Anatomy of A Mud Run
ANATOMY OF A MUD RUN
The 1963 250 Mile National Enduro or, "The Little Burr"
J. R. BEALL
ENDURANCE, SKILL, determination, sportsmanship, these are fine words indeed, and we enjoy sitting in our favorite easy chair, watching them come to life in TV programs. The most the majority of us are called upon to endure, however, are bad commercials, but the men of championship endurance run riding are something else. Few people have a concept of precisely what an endurance run is, and though it is not regarded as much of a spectator sport, it is one of the better schools of hard knocks.
Sunday dawned cool and gray, with a pea soup fog that had a nasty way of settling on anything warm, particularly goggles. Rain was forecast as the starter began letting riders off at 6:00 A.M., at one minute intervals. A field of 252 of the Eastern U.S.’s finest set off on the 11 hour, 257 mile run. Average speed for all but the last 30 miles of the tortuous run was to be 24 mph. The slightest deviation could ruin a rider’s chances.
Starting with one thousand points, each rider who arrived at a check early or late would lose points. In order to finish with the highest score, competitors must hit each of the checks exactly on time, no small task since none knew where these checks were located.
24 miles per hour may sound easy to maintain, but over the kind of trails that make up the “Little Burr,” an absolute maximum of skill is required to even approach this average. As a testimony, of the 252 starters, only 141 finished. Each rider was provided with a route card telling him how far he must go between turns and how many minutes it should take to go that distance. In addition to simply staying on his machine and avoiding getting lost, he must constantly check his watch and speedometer to make certain he is on time.
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By mid-morning the fog lifted, making a day in Ohio’s scenic Hocking Hills a rewarding outing and bringing out the spectators to the stickier parts of the trail. The noon check was spent mostly in repairing machines by those who had not dropped out before this point; a few were forced to quit since their machines were beyond immediate repair.
Warming weather made riding more pleasant and by 5:00 P.M. riders began appearing at the final check at the club grounds where, 11 hours before, they had begun. One of the first was BMW mounted enduro champion John Penton who had ridden the last 80 miles with a broken collar bone; he placed first in his class.
By dark the last few stragglers were in, packing up, breaking camp and heading home. For Curley Steiner, this year’s Little Burr Chairman, the work had just begun as it was his job to tally the results and decide the winner. Only a club like the Enduro Riders could have brought such an event off so smoothly; every competitor agreed it had been a fine day’s riding.
Grand Champion turned out to be Sox Brookhart with a score of 981, riding a Triumph. Sox is one of the better Eastern riders and did an excellent job. It is refreshing indeed to realize that there are enough of us left to answer the challenge to do something difficult, just for the hell of it. •
