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Capital Punishment 2013
The Ride Canberra site describes the main forest entrance as being the corner of Kowan Road and Sutton Roads. There is a parking area 5km into the forest along Kowan road with gates that may be locked. Call Canberra Connect (13 22 81) for the combinations or ride from Sutton Road for a warm up.
Capital Punishment is the mountain bike enduro that takes in Canberra's best single track. It includes a 50km and 100km options. This is the only time you can link it all together - Kowen Forest, Majura Pines, Black Mountain and Mt Stromlo.
It is not too hilly and if it is dry it is fast and fun! There is the festival at the finish which includes jumping castles and a kids race. And to top it all off there is the After Party and Presentations at the Crowne Plaza.
http://www.capitalpunishmentmtb.com.au/
Blog entries about this meeting (as this is a race standings and times are shown, click on the title for more and to comment)...
| Who | Title | Status | Time | Pos.Gen. | Category | Pos.Cat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jp | Best XCM result yet. | Finished | 02:16:11 | 37 | 8 | |
| Lach | Cap 50 | Finished | 02:55:03 | 304 | 50Km/Male/Masters | 22 |
| Dicko | Capital Punishment 2013 | Finished | 04:00:44 | 41 | 100Km/Male/Masters | 4 |
| Brian | 2013 Capital Punishment | Finished | 04:16:58 | 90 | 100Km/Male/Open | 35 |
| ps | Capital Punishment | Finished | 04:23:11 | 111 | Elite | 8 |
| bmar560 | Punished in the Nation's Capital | Finished | 04:51:37 | 226 | 100Km/Male/Open | 106 |
| Tristania | Crampital Punishment | Finished | 05:31:25 | 424 | 100Km/Male/Open | 198 |
| lozza6 | After 2 DNF's and a 2 year hiatus | Finished | 05:31:45 | 443 | 100Km/Male/Open | 202 |
| Buck | Return to racing | Finished | 05:38:13 | 458 | 100Km/Male/Open | 216 |
Were you there and have a story to tell?
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I've been thinking doing this one as my first enduro race.
Not sure if I should do the 50K or the full 100K any advice for first timers ?
I did it for the first time last year. Go the 100 as you do get a break in the middle which might help. I'll only do this race if its part of the XCM series as I don't like it being point to point.
There is a big difference between 50k and 100k. If its your first 'race' and your feeling the pinch after the first 50k, it's a long, long way to the finish. You want to be satisfied at the finish not dejected due to either failing to finish or struggling big time.
My response was assuming the fitness was there. If your fit enough I don't see why you wouldn't do the 100 if you're thinking of it.
Mario, what sort of distances are you doing now? How much training can you commit to?
it's a bit hard to offer advice without knowing what sort of, and how much, riding you've been doing, or would be able to do between now and March.
Generally I'd suggest do a 50 and see how you go before putting your hand up for 100. There is nothing worse than the last 20km of a 100 when you are totally shattered, although with the CP, you can always bail out and not ride up Stromlo towards the end. However, if you do enough riding at the moment that you find riding for 6+ hours is a doddle, then you are probably ready to give 100km a crack.
I've done 50K mtb rides before with no issues and still a bit left in the tank.
So far riding 3-4 times a week purely off-road with average of 80-100+km a week.
I don't think I can commit more days than that. Should I mix it up with road riding as well ?? Road riding alone is really boring to me and I don't have a proper roadie, only an old hardtail which I converted to a singlespeed rigid machine.
Cap Punishment is one of the easier marathons out there anyway.
1400m vertical climbing all day and infact if you take out the 10km bit in between it's only 90kms as that doesnt count towards your race time. There isnt so much as one big climb either, the KOM is pretty steep but fairly short and there are a couple of climbs around the back to get you to Stromlo and the switchback climb up Stromlo.
Mario, sorry, I took your comment that you hadn't done any races before. If you have done a couple of 50s in the past, as long as you can get enough time on the bike in the lead up, give the 100k a go.
you're right I haven't done 50K races before
those 50K rides were just training rides that I did on my own
Some good views in here
http://nobmob.com/node/32641
... for my first crack at 100km. I've done a couple of 50s now, so thought i'd see how i went with the longer distance!
For your first 100. Estimate how long it will take and make sure you do some training rides for the same amount of time. It will also give you a good chance to test your nutrition.
just signed up to the 100km
) yikes
Nice one. Don't forget to click to show you're in.
I did my longest ride on dirt last Saturday 74km, basically 3x24km laps around Royal National Park did it in 4 hours flat. The ride was more to gauge my comfort and fitness level.
First lap and 2nd lap was no issues, 3rd lap was hurting a bit.
Lower back was hurting after the ride, legs were jelly but recovered by Monday.
Nutrition and hydration was 2 litres of water mixed with Hydralyte, 1 energy bar and 1 energy gel during the ride. Basically I had something to eat after every lap. After the ride though, I had a big meal and was still feeling hungry.
I'm also thinking of commuting to work with my hardtail just to get my mileage up before the race.
Should I attempt a longer ride or wait til the race itself to try and do a 100KM ride ?
Hi - I wouldnt stress too much about doing a 100km ride in training. Its more about consistently doing longer rides at around race pace - so if this 3 alpper of yours gives you 75km, then stick to that but just get more comfortable.
Cap Pun isnt 100km anyway, and a great deal of it is very fast riding. Just spending more time on the bike (with commuting, or some more training rides) will see you right.
Cap Pun is probably the most accessible of the 100km races for someone who hasnt done one before.
If you had time, it would be great to spend a weekend in Canberra before the event - saturday in Kowan so you know the trails of the first 15km really well, and then sunday at Stromlo - so you know the last 15km really well too. Once you get to Stromlo you want to feel like you know you are home and there are no nasty surprises....
thanks for the tips Ant.
I was in Canberra before Christmas but I don't think I can squeeze another weekend there before the race.
I can't believe they apply a late entry fee so early.
http://regonline.activeglobal.com/builder/site/e...
it would be to encourage you to give them your cash early, so they can earn some interest or cover expenses for other events, rather than to penalise you for any additional administrative costs of a "late" entry. I can maybe understand a late fee for the week or so before the event, but not a couple of months.
We don't even know if this race will be part of the 2013 Real Insurance XCM series yet.
It's hard to imagine it wouldn't be. They have the XCM logo on the front page as well
Think it is very reasonable to assume the Cap Pun, Convict, Wombat, Fling are dead certs to be in the series.
The Kowalski is almost nailed into the calendar too.
I would enter these before the series get announced - which I know will be soon (some inside info - but not much) - and the rego systems crash!
If its any reassurance, I spent the morning entering the first three of the above races, as well as Otway, the Willo and the Rocky Trail 100...
Oh - I feel so poor now!!!!!
I've just entered
Any word on how much of Majura is still available for this event after the road works / clearing? Will there be more at Stromlo to make up for any loses of track here?
I'd say there would be more at Kowan and Sparrow at the beginning, rather than at Stromlo.
I know they are trying something different at Stromlo this year (50km riders do a different finishing loop to the 100km riders) which will reduce the amount of options they have at Stromlo.
I'm all for the changes at Stromlo - last year the entire race was decided in the last 5 - 10km, solely by 50km not being able to to avoid the 100km fast finishers. Thats what we all get out of bed at 5am to train for - to have a result decided by a first-timer trying to negotiate a 40kph downhill at 10kph.
Noones fault - thats the way it was. Everyone deserves a stress free, drama free, honest race. Its great they are taking the feedback on board and making changes that will benefit everyone....
Yeah, I figured they would probably add some more Kowen sniggle into the 100, but I was asking from the perspective of a humble 50 km rider. And you have maybe answered my question by mentioning the different finishing sections for the 50 and 100 at Stromlo this year. I suspect that the reduced trail at Majura may be compensated for a by a bit more at Stromlo for the 50's. Be a shame to miss out on that descent though...... I was ahead of the 100 km guys last year so was able to hit it with a few guys riding at my pace without worrying about holding anyone up. Best finish of any of the 50 km races.
Though maybe I'd trade some of it off for not having to climb all of Stromlo in the first place....
If you didn't get the email see below. A couple of key changes is the feed zone for the 100km will be in the untimed section and the 50km will not have an untimed section.
http://regonline.activeglobal.com/builder/site/e...
Yeah - KOM at 16km in too - that'll make for a nice relaxed start pace
The point that is made about Stromlo - it being re-surfaced - they are not wrong. This weekend at the race there we rode Skyline and the Luge - they are super smooth, almost buffed. Very different.
The gap jump in the Luge now has a little bridge (in case you mess it up - you dont fall into the pit), and really the only challenge on the Lige is now the braking bumps in some of the lower berms, as well as the loose pea-gravel / sand that is anywhere other than the line that most people take.
Feed zone in the untimed section makes so much sense. just looking forward to seeing how they deal with the 50km and 100km routes around Stromlo - for traffic management....
...maybe the reference to trees means a start in the National Arboretum, which would also fit with no untimed section and also suggests lots more at Stromlo. Hopefully on some of that newly groomed stuff......
Last Wednesday when I was there-it sure did need it as unworked bits were rutted to shithouse
"Update on 50k course: For the last 3 weeks we have been investigating moving the race start from Campbell Park Offices to The National Arboretum. Basically it was 3 weeks ago when the forestry thinning operations were completed in Majura. While it might not appear so right now, the fact that Majura forest has been thinned is terrific for mountain biking as the trees needed to be thinned to keep the trees healthy and significantly reduce the risk of falling trees. Also lots of the old tracks were fairly rugged so it is nice to have to start track building again from scratch. One month ago there were still some tracks in Majura Pines with the possibility to create some new linking tracks. Three weeks ago there were no tracks of value remaining in Majura. To rebuild in the thinned areas (almost the whole forest) would take a huge amount of time which we don't have. We don't want the 50k riders to do 5km of firetrail and then go straight into an untimed section of 9.5km, then ride more fire trail before the 12km single track loop of Mt Stromlo. We take pride in always providing amazing courses and that is not an amazing course. Instead, starting at The National Arboretum (approval pending) will allow for a stunning spot to begin, no untimed section and a good distance of fire trail prior to the first single track preventing any congestion and allowing for much more excellent single track in Stromlo Forest Park. The 50k will still be able to use the main Stromlo loop including Skyline and Luge without affecting the faster 100km riders unlike the situation in 2012 where the elite 100k riders had to pass over 100 of the slower 50k riders in the last 5km descent. Stromlo is fantastic. The Stromlo maintenance crew have done a huge amount of work to upgrade almost all of the main loop with plenty more upgrades to come on most other trails in the next months. The 50k will be an awesome course. We will make the announcement as soon as we can, hopefully early next week. The 100k is using the 800m long section of single track we put in last year on East side of Majura Rd and then going straight through Majura Pines on the main fire trail. The lost distance is being made up in West Kowen and Sparrow on a brilliant loop."
Bit of a bummer - I liked Majura!
How is everyone's training coming along? Just 3 weeks to go now...
Training is going ok. Its a bit of a shame that there is no xcm series though.
Yep - training is fine, I'm fit enough.
Unfortunately, I agree with Brian re XCM series. From an elite racers perspective, it changes everything. Cap Pun is almost impossible to win against a local and as a result of the lack of XCM series they have cut the TV coverage to nil.
I'll be there, but only because I have entered, and paid for accom. Had I known it wasnt part of the series / there would be no series in advance - I wouldnt be going.
Yeah, shame about the series, I'm afraid the depth of elite riders will drop off, and that was becoming a big attraction to these events in 2012. Still, Capital Punishment is a great event, and I'm looking forward to it.
... latest I can seem to find is that they are still waiting for approval from the Arboretum to start over there. Otherwise it will probably be just 50 kms around Stromlo, which is not really in keeping with the original concept.
+1 for the disappointment about the series. Only positive I can see is for the promoters of other XCM races (Back Yamma, Coolah etc) - less reason to focus on the "Big 5" in NSW and more incentive to do some of the others for a bit of variety.
They have just announced that it will definitely start at the Arboretum. So it's about 15km of dirt road/ firetrail to Stromlo, then 35km of Stromlo singletrack. Very different from last year, but should be fun, and an easy ride back to the car at the Arboretum.
You make a good point Lach - the lack of a series is a good excuse to go out and try new, lesser known marathons. They're all different, and I've enjoyed every one I've done in different ways.
Not that the Black Mtn climb was all that bad, but I won't miss the steep hill on the fire trail climb to get up to Majura. Be interesting to see how they link up to Stromlo. Hopefully a better link than the walk across the concrete causeway followed by the cycle track / traffic lights / road verge sections.
...ok for me. I'm riding the 7 hour Shimano GP up at Ourimbah this weekend as a test run for a ~7 hour 100km version of the Capital Punishment. Will use it to fine tune nutrition/pacing and get some solid kilometres in. Suspect that Ourimbah might be slightly slower/tighter/technical than the CP course, at least compared to the 50km version of CP I raced last year
Was just looking the rider list - great to see its still a very strong elite field, including Craig Gordon. Must be the first time he's raced elite in a while.
I'm sick of training on roads in the rain so heading down to Stromlo for some practice runs on Wednesday. Hard to compete with local knowledge, but a bit of familiarity might help.
12 days to go !
not happy that the weather prohibits me from doing long mtb rides, so I've done as much road riding as I can (boring as)
Where is everyone staying in Canberra ?
I'm going crazy on the indoor trainer - god it's boring! Hopefully a lack of long rides won't hinder me too much.
I'm staying down in Queenbeyan.. nice and close to the 100km start
What's one supposed to do a few days before the race ?
A couple of easy rides ??
I'll be heading down Friday arvo, should I do an easy short lap at Kowen on the way there or have a total rest day ?
I'll just be doing a couple of short easy rides on the mtb on the road. This is just to check its ok. Friday morning I'll do a ride locally before heading down.
Dont go too easy the week before. If you have been doing harder rides during the week, maintain some instensity, but drop the distance / time of the effort by about 50%
Day before the race, do an easy spin. If Kowan is dry (dont wanna go getting the bike filthy the night before) then thats ideal. I will be doing that. The first 15km or so.
Total rest the day before often means you are a bit stiff and clunky on the bike for the first 15km or so...
Two days before - that can be a rest day. Or a gentle spin with a few efforts.
Weds - probably fine to do some harder work (assuming you are used to harder work).
2x 1-hour rides tommorrow, same Wednesday, medium efforts but not too intense. Day off Thursday and a very short easy ride Friday. I'm pretty careful in the lead up week as it can take me 2 days to recover from a big ride.
Looking forward to Saturday, should be a great day.
Weather's looking pretty good, everyone ready?
Almost ready
Almost ready
Did a 1 hour ride at lunchtime yesterday and 45 mins today just to get the heart and legs pumping.
Tomorrow is rest day, will try and ride Kowen for a short time on the way to Canberra on Friday
MTB gears were adjusted, lubed and re-lubed again, tyres checked, all bolts are checked.
I'm a little nervous as it's my first endurance event, main goal will just to finish the 100km and able to walk the next day
I don't think I've trained as much as I'd like to.
Really pumped for it though. My start time is 7.18am the 30-40% group anyone else is starting the same time ?
I'm doing the 50km, starting in the 0-10% group. Maybe a little ambitious, but in the marathons I did last year I was anywhere from top 8% to top 15%. And I like to think I'm a bit faster this year...
I'm sure you'll have a ball Mario. As Anthony would say, don't do anything in the race that you haven't done in training and you'll be alright!