Leah D’s Moab Rocks Story and her tale about a back of the pack athlete.

This is my story, a story about a back of the pack athlete who took on the monstrous challenge of Moab Rocks. Hopefully, my story will inspire you to do something really hard, hopefully it’ll get you to sign up for Moab Rocks. I have a special talent of convincing people to have fun suffering with me. 

I learned about Moab Rocks in 2019 from watching Syd and Macky’s YouTube channel. For a reason I still don’t understand I was drawn to this race and I had to do it. There was no questioning it, I knew I had to do this. I had only been mountain biking for 2 years at this point and had only been racing mountain bikes for a year. I’ve watched many of Syd and Macky's videos over the years and learned about so many other races but only Moab Rocks called to me, there’s something very special about this race. So I registered in late 2019. I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know what I had gotten into, and I knew I’d need help. Syd and Macky were kind enough to share their Coach’s information with me and I started working with Coach Mike Durner (Durner Performance) in late 2019 to help me prepare for this race. I was not confident in my ability to complete this race. I didn’t know why I signed up for such a daunting race but here I was. 

As recent stories go, 2020 came and Moab Rocks was cancelled. I’d have to wait two years before competing. For an additional two years I thought about this race and questioned why I signed up for it but I also had two more years to build up my biking skills. I would finally race in 2022. 

Coach Mike developed a training plan for me and for the first time in my life I followed a professional training plan (did I mention I was 36 in early 2022). All winter I watched Syd and Macky’s Moab Rocks videos while on the trainer trying to learn the courses, mentally preparing, trying to help my brain and body gather all of the information to help me understand what I was going to do. What I’ve since learned about racing is that you can’t know all the information until you do the thing. 

As Coach Mike says, doing something that scares us is good for us, it means it’s important to us. One of the most helpful things we did in training was to do three 3 day race simulations (based on time, not miles) at different times throughout the winter. This really helped my body adapt to riding 3 long days in a row. Most of my training consisted of one hour intervals for months. The week before the race I was feeling as if I hadn’t done enough and I asked Coach Mike, was I ready? He assured me I was. I was going to have to trust him and I was going to have to trust all the work I had put in, there was no more time, what I had done I had done. It was time to race. 

I’m not a fast climber, I’m not a technical rider but I do love to go downhill fast, I have endurance and I love riding my bike. For my first Moab Rocks my goal was to finish each day, be ready for the next and have fun doing it.

Day 1: Porcupine Rim

Riding up the 14 mile 3,000 foot climb on Sand Flats Road was challenging. But I ended up pacing with a guy named Rob. We’d end up climbing together each day. I had felt great during the climb, I felt strong, was fueling properly and excited for this epic downhill I’d heard so much about. And then we hit the steepest part of the climb. A 16% grade that I had to walk. And then the steepness continued up and down and around for 3ish miles; it was relentless.

I got to the top of the climb defeated. I knew there was another 14 miles of trail and I also knew that once I started that descent there was only one way out, to finish. I didn’t know if I had anything left in me. I stayed at the aid station in a daze not knowing if I should go on, if I could go on, or if I should turn around and ride down the road. A volunteer saw me on the verge of tears, asked if I needed a hug, which I did, he embraced me and then offered me a small flamingo figurine. He said this is Flamingo Power and it’ll help give you the power to finish. He encouraged me to continue on. And so I got on my bike and started pedaling the course and 2 minutes from the aid station I was welcomed by the magnificent view of Castle Valley which took my breath away and immediately had to stop to take it all in. It was already worth it. I ripped the descent and had one of the most amazing rides I’ve ever had. I still have that flamingo in my top tube bag. 

Day 2: Klondike Bluffs

I don’t remember much of Day 2 except that Rob and I ended up climbing again for a while. There was a long rocky descent that was so much fun but my legs were so tired that it was so painful to descend so I just had to go faster so it would be over quicker. It was painfully fun, which honestly is a great way to describe Moab Rocks. The last 7 miles are flatish, lots of quick turns, some rolling rocks, and some gravely sand. I love flat because it plays to my strength, so the last 7 miles I actually had some of my best times. 

Day 3: Mag 7

I couldn’t warm up. I was too tired, my legs and my entire body didn’t understand why I was kitted up ready to ride and not in bed recovering. I looked at the hill we were about to climb and said to myself, I’m going to get to the top of that hill and turn right around, there’s no way I can do 28 miles today. 

I know what you’re thinking, why would I say I could get to the top and then turn around? Well I had to start, and you say really weird things that don’t make sense when you’re exhausted.

I started. Isn’t that what they say, just start. So I did, and the first few minutes were miserable. And then Rob and I started climbing again together and I made it to the top and kept going. My legs woke up, they stopped hurting, and agreed that they could do more. Climbing each day with Rob really helped me mentally. It was fun to find him in the crowd and just get in sync for the long ride up. 

The Mag 7 descent was the best descent I had ever ridden! It’s still one of my all time favorite courses and descents of all time. After the descent there was the last hill to climb to get to the finish. It was hot, I was tired, I was out of breath. Coach Mike rode up behind me and talked me through it, helped me control my breathing, taught me to cool off my hands by drinking and spitting water onto my gloves. And finally I made it to the top of the last hill, without stopping, and I ripped the downhill to the finish line. 

I Finished! I finished Moab Rocks! Sure, I was 246 out of 255 but that didn’t matter to me. I did this!  

That night I thought I’d be asleep early from exhaustion but I couldn’t fall asleep. I was so happy and so proud and my adrenaline was still going. I had just ridden 80 miles and 8K feet of technical riding in Moab over 3 days. This was by far one of the toughest feats I had ever accomplished. I was so proud of myself. 

Transrockies doesn’t give you a lot of time to recover from the race before they put out their early bird special a month after the race. I signed up again! I did so well the first time that now I had to do it again with the goal of improving my time. 

2023 came and I ended up sick and couldn’t compete. I was so sad but it was the right decision not to compete. 

I signed up again for 2024. 

I was excited to race in 2024. Moab Rocks was the best experience I had ever had at a race and on a bike and I couldn’t wait to suffer and have that feeling of accomplishment again. 

During the race I felt awful. I had negative self talk and just felt like I was in a rut the entire three days. I remember being really hard on myself after Day 1 and my brother-in-law who just happened to be riding in Moab had shuttled up sand flats road the day before and said that all the guys in the shuttle talked about how the racers will ride up this hill and how they would never dream of it. And I had done it, I rode up that hill, actually that was the 2nd time I had ridden up Sand Flats Road! That did help put things into perspective a bit. I was an athlete and I was doing this. I planned to let go of my expectations a bit and have fun riding my bike in Moab.

For day 2 Transrockies changed the course from Klondike to Bar M, a trail system that I had never ridden before and one that everyone said was so much harder technically. They were right, it was really hard and this did not play to my strengths. There’s a relentless section that seems like you’re on the moon and it sucks up all of your momentum. You can’t stand for the 5 miles and you can’t sit because it’s too bumpy, it’s some of the worst riding I’ve ever experienced. I will say, some people love this section, they thrive on it, I did not.  

I had been looking forward to day 3, my favorite descent! I had a great day! And once again I finished! I finished Moab Rocks! But I had expectations of being faster and better this time and I was not, I ended up at the very end each day. I didn’t have the same feeling of accomplishment, I just felt depressed that I hadn’t done better. 

A few months later I learned that I was holding onto a lot of emotional trauma and baggage. I was in therapy at the time and a lot of stuff surfaced. Coach Mike helped me understand that sometimes your body can’t differentiate between emotional and physical stress and racing puts a lot of stress on your body. Once I worked through that, continued therapy and had a bit of a crying fest, I was able to move on with training and racing in a healthier capacity. I was also able to give myself the credit that I was due for myself, that I accomplished Moab Rocks, I’m an athlete, and I did it. 

Did I want to do Moab Rocks again? I felt like I needed a do-over, but I had done it twice already. I knew the amount of training that had to go into it, I knew the sacrifices I had to make. 

My friend, Lynnea, signed up for Moab Rocks to do something big for her 50th birthday! After some soul searching I decided I needed to race Moab Rocks again, I needed redemption. There were 5 of us that signed up to do Moab Rocks. I told you I was good at convincing other people to suffer with me.

We trained together all winter in preparation for Moab Rocks 2025. It was great having a group of friends to train with, commiserate with, push each other and inspire each other. 

This time my goal was to have fun, be positive and enjoy the experience. 

Friday before the race, my fiance and I went on an unplanned sunrise hike to Corona Arch, where he proposed. Getting engaged at Corona Arch on Friday before the race definitely helped me enjoy the experience. There’s nothing like engagement energy to help propel you up sand flats road on day 1. 

On Day 1 my friend Morgan and I decided to climb together, we went at a nice steady 6mph climb until the intimidating last 3 miles where I slowed way down. I walked the steepest section and then got on my bike and for the first time rode all the way to the aid station. Of course I had a blast on the downhill.

Day 2’s course had been switched up again, this time riding a mix of Bar M and Klonzo. Though there were a few miles of flat which worked to my advantage there were still a few miles of the moon. I knew it was coming and was prepared and though I still cursed the moon section I did take a moment to look out at Arches National Park and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Moab. 

On Day 3 I was positive, I knew it was going to hurt but I also knew I could do it. I had such a fun time riding bikes and talking with other racers. I loved seeing the volunteers each day at the aid stations. One of the fun things about being at the back is you get to know the other racers and you get to know the volunteers as you take a little too long hanging at the aid station eating snacks. But that’s part of the experience, mine at least.  

I finished Moab Rocks for the third time! I finished happy and feeling accomplished! I was 244 out of 249 and I was thrilled that I finished and I was proud that I rode the best that I could.

Completing a stage race is one of the toughest things I’ve ever done in my life. I cried, I cursed, I smiled. I learned that I could go beyond what I thought I could. You hear it all the time but until you experience it you don’t know what you're capable of until you push yourself. This race will forever stay with me. When I’m doing something hard, climbing a hard hill, fatigued with more time still to go, or even with a work challenge, I think I can do this, I did Moab Rocks, I can do this and I do it. 

I will forever be grateful to my fiance who always supports me, my Coach who believed in me, Syd and Macky for sharing their experience, my friends who always push me, and the Transrockies staff and volunteers for putting on an amazing race. 

Go sign up for Moab Rocks, you’ll have fun, I promise. 

This year, I’m not racing Moab Rocks, but I am completing the 50 miles Gravel Fondo! And my fiance and I are having an unofficial friends and family wedding the Friday before. Moab and Moab Rocks is very special to me.