How to Tackle Epic Challenges, with Breck Epic Founder Mike McCormack (#224)

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS

OVERVIEW: The Breck Epic is the premier mountain bike stage race in the United States, and Race Founder and Director Mike McCormack is a legendary for the ethos and environment he's cultivated around the race. He and Adam Pulford go beyond Breck Epic to talk about what riders get out of doing truly epic endurance events, how to prepare for them, how to have fun during them. Don't miss this inspiring and motivating conversation, and then go sign up for your next big adventure!
Key topics in this episode:

• How Breck Epic works
• The value of creating a great racing experience for riders
• Balancing MTB skills and fitness training
• The effect of Breckenridge's altitude (9400 ft) on performance, nutrition, and recovery
• Preparing for racing at altitude when you live at sea level
• Managing race week efforts to maximize fun and success

Guest
Mike McCormack founded the Breck Epic MTB Stage Race in 2009, treating its field to a high-alpine tour of Colorado’s secret stashes, hidden gems and historical ghost towns. Committed to big routes with good friends, Epic’s 220-plus miles and 40k of vertical establish its 6 stages as the gold standard of endurance backcountry riding. With a unique cloverleaf format allowing riders from 25 countries and 40+ states to start and finish each day within a mile of the the historical Victorian mining town of Breckenridge, Colorado, Epic is the mountain bike experience of a lifetime.

Links

• IG: https://www.instagram.com/breckepic/
• X: https://x.com/BreckEpic
• https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=breck%20epic
• https://breckepic.com/

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform
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Kapitel

1. How to Tackle Epic Challenges, with Breck Epic Founder Mike McCormack (#224) (00:00:00)

2. Preparing for Mountain Bike Stage Racing (00:00:07)

3. Mountain Bike Stage Race in Breckenridge (00:08:48)

4. Altitude Training for Mountain Bike Racing (00:22:09)

5. Breck Epic Training and Nutrition (00:35:22)

6. Life Lessons From Breck Epic (00:47:32)