Just yesterday I attempted the 3M challenge. It is 15 miles and 1,300 ft (all uphill) from Cumberland, MD to Frostburg, MD. I went into the event blind, as there doesnt seem to be much info on it, so figured I would give some info here.
First, this is a time trial, the train leaves after everyone as the trail crosses the tracks multiple times. So you do your trial in staggered groups of 6 and then wait for the train to see if your time beat it.
The surface is finely crushed stone. It can be pretty slow in unpacked areas. The grade isn't bad, but the consistency for an hour was the tougher part. There is an 8-10% kicker at the very end to help you use every last bit of your legs, but it is very short so not a big concern.
The train you race varies. This year was the steam engine, previous years have been diesel engines as the steam one was down for the last 5 or so years. I was told last year's diesel train finished at 1:07:xx and the steam train was significantly slower. Well this year's steam train finished 1:05:xx. I was told times range from 1:05:xx to 1:15:xx
I finished under this year's time, but just barely. I averaged around 2.7 w/kg to finish at this time with 38c Specialized Tracers tubeless.
Highly recommend the event, was a fun twist on a cycling event and was a tough hour of work.
by NotoriouslyBeefy
1 Comment
dang I almost signed up but had other commitments, really wanted to try this event – maybe will see you there next year!