Pre-Race Jitters: An Interview – Northwest Competitive Adventure

Northwest Competitive Adventure athletes Seth Dubois and Tom Hainisch discuss their upcoming race attempts at Smoke N’ Fire 400, an unsupported bikepacking race in Central Idaho beginning and ending in Boise. Seth and Tom recently battled it out for first and second place at the B.C. Epic 1000, and we are excited to see them back at it!

Be sure to read the whole interview for super secret special bonus content at the end!

Smoke N Fire 400 Route Map – Click Image for Event Website

The race begins on September 12th at 6 AM. The route is 400(ish) miles long with 41000 cumulative feet of elevation gain. It begins at Hyde Park in Boise and travels out of the city first on the Greenbelt and eventually on two-track, singletrack, and rough forest roads. The scenic loop course includes sections of the Idaho Centennial Trail and features small mountain towns, incredible views of the Sawtooths, and the beautiful river valleys of Idaho. This is a rugged and challenging course, well-suited to the abilities of these athletes.

Question 1: How do you select your gear for an event like this?

Seth: I try not to be a slave to weight. I definitely tend to “pack my fears”, but that pertains more to having adequate gear to try and manage mechanicals/mishaps that could prevent me from finishing (FiberFix spoke, CO2 canister to try and reseat tubeless, 2 x tubes, boot/sewing kit, spare springs for my shifters, etc.). Obviously you can’t really prepare for everything. My clothing is pretty consistent and not what I’d consider minimal. However, since this is a shorter race I’m considering omitting my rain pants. The one thing I’ll always have as an essential is a puffy jacket and a rain jacket – you never know what type of weather you’ll be faced with and keeping your core warm is a necessity out there.

I still don’t feel completely dialed with my setup, but it worked for BC Epic so I’m keeping things consistent right now. My main focus is to make sure the majority of things are accessible as I’m riding, so that I can limit the time spent stopping to unpack and repack. I’m thinking about moving towards a full frame pack since that’ll really open up availability to items as I ride.

Tom: After 3-4 years, I mostly have my kit dialed. I have a spreadsheet/website I use that has all my bikepacking/race items listed. The only changes I am making at this point are based on weather and race distance. But it took many trial runs and a few races to get it sorted. The tweaking truly never ends, but it does get easier.

For the most part, I will be using my set-up from the BC Epic, minus a few sleeping items because theoretically this should be a shorter race. I am a bit concerned about overnight lows around Stanley on night 1 as it is predicted to be about 30 degrees in town, so much colder in the surrounding mountains. Hmm, maybe I need to pack some warmer gear.

Question 2: How do you feel about your training and preparation?

Seth: I didn’t get as much training in as I had hoped, but I still feel ready and anxious to get riding. It took longer than planned to heal from BC Epic – some knee and forearm tendinitis kept me off the bike for a couple weeks. I have no concerns about those now fortunately, and I feel like I shouldn’t have lost much in the way of fitness.

I haven’t done any long rides, but I’ve done a couple of short hill sessions and aerobic threshold work to hopefully keep myself in some sort of condition (and because I noticed that was a limiting factor for myself when trying to maintain Tom’s pace!). I’ve never actually done “legitimate” workouts (hills/tempos/intervals/etc.) on the bike like I did when I was running competitively, so I hope to transition to more of a regimented program like that for next year.

I’m a big proponent of loaded test rides, but I felt my setup for BC Epic worked well enough that I wasn’t as concerned with it leading in to Smoke ‘n Fire. In fact, I recently moved so I’m not as close to trails as I used to be, so the majority of my recent riding has been on my road bike!

Tom: I am going into Smoke and Fire to enjoy a long ride on a beautiful course. The BC Epic was my “A” race as they say, and I have not ridden long since that event. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am in shape to go for a record or even a win. Besides, Nate Ginzton, who has won the past 3 years, is a beast who is fast and does not sleep. He would be very hard to beat even if I was at my best. Maybe Seth can get it done! Go Seth!

Question 3: What do you use to fuel your body during events like Smoke N Fire?

Tom: Nutrition is out the window for ultra races, and I am saddened that there are no fast food restaurants on course because it is the only time I eat fast food. And I enjoy it!

My low points on a race are generally when I have not eaten enough. I am trying to be aware of this, and be proactive. Since I did this race last year, I know the resupplies are difficult because of hitting towns/lodges at night. That makes “real” food difficult to find. Last year, there were no resupplies for the last 24 hours of difficult terrain. I am still concerned about this and need to buy some food as the race starts in what, 36 hours 🙂

Seth: I’m still learning this, and my body has reacted differently during each event. However, my go to has been gummy snacks as a guaranteed means of being able to take in some calories (swedish fish, gummy bears). I also love licorice, so one of my feed bags is loaded with all of that stuff. Any type of dense bar (Clif/granola/etc) is pretty difficult for me to get down later in the race. They’re so unappealing that it takes forever to chew and I have to use water to get them down. Due to this, I try to focus on bars that are more fruit based which seems to help.

I’m with Tom in regards to fast food, A&W was pretty great during BC Epic. If this isn’t an option I’ll always try to find bean & cheese burritos. The frozen ones from gas stations or convenience stores are great to throw in your jersey pocket since they’ll warm up from your body heat.

Question 4: Do you have any pre- or mid-race rituals to help you get through unsupported races?

Tom: Not too much in the way of pre-race rituals. The night before is either leave me alone in a hotel room by myself, or I’ll go out to dinner with friends and avoid thinking about the race. Since I am arriving in Boise the night before the race, it will be to lay out the gear, eat dinner, plan breakfast, do my final packing, and then go to sleep. The race starts at 6 AM so I hope for an early night.

For these long races, I tend not to worry too much because so much is out of your control. I try to double or triple check everything, but even with that, I was taken out of the BC Epic in 2018 for a mechanical that I could not fix.

I have learned that the fastest rider/racer generally does not win these events. It took me awhile to understand and comprehend that aspect. Riding is a huge part of it, but lack of sleep, time on the bike, and having quick resupplies wins these races. Sometimes, that sucks.

Seth: Pre-race, I’ll scout out some good breakfast for the morning of race day – breakfast burrito, pancakes, hash browns, basic diner food seems to work great for me. Other than that I don’t tend to have any ritual – I’ll definitely double check my gear before bed, but I see that as a necessity.

Mid-race, I’d say the most consistent thing is to try and remind myself to be present and in the moment. These events can be pretty trying, but I don’t like to view the discomfort as suffering, because it’s something I chose to put myself through. If I’m in a dark place (which is primarily due to lack of sleep or food) I try to focus on my surroundings rather than myself.

Two “tricks” I like to do are: #1) Inhale deeply and take in all the surrounding smells; this helps me be present. Since our sense of smell is closely linked with our ability to make memories, it kind of serves as a reminder to myself that I’m on this adventure for the experience, even if it may be difficult at times. #2) Howl or shout. This is primarily when I’m tired and howling is a fun way to try and wake myself up, bonus points if you come across somebody right after doing so because embarrassment can also wake you up.

The race begins at 6a local time on September 12th and can be tracked here: http://trackleaders.com/smokenfire19 for those interested in watching the little dots move across the map. We’ll be sharing updates from the race when possible. Good luck Tom, Seth, and the rest of the athletes competing in the Smoke ‘N Fire 400! Adventure Competitively!