Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> While on paper it seems that maybe a 75 step would help, in reality I'm
> not sure it does.
I'd vouch for it from personal experience as well as from watching a great
many other riders "mature" in their careers.  I like the 75 mile distance
for horses that I want to KEEP doing a 100-mile pace, when 50 becomes "too
easy" because they just flat have too much talent, but they don't really
yet have the base to do 100s.  And here in the NW where we DO have quite a
few 75s, I've seen a great many riders use them as an intermediate step. 
So yes, the reality is there as well.

Where the "mental" part comes in is on a given ride, where one tries the
elevator concept.  That one has been tried and tried and just doesn't fly.
Angie is right--you have to step up to the plate and just "do it then" if
you're planning to do the 100.

Also, I think it is often a mistake for RMs to offer both a 75 and a 100. 
I've managed both ways, and I've found that the longer distance fills much
better if one offers one or the other.  The thing is to coordinate with
other RMs in your region, so that some of you offer 75s (my "intermediate"
trails in Oregon were such that I had a 30-mile loop and a 20-mile loop,
so I offered a 30-50-80 in the spring and again in the late fall, with no
100) and some of you offer 100s.

Heidi



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