24 Hours of Pain… coming up.

| February 6, 2009

It’s been four years since I partook in the inaugural 24 Hours of Sunlight race in 2005, which is just long enough to forget the painful memories and do it again.  Through bad luck, I had a schedule change  that fell through this weekend (I was going to give the dog a bath) which meant I had no excuse not to go, especially as Polly was going back for the forth year in a row.  To add to the guilt, Rick Angell from Park City was also going, then Lou and Lisa Dawson signed up to help support the show, and at the last second, Courtney Phillips decided to come along as well.  Suddenly, it’s a full-fledged party of pain.

My goal for this year - DO NOT SIT DOWN... EVER! photo: photo: lou dawson

One of the cool aspects of the 2006 race was being there when Greg Hill and Jimmy Faust broke 50,000′ vertical feet in a day.  I had no idea what I was capable of and as such didn’t strategize or pace myself very well until the end, at which point it was too late.  A fun (?) thing about this race is that it is 100% about the up – there is no trail breaking, safety equipment or anything else to worry about aside from putting in another lap. 

Greg Hill's watch showing 50,520'. Not bad for a day tour.

Lou will be posting updates throughout the weekend on WildSnow.com and the race can also be followed in real time at 24 Hours of Sunlight.

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Category: Racing

About the Author ()

Andrew McLean lives in Park City, Utah and is a gear designer, writer, photographer, ski mountaineer, climber, Mountain Unicycle rider and father of two very loud little girls.

Comments (6)

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  1. Doug says:
    February 6, 2009 at 06:28

    Good luck with that sufferfest.

  2. KatieC says:
    February 6, 2009 at 08:16

    Good luck Andrew, Polly, Rick and Courtney! Kick ass and show those Colorado skiers how tough we (well, not ME, but YOU) are here in the Wasatch!

  3. Bart says:
    February 8, 2009 at 11:00

    Andrew- You Rule! I have done many MTB 24hr races and know the feeling. But on foot, nice work. I watched the real time all night!
    later

  4. Tony Z says:
    February 8, 2009 at 18:40

    Good Luck in the race.

  5. Andrew says:
    February 9, 2009 at 10:55

    Thanks everyone! It was fun… I think.

    This is right up your alley Bart. If you want to do it next year, we’ll provide support.

  6. keither says:
    February 9, 2009 at 14:03

    Whew…I can only imagine. :-)

    Way to go, both of you!!!

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