almanzo 100

spring valley, mn
Almanzo 100 Saturday May 15, 2010
by: Kent Carlson

long time coming on this baby, but figured this race is worth remembering.  the 2010 almanzo 100 was my first 100 mile race.  like all races i did it on a single speed…surly crosscheck this time.  for the race i just drove up to spring valley friday night, crashed in my van, and rolled out to the start in the morning.  allergies were beating me down pretty bad so i was hopped up on claritin to clear the sinuses.  felt really good pre-race.  saw a lot of friendly faces and we were all treated to an amazingly perfect morning and rest of the day. 
the start of the race was fast…stupid fast.  the leaders were flying just a mile after the start.  soon i found myself slowing to a more comfortable speed i hoped to maintain.  only a few miles in there was a steep descent followed by a nasty crash leaving a few riders injured.  i think that was a little bit of a reality check for most as to how quickly your race can be over if you are careless.
from the start i felt very strong and was having a great time riding gravel.  at mile 35 though i knew i had major problems because i started cramping.  my legs twinged, then my inner thigh on my right leg tightened up.  i stretched and put down gu, elecrolite drink, and water.  i could tell the cramps were still there on every climb.  i eventually made it to the checkpoint and filled both bottles, but left my camelbak figuring it was half full and less than half the race remained.  shortly after the checkpoint i was in pretty bad shape.  constantly fighting cramps, and walking them off.  at about mile 90 was the lowest time of the race.  so broken by the cramping and with all food and water gone i was forced to walk on flat ground to prevent cramping.  i would walk for a few minutes, then pedal as much as i could before my muscles would once again completely lock-up. 
somehow i managed to make it to mile 99 but then just about every muscle in my body cramped.  was in such bad shape i couldn’t walk without cramping.  soon martin rudnick came by and saw the pathetic shape i was in and asked what he could do to help.  i said water, gu anything.  it seemed that gu’s would actually subdue the cramps almost immediately for a few minutes, so i opted for one of hit hammer gels.  just as before i was practically sprinting on the bike a minute.  without that gel there was no way i was going to make it to the finish line.  so martin definitely saved my race.
after crossing the line i quickly downed a couple waters then a 32oz. chocolate milk.  post-race not a single cramp!  not sure how that was even possible?  well i ended up 34th overall (6:17:48) on the day probably 1 or 2 other single speeders ahead of me, but not sure.  this was a priceless lesson though as during all the time i had walking and cramping i was trying to figure out what had caused my cramps.  finally it hit me…claritin had to be the root of all my pain.  sure enough i google claritin and cramps, bam a lot of hits and one even specific to leg cramps while bike racing.  so that was the last day i’ll ever take claritin again.  looking back on the experience i think it’s funny that never once did i think about dnf’ing.  my thoughts were always focused on making it up the next hill, or making it to the next milestone mile on my gps.
to those of you that were there this goes without saying, but chris skogan pulled no punches in his planning of the event.  his attention to detail with the almanzo is amazing.  he’s made it down to my gravel race CIRREM the last 2 years, so i figured the least i could do is return the favor, and man was i glad i did.  i will be back next year…hopefully minus the cramping issues.