not surprising. The promoters ran it into the ground. Every year it was getting worse. Rain every year didn't help either.
Allamuchy cancelled
Real bummer! What happened to all the endurance racers? What choices are there now for a guy who lives (d) for da Mooch?
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run into the ground?
Not sure I understand how they "ran it into the ground". I always had a great time and felt the on-trail services and camping/dining hall was great. Prizes-to-entry fee was appropriate and our fellow racers were simply the best! Especially "Ed and the Boys" who always shared the best grub, coffee and late night conversation. I will surely miss it! If you had a different experience I would like to hear about it, maybe I was lucky the past 7 years. I dunno.
Not sure I understand how they "ran it into the ground". I always had a great time and felt the on-trail services and camping/dining hall was great. Prizes-to-entry fee was appropriate and our fellow racers were simply the best! Especially "Ed and the Boys" who always shared the best grub, coffee and late night conversation. I will surely miss it! If you had a different experience I would like to hear about it, maybe I was lucky the past 7 years. I dunno.
In the beginning, 24HOA was more of a "gathering" of mtbikers having a great time. Not that it wasn't still bikers having a great time later too but once the original organizer left (I forget her name) it was turned over to a group that ran it in a more "corporate fashion". It took on a feeling of it was more about the money than the race. That is how I felt about it. When that happens, I'm out. Yes it had all the bells and whistles, but after 2003 and every year after it was (to me) less and less interesting. I also thought a few years the course was way, way too technical having to navigate many dense rock gardens. I heard many complaints about that after the races as well. Shortening the race last year was the nail in the coffin, I'm sure of it.
I think they lost sight of the fact that besides hard core bikers participating (which I am as well), there are many weekend warriors and with year after year of the rain/lightning slick conditions and extremely technical courses, people had enough of wasting their 120.00 (or whatever it was)
my opinion, that's all.
I think they lost sight of the fact that besides hard core bikers participating (which I am as well), there are many weekend warriors and with year after year of the rain/lightning slick conditions and extremely technical courses, people had enough of wasting their 120.00 (or whatever it was)
my opinion, that's all.
Passing fads?
Maybe 24 hour races have just seen their day. Its all you read about now so that usually means the format has past it prime. I know I was never interested in the concept. A standard XC race was always more than enough. Maybe others have begun to think the same.
Just thinking out loud. I really don't know why it was cancelled.
Maybe 24 hour races have just seen their day. Its all you read about now so that usually means the format has past it prime. I know I was never interested in the concept. A standard XC race was always more than enough. Maybe others have begun to think the same.
Just thinking out loud. I really don't know why it was cancelled.
I dunno, with so many ultraendurance races on the calendar like Trans Rockies and the BC PLUS the 100-mile races I would think the opposite. Also, I know 7-Springs well, I grew up skiing there, but I am just not sure about driving 6-7 hours to get home after riding a bike for 24 hrs. Also, I think they only had 8 solos last year. I could probably muster that many here in Joisey going underground.
You kind of reinforced my thinking
"... so many ultraendurance races on the calendar like Trans Rockies and the BC PLUS the 100-mile races..." This goes right to my idea that when something is overhawked or whatever you want to call it, it becomes passe.
If 24 hour racing was so popular, why were there only 8 solos at Seven Springs? Going underground may be what the sport needs as opposed to a slick commercial event. Either way, I would have no interest in it. Too long on a bike for me.
Where are you from in PA? I want to St. Francis in Loretto and used to ski Seven Springs. My older son, an ex-ski racer, used to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Championships there also. I know the place well but only in winter.
"... so many ultraendurance races on the calendar like Trans Rockies and the BC PLUS the 100-mile races..." This goes right to my idea that when something is overhawked or whatever you want to call it, it becomes passe.
If 24 hour racing was so popular, why were there only 8 solos at Seven Springs? Going underground may be what the sport needs as opposed to a slick commercial event. Either way, I would have no interest in it. Too long on a bike for me.
Where are you from in PA? I want to St. Francis in Loretto and used to ski Seven Springs. My older son, an ex-ski racer, used to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Championships there also. I know the place well but only in winter.
I liked doing them myself. once a year was enough though. it's pretty rough. Actually I found it more difficult mentally than physically. Those night laps are tough when you are super tired.
I just did not like it when the race got so (for lack of a better word) "corporate".
I just did not like it when the race got so (for lack of a better word) "corporate".
Yes, town of McKeesport & Elizabeth Forward High School about 45 minutes west of the Springs. I knew the Dupres, the original owners/developers, and a bunch of other teens and early 20's during the mid-late 1970's. We were into moguls, jumps and skiing woods, definitely frowned upon by management!
agree with mtbnj wholeheartedly. The vibe changed over the years and the horrendous history of rain does not help. the trail was not, IMHO, too technical and MTBNJ should get his panties unwound on that one. the weekenders did get crushed on that though and i can see a one and done mentality by them. so that left the rest of us junkies and it was not enough with general attrition caused by rising fees and a generally crappy site.... i mean the load outs....cmon. that was wnough to kill ya after the race from the top campsites.
RIP 24 hrs of allamuchy.
RIP 24 hrs of allamuchy.
As an over the hill (with bad eyes and ears), half fit rider, enjoyed racing (actually more like riding around) 24oAllamuchy. Trail was difficult but not overly so. But it was essentially the same trail year after year. And it was the same muddy showers. And the same long wait to get out after the race.
The flip point was hitin '07, when severely bonked, overly fatigued and half deaf (did I mention that I'm over the hill) was yelled at, dressed down and ridiculed by an official. For something that was not outside the listed camping *rules* and had nothing to do with the race. Screw that. I can stay home, hear that noise from my wife and pocket the travel, entry and food fees instead.
The flip point was hitin '07, when severely bonked, overly fatigued and half deaf (did I mention that I'm over the hill) was yelled at, dressed down and ridiculed by an official. For something that was not outside the listed camping *rules* and had nothing to do with the race. Screw that. I can stay home, hear that noise from my wife and pocket the travel, entry and food fees instead.
You answered your own question there, Eric. The races you mentioned are stage races and epic single lap races, not multi-lap time-based races like 24 hour races. This style of racing IS growing, at the expense of 24 hour racing.hammarhead said:I dunno, with so many ultraendurance races on the calendar like Trans Rockies and the BC PLUS the 100-mile races I would think the opposite.
Count the number of Granny Gear and 24 Hours of Adrenalin races this year in the US- they each only do ONE race now, when they used to do 4-5 each. Over the past 3 years, the bottom dropped out of the 24 hour racing scene.
It's sad to see the 24 of Allamuchy go, but I hope that another epic race is birthed to replace it...
I understand and agree with jomissa. And Jamie, I must say I didn't realize that the other organizers are way down too. Guess I am a dinosaur, once again! I too am a MTB junkie but in a 50 year old body and life so I have difficluty traveling a day each way to an alternative race. Wondering, what do any of you do to quench your endurance MTB thirst?
I only raced at Allamuchy once, last year, and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant racing experience I've ever had. I loved the course. I thought that course was closer to what mountain biking really is IMO, with rock gardens, and technicality and the occasional spot where you need to get off and hike a bike (although that had more to do with the rain). The way the event was run was a little sketchy though.
I've raced other 24hr races at Killington and another race up in Massachusetts which for the life of me I can't think of the name right now. They were fun but have all been cancelled due to either a poor turnout or poor organizing. It's a big commitment in both time and money for the racers and the organizers but when things don't run smooth people get pissed rather quickly and they probably won't come back.
The way the race was cancelled last year, although necessary, could have been handled much better. A friend of mine asked the question at the pre-race meeting about what is the procedure for cancelling the race in the event of severe weather. They basically laughed at him for asking the question, then told him that in all of the years we've run this race, no matter what the weather has been we've never cancelled and have no intentions of doing it this year. Therefore there is no procedure and don't expect it to happen this year. Well guess what? They did cancel it with no procedure in place and it was an absolute disgrace. There was no announcement, they didn't bother to stop my teammate from leaving only 2 minutes before they decided to cancel and we found out it was over from other racers. They could have been using the soundsystem they had to make the announcement or at the very least yelling out from the timekeepers table that the race is over.
I really enjoyed the course and had really hoped to enjoy the whole weekend experience at Allamuchy but too many things turned me off. This bums me out too, because I really enjoy 24hr racing and unfortunately there are only a handful of decently run events left in the entire country. I would love to see another event show up at Allamuchy because it's such a fun place to ride. What I don't want to see is another boring XC race with mild mannered trails that anyone who can ride a bike can race on. 24hr races are fun because at the end of the race, no matter where you placed your stoked that you completed the entire 24hrs.
I've raced other 24hr races at Killington and another race up in Massachusetts which for the life of me I can't think of the name right now. They were fun but have all been cancelled due to either a poor turnout or poor organizing. It's a big commitment in both time and money for the racers and the organizers but when things don't run smooth people get pissed rather quickly and they probably won't come back.
The way the race was cancelled last year, although necessary, could have been handled much better. A friend of mine asked the question at the pre-race meeting about what is the procedure for cancelling the race in the event of severe weather. They basically laughed at him for asking the question, then told him that in all of the years we've run this race, no matter what the weather has been we've never cancelled and have no intentions of doing it this year. Therefore there is no procedure and don't expect it to happen this year. Well guess what? They did cancel it with no procedure in place and it was an absolute disgrace. There was no announcement, they didn't bother to stop my teammate from leaving only 2 minutes before they decided to cancel and we found out it was over from other racers. They could have been using the soundsystem they had to make the announcement or at the very least yelling out from the timekeepers table that the race is over.
I really enjoyed the course and had really hoped to enjoy the whole weekend experience at Allamuchy but too many things turned me off. This bums me out too, because I really enjoy 24hr racing and unfortunately there are only a handful of decently run events left in the entire country. I would love to see another event show up at Allamuchy because it's such a fun place to ride. What I don't want to see is another boring XC race with mild mannered trails that anyone who can ride a bike can race on. 24hr races are fun because at the end of the race, no matter where you placed your stoked that you completed the entire 24hrs.
so Sparky, are you going to do any 24 hour races and if so, which ones and where are they?
Sarah Frost was the promoter's name...mtbnj said:In the beginning, 24HOA was more of a "gathering" of mtbikers having a great time. Not that it wasn't still bikers having a great time later too but once the original organizer left (I forget her name)
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