{"id":13754,"date":"2017-06-23T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T18:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=13754"},"modified":"2020-04-28T08:29:28","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T15:29:28","slug":"when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing","title":{"rendered":"When Life Takes a Front Seat to Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p><strong>Why world-class rider Kelly Magelky skipped this year\u2019s 24-hour Solo Mountain Biking Championships\u2014and how he finds balance on and off the track<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s midday in September in the Badlands of western North Dakota and the hot desert sun bakes the steep buttes and valleys of gray and red clay. It\u2019s so arid and rocky that few plants grow here.<\/p>\n<p>Standing over his saddle and leaning forward over the handlebars, a lone rider is far ahead of the other racers, powering his way across a shallow creek bed. His lean frame is wrapped in his sponsor\u2019s yellow and black honeycomb colors and his face carries a smile.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt\u2019s like death by 1,000 cuts.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The rider is World Championships silver medalist and two-time U.S. Nationals silver medalist Kelly Magelky and the race is the Maah Daah Hey 150 (MDH150). The course, which traverses 151.7 continually undulating and rough miles along North Dakota&#8217;s famed long distance trail, features a quad-busting 17,539 feet of elevation gain. It\u2019s one of the toughest races in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like death by 1,000 cuts,\u201d Magelky, from Dickinson, North Dakota, but residing in Denver, tells REI.<\/p>\n<p>That day in 2016 Magelky set the course record at 17:31. Two years earlier he set the course record for the MDH100, at 8:56, an hour and forty minutes faster than the next finisher.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\">\n<div style=\"padding: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"><a style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BOsaCqXgpTd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Three-time consecutive MDH100 champion, Kelly Magelky, has ONE resolution for the new year: SHATTER his own course record of 8:56:22, on Aug 5th 2017. Can ANYBODY beat him to it? There really is only one way to find out&#8230; register for the RADDEST race, in the BADDEST place at: MDH100.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">A post shared by MaahDaahHey100 (@maahdaahhey100) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2016-12-31T19:49:54+00:00\">Dec 31, 2016 at 11:49am PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>His records still stand, but Magelky, now a father of twin one-year-old boys and midway through producing a six-part film project presented by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, has his eyes set on a bigger prize: winning the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wembo.com.au\/\">24-Hour Solo Mountain Biking World Championships<\/a>, a race where competitors log upwards of 250 rough miles before time runs out.<\/p>\n<p>The most recent World Championships took place on June 2 and 3 in the seaside port of northern Italy&#8217;s Finale Ligure, but Magelky wasn\u2019t there because he wasn\u2019t ready. \u201cI\u2019ve come in second<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>before and I know that I\u2019ll have to live in Europe for a month to train,&#8221; he says. \u201cI have to take it that seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Magelky, 37, is confident that by sticking to his balanced training schedule and racing 100+ milers for the next year, he\u2019ll stand on top of the podium in the Scottish Highlands of Fort William in October 2018.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13837\" style=\"width: 970px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13837\" class=\"wp-image-13837 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/magelky1-1.jpg?resize=960%2C720\" alt=\"Kelly Magelky pedals hard during a race.\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magelky on his way to 6th at the 2015 24 Hour World Championships. Photo: Nick Howe<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But Magelky does more than chase championships. Prior to his professional mountain biking career, in 2003, he teamed up with a small crew and started a film production company called Filament. Magelky writes, directs and produces award-winning films, TV series and documentaries. \u201cI directed a documentary for the band The Fray, which was released with their first album as a companion piece. It\u2019s something I\u2019m still very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, Magelky also wrote and directed <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EbCsWJRXQKU?list=PLxTcXRgYJnfRrR0wLpQSsMjgnRrYofQ0U\">Drive<\/a>, a\u00a0film series about 10 athletes on their quest to win the Ironman World Championships. When he\u2019s not traveling for work, he\u2019s at his office outside of Denver, surrounded by the steep, technical Rocky Mountains to run and ride. \u201cI\u2019m always running on the trails. It keeps my mind going, too,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>After nearly 10 years of 10- to 12-hour screen binges at the office, Magelky\u2019s sciatic nerve sustained serious damage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>His most recent film project, in collaboration with Crowfly Pictures Entertainment, is the documentary series <em>They Called Us Outlaws<\/em>. \u201cThe films are an exploration of Americana music from the mid-\u201960s to late \u201870s through the lens of Outlaw Country,\u201d Magelky says.<\/p>\n<p>The films will be released through a mainstream media outlet sometime in the next two years. More than 50 artists were interviewed\u2014including the likes of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter\u2014and 300 hours of footage captured.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, after nearly 10 years of 10- to 12-hour screen binges at the office, Magelky\u2019s sciatic nerve sustained serious damage from too much sitting, causing weakness on one side. The injury forced him to sit out for a season.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13838\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13838\" class=\"wp-image-13838 size-article_body\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/magelky-computer.jpg?resize=1024%2C768\" alt=\"Magelky's computer screen\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magelky&#8217;s off-bike POV | Photo: Kelly Magelky<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After the setback, he made a deal with himself that he wouldn\u2019t work in front of his computer for such long periods\u2014yet still be productive\u2014and create more balance in life for himself, his wife Rachel Sturtz, and the boys.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRacing bikes is temporary. I\u2019m not gonna be this fast forever,\u201d he says. \u201cIt will be great to tell my boys what I was able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Balancing his time with family, producing high-end films, and racing at an elite level isn\u2019t easy but Magelky is making it work. Here are his biggest takeaways that can be applied to anyone\u2014not just professional athletes\u2014seeking balance in their own life.<\/p>\n<h3>Optimize Your Work Schedule<\/h3>\n<p>To keep from overdoing it at the office, Magelky has organized his work schedule so he\u2019ll only have to log four to five hours in front of a computer a day. \u201cI have owned my own business for almost 15 years, but it took me the majority of those years to learn how to be more efficient,&#8221; he says. Not procrastinating is a feat easier said than done, so Magelky had to develop some tricks. &#8220;I focus on smaller chunks of time, rather than hours. If you give yourself hourly limits, then it&#8217;s easy to waste 15-30 minutes because you think you can accomplish your hour long task <span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1938854911\"><span class=\"aQJ\">in 30 minutes<\/span><\/span>, which usually isn\u2019t realistic.&#8221; \u00a0Additionally, Magelky strictly abstains from social media during work hours and only checks his email at specific intervals throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother big factor was letting go of some of my perfectionist issues,\u201d he says. &#8220;Asking for help, getting someone else\u2019s eyes on a project, and stepping away for a small bit of time really aided in being able to say, &#8216;enough is enough.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Additional changes include setting up a standing desk and training area in his office. Between regular training and getting up away from the\u00a0keyboard when possible, his lower back has healed. \u201cThe reality is there are deadlines and there are long days. So when I do have to be at a computer for a long time, that\u2019s where the stand-up desk comes in. I take breaks, stretch, and ride my bike over to the coffee shop with my boys in the trailer.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the breath of fresh air that I need to be productive.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Prepare Mentally<\/h3>\n<p>Work-related stress was Magelky\u2019s reason for bowing out of this year\u2019s championships. &#8220;I would have still been able to go, but I realized it would put a lot of pressure on Rachel and myself. I had too many distractions and going would have been a disappointment as I would have been leaving Rachel with the kids for a week for results that were sub par.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He knows being physically and mentally prepared for races is critical. \u201cYour body is telling you, &#8216;You could die.&#8217; That power trumps almost anything. Going through pain and [overriding] your body\u2019s natural responses is what separates people who are going to win from those who aren\u2019t,\u201d Magelky says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnytime I feel crappy on a training ride I know I\u2019ll feel 10 times worse during a race\u2014to know that is coming is a big tool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the race, Magelky knows it\u2019s important to not feel too high or too low. \u201cDon\u2019t romanticize it\u2014this will be really, really hard. Weeks before the race [or major event], ask yourself if you are prepared to do this. Be realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Share &amp; Work as a Team<\/h3>\n<p>Mitigating the stress of a seemingly endless (and potentially dangerous) 24-hour race requires building and supporting your team, \u201cwhether it\u2019s your wife or kids or the mechanic at the local bike shop,\u201d Magelky says. \u201cYou need to make sure your crew is taken care of because they\u2019re taking care of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During race time, Magelky relies on his pit crew to make sure he\u2019s eating and drinking enough and to check on his mental condition so he doesn\u2019t have to focus on those critical decisions while racing.<\/p>\n<p>At home, he knows his wife doesn\u2019t want to hear about all his training rides while she\u2019s penning stories for <em>Outside<\/em> and <em>Men\u2019s Fitness<\/em>, but he knows she\u2019s there for the big ones. At the same time, he says, \u201cher being a journalist is more interesting than anything I\u2019ve ever done. There have been a few times when she\u2019s been knee-deep in a big story and she\u2019ll need to tell me about it. And I tell her about a race and the Outlaw films.<\/p>\n<p>Before every ride, she tells me to make good decisions and to come back in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Learn to Accept Failure<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI think the fact I\u2019ve been doing this for so long really helps in the situations like pulling the plug on Italy,\u201d he says. \u201cMaybe the old me would be upset about it and dwell on it for a month or lay blame somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These days, after 10 years of racing, when there are setbacks like missing a World Championship race, Magelky looks into himself for accountability and identifies the lesson.<\/p>\n<p>He admits it still stings to have canceled. However, he had to put his family and work first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of the time, you can see exactly where things went off the rails and, a lot of times, it\u2019s your own doing,\u201d he says. When this happens he slows down, takes a breath and tells himself, \u201cOK, don\u2019t let this happen again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know I can elevate to the level I need to be competitive for the next couple years, but time goes fast and I\u2019d like to make sure I\u2019m taking advantage of the opportunities I have in front of me now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Lead photo courtesy of Pat Stockert<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why world-class rider Kelly Magelky skipped this year\u2019s 24-hour Solo Mountain Biking Championships\u2014and how he finds balance on and off the track It\u2019s midday in September in the Badlands of western North Dakota and the hot desert sun bakes the steep buttes and valleys of gray and red clay. It\u2019s so arid and rocky that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":13800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1107,1374,727,110],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-13754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-endurance","tag-kelly-magelky","tag-latest-posts","tag-mountain-biking"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"When Life Takes a Front Seat to Racing","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/magelky-kids.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/magelky-kids.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["endurance","kelly magelky","latest posts","mountain biking"],"dateCreated":"2017-06-23T18:00:28Z","datePublished":"2017-06-23T18:00:28Z","dateModified":"2020-04-28T15:29:28Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"When Life Takes a Front Seat to Racing\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/cycle\\\/when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/cycle\\\/when-life-takes-a-front-seat-to-racing\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/magelky-kids.jpg?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/magelky-kids.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000\"},\"articleSection\":\"Cycle\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Michelle Flandreau\"}],\"creator\":[\"Michelle Flandreau\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Uncommon Path \\u2013 An REI Co-op Publication\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"endurance\",\"kelly magelky\",\"latest posts\",\"mountain biking\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2017-06-23T18:00:28Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-23T18:00:28Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-28T15:29:28Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rei.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/magelky-kids.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13754"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158768,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13754\/revisions\/158768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13754"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=13754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}