I’m looking at potentially putting together a Seneca 7 team for 2024 that is geared towards biking the transitions instead of driving. At the moment, I think I have four people that are a solid yes. I’m looking here to see if anyone else has interest. Generally, we are not fixated on time. You would just need to be able to supply your own bike and have the fitness necessary to run your legs (11ish miles) and bike the rest of it (66ish miles) in a time that generally keeps us on average below the time cut. We would split the tab (roughly $83/person). If I am able to get the team sponsored, maybe even a little less.
Below is a snippet from the website that outlines the nature of being a “Bike” team and what that entails.
Bike Teams
Teams registering as bike teams must have all team members travel the entire course by bicycle (during off-legs) without assistance, and each team must commit to not using a motorized vehicle regardless of the weather, substitutions, lack of fitness, etc (i.e. the decision cannot be changed before raceday).
I would be interested in doing it. I only recently got into cycling, and mostly for commuting, but I think I can get my fitness up by next April. Any idea what the elevation change is on the course?
@DanVerderosa According to the GPX here http://www.seneca7.com/legs.html
It works out to about + & - 2671 feet.
Which isn’t too bad when you consider that most of that peddling is at a very leisurely pace.
Registration looks to be on Halloween this year, so I hope to have a solid 7 committed by then before actually going ahead with it. If I can’t find enough bikers I might still try to put together a traditional team . Thanks for responding and I’ll keep you posted. I see that it looks like you might be running Blueberry patch in tomorrows group run so maybe we might get a chance to chat about it then.
@DanVerderosa I don’t know if you have heard the news, but I have seen that last week Seneca 7 announced that they will no longer be fielding bike teams in the race, citing safety and logistical concerns. So, that’s a bummer. I still plan on trying to assemble a “regular” team to run in 2024. If you are interested in that let me know and I will plan on you for one of the spots.
Have you guys talked to many people who have done the bike version of Seneca 7? When the High Noon team did it the first year (not including me), they talked about how it was probably keeping their legs loose and would be better overall on the way down the lake. Once they turned back up the lake, they said it became a death march.
The last time I ran Seneca 7 in 2019 with a scratch start, during my third leg in Sampson State Park, I had to yell at bikers to get out of my way across small bridges because I was going so much faster than they were. Anytime a biker can’t stay ahead of a runner on a flat, paved surface, they’re suffering.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m all in favor of having that aspect to the race—it’s a lovely bit of insanity. But insane it is, especially given that the race is in April, when it’s difficult to have any actual bike training under your belt after the winter.
The concerns you mention were echoed in the statement that S7 put out.
As you might guess, part of the allure for me was that it did become more of an endurance event and would be more difficult. I’m always looking for some sort of novelty in the spirit of keeping things fresh and having new experiences and this provided a somewhat unique opportunity to experience an event doing two things that I can actually do. Alas, it’s all a moot point now as the option is no longer on the table.
Yeah, as a race director, I can commiserate, and the safety considerations during a full day with hundreds of cars and runners on the same roads are scary enough on their own, without bikes in the mix.
But don’t let that stop you from being the first person to complete the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge by biking between the course starts.
When the High Noon team did it the first year (not including me), they talked about how it was probably keeping their legs loose and would be better overall on the way down the lake. Once they turned back up the lake, they said it became a death march.