “why did we put ourselves
through this” to “wow, that was one awesome time out there”.
Jess completed 15 laps, two more than the next female, covering 138ish miles with a finish time of just over 24 hours. All in all there was 22 hours of moving time. Why not the full 24 hours moving? The completion of each lap included some non-moving time; filling bottles, eating, equipment and clothing adjustment, bike maintenance. No sleeping but there were a few sit-down breaks of ten to 15 minutes just to rest and relax. These often coincided with taking in a big food and drink break to allow things to digest and absorb for a bit.
Joël completed nine laps with a final time on course of just over 24 hours. However, four of those laps were walking. Due to an exploded bike yet still determined to not finish last place Joël walked, coasted, and strider-style propelled his pedal-less and crankless bike for many, many, many miles and hours just
To help readers experience the true feel of the event,
the original plan was to give a lap by lap or even hour by hour report of the event.
However, when sleep deprived and exhausted it all blends into one big mush of
24 hours. That being said, in no particular
order here is a list of Nankman noteworthy memories during the 2026 edition of
24 Hours of Great Glenn.
-
The bacon
station. OK, noted that events are listed in no particular order but this is
definitely the number on highlight of this event. 7 to 10pm riders can deviate a bit from the
course, aka “Temptation Corner” for bacon and smores. Jess filled her belly three times with the
salty, wonderful goodness.
-
Solo riders get
to know each other well; we often end up sharing a lot of time together on course.
Always good to have fun suffering together.
-
The mice and
frogs skirting across the course at night. Rumor is also potentially a close
encounter with a moose.
-
So many wonderful
volunteers! Thank you for all you do.
-
Racer directors
dressed in Flintstone costumes.
-
The solo rider
who when asked how things were going well into the race shouted “SPECTACULAR”
when really we all know how a solo rider feels at that point. Or did you really
feel that great? If so, how?
-
Riding behind
Josh during the first lap and hearing his play by play about certain parts of
the course
-
Getting to talk
to and chat with so many other awesome women riders out there; solo participants
and team riders.
-
See local racer
Lizzy out there and having her mom cheer for us from various places on the course
-
Spectators playing
music and cheering next to the pond for a good portion of the event
-
The beauty of it
all; the forest is just so amazing
-
Riding with and conversing
with David for many laps; and always such colorful socks
-
Megan and Eric
being next door neighbors; Eric was always there to offer help and motivation
-
Beer on the last
lap. The beer stop was the perfect way
to finish up the event.
-
Sharing stories
with Rob and Nicholas of prior editions of Great Glenn
-
Getting to catch
up with Liz and Jacob
-
Sunrise and
sunset over the White Mountains, always a beautiful sight
-
Sitting in the
creek post events; perfect way to cool down and help the legs recover.
-
The Glenn House
for a well-earned dinner and drinks on Sunday evening
-
As word spread
about Joël walking having others refer to him as “insane”, “stubborn”, and “Fred
Flintstone Feet”
- The party atmosphere of the event from the beer and music on Friday to the awards ceremony under the big tent to riders camping out and hanging around with each other until Monday morning
Another 24 Hours of Great Glenn complete. Always a top
notch event filled with equal parts good times along with equal parts pain and suffering,
as any and all ultra endurance events should be. But this epitomizes what all of these races are be about- brining people together while they challenge themselves but also enjoyment
along the way…while consuming beer and bacon, one can’t go wrong with that.
Behind the scenes support by
Saucon Valley Bikes
Main Street Gym
Lupine Lights North America
Saucon Valley Massage
Be Well Chiropractic
Photo Credit
Joe Viger photo for the professional photos
Great Glenn race for the race scene photos
Nankmans taking a few along the way
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