Wow. It’s been a really crazy last week of racing, and I think that’s really saying something from me. I’ve always known that I race a lot, but it’s come to my attention this week that apparently, I’m actually known for that. As I bashfully explained what I was going to attempt to do in this racing block, I often got the reply, “We wouldn’t expect anything different from you, Hannah.” 

I’ll admit. This one was big though. I just finished up 3 races in 8 days and it wasn’t just any 3 races. It was a Marathon National Championship, a Marathon World Cup, and a XCO World Cup. As stand-alone races these events are massive. Most people will have an event like one of these be their focus for a season, but I wanted to try to cram them all into one week and I didn’t just want to do them, I wanted to do them well. 

A podium performance at Marathon National Championship set the week-long adventure off to a good start, and the win at the Marathon World Cup was a dream come true. Two races into the block and I had already achieved my goals, but I still had one massive event left to line up for. 

An XCO World Cup is an all-encompassing effort in and of itself. In order to race at this high of intensity, you had to be fully rested. Most people will spend at least a week leading into the event resting and sharpening their efforts. I already had two Marathon races in my legs in the week leading up. 

The day after the Marathon World Cup I woke up, but couldn’t open my eyes. my eyes had spent all night watering in an attempt to expel the mud from my head and it had glued my eyes shut. My voice was hoarse all day and my nose completely congested from the shear amount of mud that seemed to be sloshing around inside of my body trying to find its way out. 

As other people put the finishing hours on their training for the race, I counted the hours my body had left to recover before it was go time again. When Sunday rolled around, I felt remarkably better than I felt on Thursday (the day after the Marathon World Cup), but I knew it still wasn’t where my body needed to be to perform at its absolute best. I also knew that there was absolutely no way I was going to miss the opportunity to race a World Cup in front of the USA crowds. 

I think it was actually a lesson of maturity to line up for the race knowing that I wasn’t 100% but willing to put my ego aside in order to do just do my best and have fun doing the thing I love the most: racing my bike!

The race took off fast and I battled with everything I had. I gave it my all from start to finish and I had fun every pedal stroke of the way. 

I soaked in the cheers from the crowd and couldn’t help but smile every time someone cheered for me as the Marathon World Cup winner! 

I claimed place 44, but that’s less important the experience I got to have out on track and I think it’s an important lesson to learn that it’s ok to race when you’re at less than your best so long as you love the experience. 

That said, I’ve opted out of the Mont St. Anne World Cup in order to do the responsible thing and give my body the rest and training it needs to perform at Little and Big Sugar in just two weeks!