This was the race that got me started on all the endurance races and rides that I’ve done. I discovered it July of last year, when a friend was encouraging me to get into racing, and it somehow ended up on a list of races in this part of the country, alongside the normal crits and stage races. At first I was incredulous - there were 500 mi races? People competed on courses like this? For, the site claimed, 48 hours? I sent a link to my friend, remarking on my disbelief about it. He responded that it looked amazing, and he wanted to do it. It didn’t occur to me until his response that competing in this was an actual possibility. I could do this.
This race billed itself as "The Toughest 48 Hours In Sport," and they vetted all racers before they were allowed to enter.
So, I emailed the race director, asking what kind of background they were looking for before the allowed racers to enter. He listed that common background for first time entrants included double centuries, triple centuries, a series of long brevets, 24 hour races, riding through the night, and experience in a wide range of weather conditions. While none of these are specifically required, you have to be able to show a strong enough background that it seems likely that you’ll be able to complete the race.
Later that month, I did my first double century, and my first ride through the night, at the Southern Inyo Moonlight Double (very strange ride that I highly recommend). It went… alright. I got through the course faster than many, but also learned that I wasn’t pacing myself effectively. I learned that when you ride through the night, sometimes you get sleepy while riding, and it’s very similar to driving a car while sleepy. But I also learned that double centuries were well within my capabilities.
I continued on to do several more double centuries, Everested on a ride in January, did a 24 hr race in March, and started conversations with several people experienced with the 508 to learn about it. I would also need a support crew, and started seeking out people who might be willing to support me. Later into 2019, I talked with my friend, and he was still very interested in doing the race, but wouldn’t be able to put together a support crew. I told him we could team up and do it as a relay race (one of the many formats for the race), and he could use my support crew. So we planned on this.
Later, I did the Race Across the West. I signed up for it kind of last minute once I realized I could put a support crew together for it, thinking I could probably finish it given that I only had to average around 10 mph, but also knowing that it was going to be a huge endeavour that I hadn’t really trained for. I finished it. I couldn’t really call a 930 mi race part of training for a 500 mi race, but that was how I got there.
I did The HooDoo500, without a support crew, because I didn’t have people available for it. I wasn’t sure how a self supported race would go. Slightly longer than The 508, and more elevation gain. I learned a lot. But supposedly the hardest part of The 508 was the weather - could you fight strong headwinds, freezing temperatures, dust storms…?
My friend dropped out, due to some immovable conflict. A couple weeks later, I learned that two of my “probably” crew members weren’t available. While I still had 1 willing to support me, I would have needed to find 2 more, and there was not enough time for that before the race. But I had confidence from HooDoo that I could do it unsupported and solo. The 500 mi that had seemed so implausible to me a year before were short compared to RAW, and I would pass by bag drops twice as frequently as in HooDoo. The weather would be the big toss up. I knew multiple people who had dropped out last year due to impossible headwinds. But I can fight headwinds. Slowly.
I registered and submitted an application to race last minute. I was a shoo-in because of my experience now, but still had to fill in a detailed race plan, including what cold and hot weather gear I’d have on hand, how I’d carry enough water, what tools I’d be carrying, and what and how much I would be eating. I also had to choose a totem - racers here were not given numbers, but are instead known by their totem. They were generally some animal, or an animal with a modifier. “Painted Turtle.” “Jackass Squirrel.” “Borderline Collie.” I added mine to the list - “Thunder Jerboa.”
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