Race 24 Kelheim – Fight against mind and fatigue
Mary Wilke gives an account of her epic cycle at the Kelheim 24 hour race
I’ve trained long und hard for this day, now it has come: The 24 hours in Kelheim were on my agenda and I was already really excited and motivated for this event since a few weeks and I was ready to give everything my mind and body were able to.
On Friday, Christian, my mum and I were on our 580 km long drive to Kelheim in beautiful Bavaria. We planned to enjoy the amazing village festival the evening before the race to pick-up my race number and to have a nice snack for dinner, but unfortunately the weather was really not on our side. After a sunny day so far, Kelheim welcomed us with a huge cloudburst and we had to cancel our cosy dinner. What a shame, but a good Italian pizza on our way to the hotel was great as well and so we were ready for a last relaxing night before the big race.
Race Day
Raceday! All of us were full of anticipation during our relaxing breakfast. Unfortunately I had quite an uneasy night and tried to repress my fatigue with a few cups of coffee. One last time we’ve gone through the plan and tactic for the coming hours („Don’t allow me to take too long breaks!“) and soon we were on our way to check out the camp of Racing Team – WINAX food artists, who kindly allowed us to join them and to use all the conveniences there – A huge thanks for that! After arriving we were really impressed about the possibilities there, because an entire buffet plus kitchen plant was already installed and everything, a cyclist and his tummy dreams about, was available! Thus my well-being concerning food was ensured 🙂
Soon everything was prepared and my clothes had been assorted by the different periods of the race. As a precautionary measure, Christian has taped my lower back and my knees, after the other long distance races I knew my physical weak points. The bike was prepared and cleaned, the first few bottles were filled, now there was no return! Even the space behind the starting line became increasingly full and so I joined some well-known faces there until the starting signal finally sounded!
The 24 hours has started and the legs were simply perfect! So I could manage the hill loosely-light and the atmosphere along the track was fantastic as usual. Everywhere were cheering spectators and along the ascent up to „Col de Stausacker“ we could see the annual party-hotspots and loud music rumbled out of the speakers. I got a good group on top of the ascent and so we were flying with high-speed direction finishing area. But of course it was only allowed for the relay riders to cross the finish line. I had to do the U-turn before the time measuring mat and in an explosive atmosphere, I rumbled over the cobbles through the gigantic party tent to start my next lap.
And so it went on. I drove the following laps together with Marie Westphal from Racing Team – WINAX food artists with even lap times of 30 to 33 minutes. At every lap I reliably got my food package. The first break was planned for the start into the night at 21 pm to eat a small warm snack, to enjoy a relaxing massage for my legs and to put on some warmer clothes for the coming night. At this break I also had my first quick pee-break and after 16 minutes, I was already back on my bike which has been prepared for the night.
Marie’s break was shorter than mine, but that suited me fine. I have noticed that I’ve put myself under pressure to keep the pace and her rear wheel, so I was happy now that I could choose my own feel-good pace. I’ve resolved to go through the night without a break and to wait for the sunrise. But this night was really cold even from the beginning, during the descents I was trembling despite my long sleeve jersey and wind jacket. Moreover, I had great problems to keep myself motivated. Only the big party along the ascent cheered me up again and again and with still good legs I climbed that hill to the beat of the music. The night was long…Really long. The coldness was terrible and crawled through all layers of clothing. I tried to eat regularly even though I was absolutely not hungry to maintain my physical power and to catch a good group every time I am crossing the top of that hill for the long and straight way back to start the next lap. The lap times slowed to 38 to 42 minutes, nevertheless I had great legs and only at 01:30 am I needed to shift to my 32 sprocket. However I wanted nothing more than the dawn to come.
The coldness was omnipresent and also the persistent party-people on the hill were slowly stumbling down. But sometime, this night was finally over too. At 05:30 am and after a breath-taking and wonderful sunrise I was ready for my second break and I was really looking forward for it. I got some warm semolina and an espresso and Christian tried to massage my legs, but every touch was a torture. Another quick pee-break, new warm clothes and 19 minutes later, this break was already over too.
Mind Games
My mind became the biggest problem, at least there were still 7 hours to go and my motivation left much to be desired. Moreover it was the first time during a 24 hour race, that I had really great problems with intense fatigue and touches of momentary nodding off. I tried to kept myself awake with espresso and energy drink in my bottles, took off my glasses to have some wind in my eyes and wished for nothing more than someone to talk to. And yes, my saviour during this bad time was already around: Carmen, who started that race as an individual rider too but had to quit before the night because of health problems, joined me while I was crossing the other team camps near the finishing area. From this moment on, she was a great help until the end of the race!
So we drove the coming laps and hours together. It was worth it to have someone to talk to, the fight against the fatigue got much more easier and I was so grateful for her slipstream on the long straight back direction Kelheim. At 10 am I had another short stop, because the sun was producing the much-desired heat. Definitely too hot for my long sleeve jersey, so another quick change of clothes, another espresso to refill my caffeine level and then we both started for the final few laps. My fighting spirit was finally back, because I’d already reached my goal to ride one more lap than in the previous year and there were still 4 hours to go! Whether this is a good or a bad thing, but my new goal was to beat the 600 km! 70 more km to go, I think, Carmen was not really happy about my decision 🙂
Wohoooo! Finally the time had come when we were on our last lap. We finally did it, what a feeling! One last time riding over these cobbles with hurting wrists and arms because of the hard vibrations, one last time climbing this hill crossing partying and cheering people and then, finally, we were riding this straight without any pressure. Arriving in the party tent we were welcomed by a raving crowd and loud party music and at least we could climb over that trunk where normally the relay riders are finishing their lap. YES – End of the game!
Exhilaration and relief!
What a moment! Once again I couldn’t stop my tears of thankfulness, exhaustion and relief. I saw my mum and Christian and I knew, what these two guys have done during the last hours to made this race possible. This gratitude cannot be put into words. I was received by many good friends, people were celebrating and the whole atmosphere was amazing.
My exhaustion and fatigue were forgotten and I was simply happy to be part of this moment. I reached my goal to finish on the podium, the effort, the fight against the fatigue for hours and the fight against my mind, the curses but also the fun on the track were rewarded with the 3rd place and an unforgettable moment on this legendary podium. I’ve done 605 km and 7.731 m of elevation during a total riding time of 22:20 hours.
Copyright https://tourismus.regensburg.de/en/ 
