Cougar Slayer: XC Race with Fun Twist: Enduro Segments

What could be better than a free race, with stocked aid stations, is high on the suffer scale, races over awesome mountain terrain, and ends with a party with beer and a piñata?! Right, probably not much, is what we think too. So check out this cool news from the race happy crowd in Boulder, Colorado, where the Cougar Slayer race will end. 70 miles, belt buckles, this looks awesome. (And painful.)

The Cougar Slayer race is a FREE epic mountain bike adventure and part of the Colorado Endurance Series. The races will start bright and early at the high school of Nederland, Colorado Sept 6th, 2015 (Sunday before Labor Day). The course heads into the hills for a long day of climbing and killer descents. There is 9,000 feet of climbing and over 11,000 feet descending. The 70+ mile day will contain 6 well stocked aid stations, finishing in downtown Boulder Colorado with an outstanding post party. Finishers under 8hrs receive a huge belt buckle with the race name. No one is left out; prizes supplied by our amazing sponsors are raffled out to both racers and volunteers.

Our format is different from most races; we rely heavily on new technology. GPS is critical for most racers to navigate the twist and turn of the course. Most racers will pre-ride the course or certain segments multiple times to prepare themselves for a long day in the saddle. We verify that the racers completed the entire course after each racer sends their GPS/Strava data.

This year we are going Enduro along with the XC format. All racers will start at the same time with Enduro racers being timed on pre-determined killer descents. A software developer has created a cool program to help us sort thru the GPS data. The program takes the racers info and spits out a table with their stage time. Each racer receives a points based on their position with the lowest number being the fastest. If a racer fails to complete a stage they will receive the max points. The winner is determined by the fewest points from all the stages, this allows the racer to have a bad stage and still be in contention to win.

Last Year
 we closed registration on Friday night with 70 racers and were in for a pleasant surprise when 57 racers turned up at the start, which is a great percentage for a free event such as the Slayer.

Our morning started with loading racers’ bikes into the Pro Bike Express, a crucial event sponsor who hauled bikes from Boulder High School to Nederland.  After completing registration and emergency contacts, we gathered the riders for some awesome group photos featuring our sponsors before sending the racers off just before 8 a.m.  Despite the sunny forecast, our riders were in for some difficult weather including rain, hail, high winds and lightening.  Some riders got off course and/or were shocked at the difficulty of the terrain. Many found the race challenging, but persevered to complete the race. With a total of 22 finishers, 15 racers earned a Cougar Slayer buckle for completing the course in less than eight hours. Our race winner was a local pro who finished with the killer time of 5:55.

Especially given the less than stellar weather, aid stations were critical to the riders’ success. Every aid station manned by family volunteers was stocked with food and supplements from our sponsors. Feedback from grateful racers at the aid stations and finish reiterated the importance of your sponsorship contributions.  As a pleasant surprise for a free race, racers commented on the quality of the products at aid stations and some double-checked brand names to purchase snacks for future rides. At the finish a party ensued, complete with Mexican food, beer, sponsor prizes and a piñata for racers’ kids and kids at heart.  The success in putting on the Cougar Slayer race was only possible with the partnership of our sponsors!

We are expecting a high turnout in 2015 so follow the Cougar Slayer website and blog for an update to when registration will open.

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