Hoodoo 500 Race Report

[Deb Bowling]

Racers from twelve states and three countries took to the roads of
Southern Utah September 12th to 14th, at the Third Annual Hoodoo 500
UltraMarathon Bicycle Race. The Hoodoo 500 follows a course starting
in St. George, and traveling through Hurricane, Colorado City, Kanab,
Carmel Junction, Bryce, Tropic, Escalante, Boulder, Torrey, Loa,
Panguitch, Cedar City and back to St. George. While testing their
mettle over 515 miles with 30,000+ feet of climbing over mountain
passes above 10,000', racers enjoyed awe-inspiring scenery which
varies from majestic cliffs, striking red rock hoodoos, aspen and
pine forests and high mountain meadows.

It started out as a perfect weekend for racing in Southern Utah.
Saturday daytime temperatures ranged from the mid 80s to low 90s,
winds were fairly calm, and not a drop of rain or hail or snow fell in
the high mountains. Overnight temperatures were in the 40s and 50s.
Mother Nature had something else in store for Sunday... Headwinds
blasted with gusts up to 30 mph, rain and hail fell on Cedar Mountain.
The weather slowed racers to a crawl and added a whole other dimension
to this already super challenging course. The winds literally shredded
the solo field to pieces. Only the toughest of the tough - seven of
fourteen solos and two of eleven solo voyagers crossed the finish line
in St. George. Champions all.

David Holt from Laguna Niguel, California, won the overall solo, and
was also the first place 50+ racer, with his very impressive time of
34:27. David missed the 50+ course record by a mere 7 minutes! He can
definitely blame that on the wind! Ross Muecke from Kennewick,
Washington and Dave Elsberry from Laguna Niguel, California rounded
out top three. Jeffrey Bonk, Joan Grant, Matt Longson and Jeramy Frick
were the final four - and deserve huge kudos for toughing it out!

Ex-pro racer Sean Nealy won the solo Voyager division with a great
time of 42:43. Sean was hours ahead of the Voyager record when he
decided to back off and get some sleep. He waited a couple of hours in
Cedar City for his friend and fellow racer Dave Elsberry. After being
by himself for so long, Sean was happy to ride with Dave for the short
15 minutes allowed - and was then content just to have Dave within
sight while riding the last lonely 80 miles. Sean and Dave crossed the
finish line together.

The only other Voyager to go the distance was 50+ racer John Fuoco
from Lewiston, Pennsylvania, with a time of 45:45. This was John's
second attempt at the Voyager division. Last year he got too cold and
abandoned at time station four in Loa. This year John came fully
prepared for everything, including Arctic conditions. Fortunately, he
never had to wear most of that cold weather gear! It was wonderful to
watch John's inspiring race this year. Check out John's great race
report at http://www.planetultra.com/Hoodoo500/Race%20Reports/Fuoco%20Report.htm.

Voyagers must race the entire 515 miles without any outside support
other than sending drop bags to four time stations and scavenging
along the course. Just finishing the Voyager division within the 50
hour time limit is a tremendous accomplishment - achieved by only five
racers in three years. Voyager finishers are a very select and special
few incredibly strong, highly motivated and determined ultra cyclists.
Sean, John, and all the past Voyager finishers, exemplify what the
Voyager division is meant to be: An incredible physical and mental
challenge- which, when conquered, is no doubt a cherished lifetime
accomplishment and memory. Congratulations Sean and John!

Relay-Team records were smashed in 2009!

4-Man Team Road Rage - Brian Duff, Patrick Watson and Anthony
Restuccia from Los Angeles, and Andre Gonzalez from Lehi, Utah, smoked
the course and bested their own record in 23:27; once again racing
with flawless high-speed rolling exchanges and short, super-high-speed
pulls. Road Rage is a lot of fun to watch!

4-Man 60+ Team Hoosiers - Drew Clark from Erie, Colorado, Steve Gerbig
from Evansville, Indiana, Richard Rupp from Angola, Indiana and Dave
Tanner from Bloomington, Indiana, set the mark in the 60+ category
with an impressive time of 30:03. Even with the crazy wind conditions,
their 60+ time bests the course record in the 50+ division. Not too
over the hill, Hoosiers!!!

2-Man Team Red Rock - Colt Albrecht from St. George, Utah and Scott
Smith from Evergreen, Colorado took over three hours off the prior
course record with their spectacular time of 28:49. Colt and Scott
raced together twice before, each time with a 4-man team. They set the
record in 2007 and took second in 2008. We knew something great was
going to happen in 2009! Thanks to Colt and Scott for proving us
right!

2-Man 50+ Desert Rats - Race veterans Shaun Griffin and Ric Schrank,
both from Virginia City, Nevada, broke the 50+ record by nearly 2
hours with their 35:11 finish. It was a crazy, one-of-a-kind finish
for the 2-person relay division, as the Desert Rats, 13 minutes behind
Team Chip & Old Block at the last time station, hammered the last 14
miles; and then caught and passed Chip & Old Block to cross the line
about 10 seconds (or less) ahead. Both teams received the same finish
time as less than a minute separated them. WOW! It was very exciting!

Solo winners David Holt and Sean Nealy each received a personalized
plaque with their name and finishing time and a VDO Z-series altimeter/
computer. Prizes from Hammer Nutrition and Sparrow-Hawk Photography
were awarded to second and third place solos, our record setting (and
first ever) solo female, Joan Grant, and to record-setting relay
teams. Nearly everyone won a raffle prize from VDO, Hammer Nutrition,
DeTours Bags, and Red Rock Bicycle Company.
A huge thanks to all of our sponsors for their continuing support.

Racers, crew and Hoodoo staff all enjoyed the post-race banquet
breakfast which included a full buffet of eggs, potatoes, bacon,
sausage, waffles, fresh fruit, yogurt, coffee and orange juice. It was
a great celebration of the Hoodoo 500 - the most epic and challenging
500-mile race on the Planet.

To see for yourself how exciting and competitive the race was, you can
view photos of the race and review all of the time station splits at
http://www.planetultra.com/Hoodoo500/2009Webcast/index.htm

For 2010 and beyond, the Hoodoo 500 will be held the last weekend in
August that is not Labor Day weekend. We know you're thinking, "Will
it be hotter?" The answer is NO. The high temperatures between the end
of August and mid-September are fairly consistent. However, the date
change could very well mean higher low temperatures over the mountain
passes, which no doubt, will benefit the racers.

That said, we're already looking forward to the next Hoodoo 500. Mark
your calendars for August 28-30, 2010!