Bitter Pill Race Report

By Saleena DeVore

OK, race recap time. Quick basics: 12 Hour Bitter Pill in East Burke VT. We traveled 35 miles (31 miles of that on bike), 4400 ft elevation gain. Not sure how many total checkpoints we found, but we ended up with zero after finishing an hour late. I am glad I did this race, but I would not do it again. I have very strong opinions about the actual race (both good and negative), but I am going to focus on the more personal aspect of this race.

Back story: You had to have a team for this race (or I would have done it solo). My friend signed up to do it with me, but I broke her. Actually the fall on her bike broke her ribs and she was not able to do the race. I reached out on FB and Liz immediately contacted me saying she was interested. Our other teammate, Jackie signed up on our team the week of the race. I had never met these women and knew nothing about them. I knew that this was going to be a hard race, and have been training for months now. I felt pretty confident going into it.

Things were going well; we vibed as a team. The weather was about 85 degrees, the scenery was insanely beautiful, the climbing was hard. About halfway through the race, I realized I was struggling. I told the ladies that I was having a hard time, and they instantly took care of me offering to carry my pack or push my bike. I resisted at first, then I took Liz up on the offer and had her carry my life jacket. It is so hard to be the one needing help. After some forward progress, I had to stop and admit that I was not doing well at all. I was struggling with the heat (which is crazy because it wasn't super hot), I was nauseous and trying not to vomit.

I had been doing an excellent job with hydration, electrolytes, and nutrition, but despite that, I had mild heat exhaustion. They didn't even let me have the chance to say no, they took my bike and walked with me. We made it to the TA where I spoke with the race director. I wanted to continue, but with the most efficient way back. We came up with a plan, rested and began the final leg. I knew from the beginning that this leg would be very hard.

It was harder than I imagined.

It was all that I could do to move forward. Even the smallest hills I had to get off my bike and walk it. My coordination was off enough that even on things I would normally ride, I would dismount so that I would not fall.

Then my hero's really took over. Liz and Jackie took turns pushing my bike up the mountain while pushing their own bikes. When it got too hard, they would push their bike up then come down and get my bike. I am getting teary just thinking about how truly amazing they were. I knew that we would not make it back on time but at one point it really hit me how much further we had to go.

For the first time during an adventure race, I cried. I told them it was OK for them to go ahead so they could try to finish one time. Of course they said no. Not one time did they ever make me feel bad. They were so insanely supportive and motivating.

I had only know these women for 24 hours and they worked so hard on this race to help me. This is the true spirit of adventure racing. I would not have finished without them. I hit the lottery with these two woman and am so grateful that they were there with me.