Life With Laura: Dirty Kanza Race Report

This is going to be a bit of a different post. I am going to enlighten you to an event called the Dirty Kanza. My husband, whom we call Mister, raced this event this past weekend and this is my race report given as a SAG crew and supporter.
One thing that you should know about me is that my greatest achievements do not come in the form of personal athleticism. I get my joy from supporting my husband in his events. From the moment that we started dating almost 15 years ago, I was at every race, cheering and supporting him from the sidelines. This is what I am good at. This is where I shine. I have had cold water (and usually beer) at the finish lines of motocross races. I have had a strong arm to hold him up after triathlons. I have carefully attended to his hurt ego and pride after races that didnt go well. I have held fire extinguishers during pit stops at road races. I have wrapped and unwrapped road racing tires. I am the epitome of a race wife. And I love it.
The chance to ride Dirty Kanza is one that is hard to pass up. It is the ultimate endurance gravel road race in the country, maybe even the world. The 206 mile race through the Flint Hills of Kansas beckoned for Mister's attention. He put his name in the lottery and was chosen, along with a couple thousand other riders, to make the journey to Kansas. The last 4 months have been focused solely on this adventure. But for the first time ever, I was not Mister's support. He purchased the SAG For Hire, which gave him all access food, drink, and mechanic support for the entire race. I instead was SAG for a couple of friends, the Trotts. The Trotts needed a SAG (which is mandatory at DK) and I was available.
We left for Emporia Kansas Thursday after work. The camper was packed and ready to go as soon as I got home. We drove across Indiana, all the way through Illinois and made our way into Missouri before we pulled off for the evening. We made our camp in the parking lot of a truck stop in Bevier, Missouri. As the morning sun popped up, we hit the road again with just about 4 hours left until Emporia. Once in town, we set up camp and relaxed for a few minutes. In the afternoon, we made our way into town for check in. With everything all set for the big day, we made our way back to the camper and tried to get some sleep.
Our wake up call was at 0400 Saturday morning. With any type of event that occurs outside, the one thing that cannot be controlled is the weather. Wouldnt you know it, a severe storm was rolling through when we woke up. Indiana has some pretty gnarly storms and they typically dont bother me. However, watching The Wizard of Oz will make you look at a Kansas storm from a different angle. I would have sworn up and down that a tornado was going to pop out of the clouds and blow us all into a dreamy land far far away. It didnt. But it did postpone the race start 30 minutes.

The start, located in downtown Emporia, was a really cool sight to see!

Once the 200 milers took off, every SAG crew hurried to their vehicles and made their way to the first check point, located at the Madison High School. From here, the story is pretty boring. As a SAG, you hurry up and wait. It took about 3 hours for Mister and the Trotts to make it into CP1. Making good time and in good spirits, the gravel roads of Kansas were apparently playing nice. I refilled water bottles, had food and tools ready, gave pats on the back and words of encouragement and sent them on their way.

Steve and Lydia are feeling good!

Mister coming through CP1!

Check Point 2 was at the Eureka High School. I set up shop and waited. The Kansas sun must have a little more power than the Indiana sun. I ended up with a terrible sunburn! Its my fault; I didnt have any sunscreen on. Mister came in feeling good. He replenished his drinks, ate a sandwich and some snacks, drank some pickle juice and headed out! Steve and Lydia sat down and had lunch, and recharged their batteries a bit. I did my SAG duties and made sure that their waters were refilled and ready to go. Off for the third leg of the race and off to CP3! (I didnt get a photo of the Trotts at CP2... I suck)

Mister wiping off the dirt at CP2.

I made my sunburnt way to CP3, located in downtown Madison. Luckily the direction that I was parked allowed for a tiny bit of shade where I hid for the majority of the time. This was a long leg. From CP2 to CP3, it was about a 5 hour wait. I honestly started to worry that Mister pulled out of the race. It was hot and the sun was relentless. Lydia wrote me when they were about 5 miles out from the CP. I set up the chairs and food in preparation for them. Mister texted me and told me that he had made in into the CP also! I was so relieved! The Trotts were feeling a little less enthusiastic, if you will, at this point. There may or may not have been some tears from Lydia when they pulled in and got off the bike. I sat them down, fed them, watered them and encouraged them. At this point, there were only 44 miles left of the race. As far as that sounds, in the grand scheme of a 206 mile race, they were almost done! (no photos of Mister this time around..)

Maybe a couple of tears...

So excited to get to the finish line!

Mister came through CP3 with a new found friend, Gene. Both Mister and Gene were on the struggle bus, but some encouraging words and a hug, they were off for the final leg of the race. The next time that I would see any of them would be at the finish!

The finish of the Dirty Kanza is something that is hard to explain. I have been at a million finish lines, but this one takes the cake. The streets of Emporia were lined with hundreds of people, cheering for every single racer who came in. Cowbells and whistling filled the air until the wee hours of the morning. Every racer has his or her name called when they cross the line. The race director hugs the majority of them. The DK finish line is enough to bring even the strongest men to tears. It is truly a moving experience, even for the supporters.

The crowd at the finish line is amazing!

Just after the 17 hour mark, Steve and Lydia made their way through the chute and across the finish line. I ran up to them and gave them big hugs!

A moment they will never forget!

Mister came in just moments after them!

He did it!

I could go on and on and tell the stories from these amazing racers, but it wouldnt do them justice. I am sure that there will be plenty of race reports emerging in the next week. The thing that you should take away from this is that 2700 racers took to the mean gravel roads of Kansas and overcame an epic event. (there were some DNF's and probably some DQ's) To just show up to the starting line takes an amount of courage that I cannot fathom. To show up with 20+ mph winds, with mud and heat, is something beyond special. These men and women killed it and inspired everyone who was a part of this day.

Here are some photos from the finish that I was lucky enough to snap.