Dreams, Deadlines, and the Hoodoo 300
From RAAM Inspiration to MRI Scares: The Road to my First Ultracycling Race
I’ve struggled to sit still and write this. I’m buzzing from this weekend.
On Saturday, I raced, won, and set the course record at the Hoodoo 300—a 300-mile ultracycling race that starts in St. George, UT, travels through Hurricane, Colorado City, Kanab, Carmel Junction, Panguitch, Cedar City, and finishes back in St. George.
But let’s rewind.
Three months ago, 3x Hyrox world champ, Hunter McIntyre, posted a video highlighting Matthew Lefthand’s 24-hour virtual cycling world record, where he rode 658 miles, averaging an incomprehensible 27 mph and 273 watts.
A few weeks later, my mate Jayden crewed his buddy Alvaro during the Race Across America (RAAM)—a grueling 3,000 mile transcontinental time trial. I’ve known about RAAM for years, but never knew anyone who actually did it until Colin O’Brady and his childhood friend set the doubles record in 2024. (I met both Alvaro and Colin at a 29029 Everesting event two years ago.)
The company that organizes RAAM also puts on the Race Across the West (RAW). RAW, too, starts in Oceanside, CA, but instead of going all the way to Atlantic City, NJ, stops in Durango, CO—860 miles and 56,000 ft of climbing later.
Because I tuned in to the events on social media, I saw that a familiar name won RAW—Matthew Lefthand. I started following Matthew shortly thereafter, once again blown away by his performance. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about the world of ultracycling.
Inspired by Matthew and Alvaro, I geeked out on RAW and RAAM, texted family and close friends to plant the seed, and visualized what it would look like for me to complete one of those epic races.
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
- Napoleon Hill
Before committing to a near thousand-mile and multi-day journey like RAW, still a year away, my dad suggested doing a shorter race first to see how I liked it. In a moment of synchronicity in late June, I saw a post of Matthew’s where he announced his next race—the Hoodoo 500—an event that also offered a shorter, 300-mile course. A perfect introduction to the world of ultracycling.
But July was spent in the Sawatch, hiking and climbing 14,000-ft peaks with my girlfriend
, enjoying the thin air, nights under the stars, and helping her scout the Nolan’s 14 route ahead of a future FKT attempt. Only on July 17, a little more than a month before the race on August 23, did I register for the Hoodoo 300.I’ve been riding consistently for the past five years as part of triathlon training, but this was totally different. 300 miles?
While I still wanted to keep my run and swim touches, the bike demanded my attention. For the next month, I increased my volume, with my biggest week totaling 300 miles, 16,000 ft of climbing, and 16 hours of riding.
After a six-hour ride up to Estes Park on my TT bike, I experienced pain in my hip, similar to that which I experienced before I discovered a stress fracture in my pelvis just three weeks before the Ironman World Championship in Kona. Scared, I stayed on top of mobility and strength work, and visited my PT for treatment and another bike fit, but something was still off.
I continued to ride, spending most of the time on my comfortable, less aggressive road bike, but felt I couldn’t trust my body. On Monday of race week, two days before Candice and I left for St. George, I got an MRI, seeking answers.
If there were signs of a stress reaction, Hoodoo would become Hoodon’t; however, thankfully, the night before the race, I received the MRI report—no fracture. A green light. Game on.
Tune in next Tuesday for the race report.
Adam…. I need to wait another week for details?!!!! 💗