Preseason - Hammer Nutrition

FROM OUR ATHLETES
Family Fun:
Hammer Nutrition’s
sponsored fatherdaughter
team
BY ANNA FORTNER
D
ad and I arrive early to check in
for the TransRockies, a sevenday
mountain bike stage race
from Fernie, BC to Canmore,
AB. In line, a conversation soon begins
with a young and very fit-looking Kiwi
couple in front of us. We discover that
they too are racing the Open Mixed
Category. When we tell them we are a
father-daughter team, they give us an
"Oh, isn't that cute" response. But they
are underestimating us. Because I am
32 and Dad (Ray Fortner) is 57, we could
race in the 80+ category and be nearly
ensured a place on the podium—but that
would mean little to us. After five years
of racing, I am a Pro and Dad races Cat 1.
Moreover, we have trained ourselves into
the best shape of our lives, and as we both
race as Hammer Nutrition-sponsored
athletes, we have perfected our fueling.
Though I certainly could have found a
younger race partner, Dad is one of the
strongest endurance racers I know. I am
certain he will do whatever it takes to
cross the finish line, and he knows I will
do the same. We do not have this kind
of faith in anyone else. Hours of training
together, of supporting one another at
major events like Nationals, and wins at
eight-hour races as a coed team and at
the Tahoe 59er prove we are right to have
faith in one another. That we are fatherdaughter
is just icing on the cake.
On Day 1, armed with an arsenal of
Hammer Nutrition product, Dad sets a
blistering pace that carries us up and
over today's most challenging climb. I'm
redlining in this time trial to stick on his
wheel. We secure 5th—30 seconds up on
the Norwegian team. For our second day,
we take our usual dose of Anti-Fatigue
Caps
and find that we are
sustaining a high wattage
output. "Rider back!" becomes
our refrain. As the stronger
descender, I take the lead at
the top, but Dad descends like
never before and sticks right on
my wheel. With 2K to go, the
Norwegians are right behind
us.
With five days of riding under
our belt, we awake on Day 6
to a downpour. Today is the
"Queen Stage" with a climb
to 3,048 meters. We discuss
the possibility of snow . . . and
hypothermia. We top off our flasks with
Hammer Gel, and I opt to put an extra
bottle of Perpetuem in my backpack. At
the start line, we are told they have cut
17 kilometers to keep us below the snow
line. Dad sets a hard pace from the gun
and we find we are having no trouble
keeping warm. At the bottom of the final
climb we catch a pack of four riders. Dad
is on my wheel and we cross the line with
our best finish yet. Later, Dad overhears
a man say, "Where does that Hammer
chick get legs like that after five days of
riding?"
Raymond and Anna Fortner celebrate their TransRockies
finish (above) after seven days of hard-fought and mudfilled
racing (below). Photo : Courtesy Raymond Fornter
On the final day of TR7, after nearly
330K of trail, 12,000 meters of climbing,
and 27 hours in the saddle, we are still
passing riders. On the final descent we
see ahead of us a pair in our category, and
though we do not know who they are or
where they are in the standings, we chase
and catch them simply because a week of
effective fueling with Hammer Nutrition
products has given us the legs to do so.
When the finish line comes into view, we
clasp hands, grinning from ear to ear, 6th
place secured. HN
www.hammernutrition.com 63