Peta Mullens – 2012 Australian MTB Marathon Championships

By Peta Mullens – (Twitter @PetaMullens) For the 2012 Australian MTB Marathon Championships I had chosen my TREK 29?er Superfly Elite. Despite the fact I was yet to race the bike, and had only lifted the leg over it a mere three times, I was confident that when paired with my Stan?s NoTubes race wheels, and warmly wrapped in a Rubena Scylla tyre set that my equipment could not be to blame for a poor performance. I was nervous, extremely nervous?I desperately wanted to add a fifth Australian jersey to the ?Anytime Fitness? team collection for the year, and shortly into the race it was evident who the challengers were going to be. It was a three-woman race between Jenny Fay and I, and although only Jodie could challenge for the win, a friendly rivalry between Irish rider Jenny and I had added a new dynamic to the race. I wanted to take honors as the first female across the line. My tactic was to push ahead through single track, and climb comfortably to avoid going into cardiac arrest. This worked a charm in the first lap, yet still less than a minute separated the three of us. I was mentally in a great place, and despite my body leaning towards hunger flatting with an average HR of 178, attacking the amazing single track on every turn had developed a healthy lead. The final ten kilometers bought a few cramps, a lot of emotion, and even a little bit of walking on the final climb! The final descent however was heaven sent as I came to the realization that I was riding to my fourth Australian title, across four different sports, and ironically to my first jersey. I have finally earned the green and gold stripes and you can trust that I will wear them proudly!