2013 Shenandoah Mountain 100

Fifteen years on and still going strong. The 15th annual Shenandoah Mountain 100 challenged hundreds of mountain bikers--from pros to newbies--to complete 100 miles of racing over tough terrain and more than 13,000 feet of elevation gain in a single day.

More than 600 racers registered for the 15th annual Shenandoah Mountain 100. Here, racers line up on the afternoon before the race to pick up their race packets in the Stokesville campground--location of the race start.

As registration opened on the afternoon before the the race, participants scramble to figure out their race numbers so they can pick up their packets.

Sign the line. It's racing time.

Racers are allowed to have two drop bags left at any of the race's six checkpoints. With possibly hundreds of bags laid out at any one checkpoint, some racers made their bags as conspicuous as possible.

A sign of things to come: Water droplets on the race's course markings.

Pre-Race Dinner Forecast: Cloudy with a chance of meatballs.

...and sauce.

Shenandoah Mountain 100 promoter Chris Scott gives his pre-race briefing the night before the race, August 31.

Racers awoke to clear skies for the start of the 15th annual Shenandoah Mountain 100. Despite some promising weather at the race start, the 100-mile course was softened by pouring rain that fell the day before the event, making for slick conditions on the George Washington National Forest trails.

After a 5am wake-up call, racers had to hurry to finish any final preparations before the 6:30 start.

Pre-dawn pre-race fuel in the works.

Always best to make sure your post-race recovery drink is ready for your return.

Rob Spreng (Team CF), right, and Andy Rhodes (North Mountain Woodworks/Black Dog Bikes), center, take their positions on the line for the dawn start of the Shenandoah Mountain 100.

Pro road racers and Virginia natives Joe Dombroski (Team Sky), left, and Ben King (Radio Shack-Nissan), right, lined up to test their off-road skills at the Shenandoah Mountain 100. Dombroski didn’t officially race the event, instead mixing it up with the leaders—just for the fun of it—on the first 30 miles of the course. King would prove by the end of the day that he was there to compete for the top spot on the podium.

Defending champion Jeremiah Bishop (SHO-Air-Cannondale) dials in a GoPro camera just before the start.

For the 15th edition of the Shenandoah Mountain 100, racers were treated to a new downhill section of trail following the initial climb up Narrow Back Mountain. Through the morning haze, riders could glimpse some of the major climbs that awaited them.

Wet and misty morning on Narrow Back Mountain.

The new Narrow Back descent finishes with a splash.

Racing a tandem and keeping it classy.

Defending champion Jeremiah Bishop (SHO-Air-Cannondale) was the first to fly down Wolf Ridge.

Keck Baker (Cannondale/Champion System/Carytown Bicycle Co) had his eyes set on a high podium finish all day.

Dombroski started his racing pursuits as a mountain biker and proved that he still remembers how to carve through Virginia singletrack.

Defending women’s champion Sue Haywood (Stan’s NoTubes) took the lead early and never let it go.

Mid-morning sun helped dry off riders as they pushed down Tilghman Road on the way to Hankey Mountain.

The sunshine was quickly wiped out by a fast-moving midday storm that drenched the course, hitting the leaders as they headed away from the Dowell Draft descent on U.S.250. Kevin Carter (Gripped Racing), front, adjusts his glasses to help keep his eyes on the road.

As racers arrived at Mountain House Picnic Area, they got a taste of conditions that awaited them on the way to checkpoint 4 at Braley Pond.

The harsh rain made the typically dry wash of Ramsey’s Draft unrideable. Pictured, Karen Talley Mead (The Bike Lane) scrambles across.

The steep climb from the Mountain House Picnic Area toward Braley Pond was extremely slick, especially after a hard rain.

Bishop was the first to arrive at checkpoint 4 at Braley Pond. He grabbed a bottle and rolled away with a smile.

Ben King rolled into checkpoint 4 just behind Bishop and stopped to quickly clean his drive train.

Jason Miller rolls into checkpoint 4 at Braley Pond. Swampy conditions on the final two miles of this section took a toll on racers.

Blackwater Bike Shop salvaged sticky drive trains at checkpoint 4 all day.

Standard provisions at the race's six checkpoints.

Along the 18-mile fire road section to checkpoint five, Bishop, front, was joined by King, back left, as well as Baker and National Ultra Endurance Series Points Leader Christian Tanguy (Team CF), both obscured behind Bishop. Working together, the group increased its lead over the rest of the field.

Local elite racer Erik Jensen (Marks Bike Shop) was positioned for a top-20 finish, but was hampered by leg cramps throughout the day. He finished in 36th.

Elevation ticks up as racers make their way along the 18-mile fire road section to checkpoint 5, dubbed by some as "The Death Climb."

After 75 miles in the saddle, you never know what you might find at checkpoint 5.

Drop bags full of lights, food and other essentials at checkpoint 5. Many racers battle cramps, fatigue and delirium by this point. Some will finish the race in the dark.

The meadows along the climb up to Little Bald Knob are beautiful, but after 75 miles in the saddle, it can prove to be a tough push for many racers.

All paths lead up as racers head toward the start of the Chestnut Ridge descent.