MOUNTAIN-biking has had to take a back seat for Jamie Vogele in 2017.
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Completing a Bachelor in Exercise and Sports Science has taken up most of his time this year, but it hasn’t stopped him from still hitting some targets.
They are just in different categories to what he’s used to.
Previously Vogele has been more accustomed to endurance events, but this year with less time available to compete, he tried his luck in marathons.
“I thought I’d try something new this year,” Vogele said.
“I wanted to try out the shorter distance events and my main focus was on the marathons and National Road Series events.”
Last weekend, the 44-year-old finished third in the 40-49 age category in the National Cross Country Marathon Series.
“The series consisted of seven races over the country where the best four races were counted toward becoming the National Series Champion,” he said.
“I completed five of the seven races on top of the point score.”
Vogele’s successful series entered him into the Mountain Bike Australia hall of fame where he was presented with the legends jersey.
“It gave me a discount into the 2018 series,” he said.
Marathon racing is around 100 kilometres in distance with mountain biking, taking around four to six hours to complete depending on how technical the terrain is.
Vogele competed at Wingello, Bendigo, Redland Bay, Grandchester and East Kowen and did not compete at Dwellingup and Alice Springs.
"If all five races were counted in the point score I would have placed first,” he said.
The Port Macquarie mountain-biker said the marathon events were “a little short for me to normally do well in.”
“The training is a little more intense than the long 12 and 24-hour races I normally train for, so I am excited to be on top of the leader board at the end of the 2017 series.”
He admitted he was satisfied with the overall results in his first season in the marathon category.
“With the amount of training I did, I’m happy with the outcome,” Vogele said.
“I couldn’t be happier really, because I went in to a few races a little bit undercooked.”
Vogele said there are a few more races left in the season, but he would use them for training purposes.
“I’ve been able to try out a few new trails I wouldn’t normally have had to this year,” he said.
“And now I’ve got the New South Wales XEO in Armidale coming up which I’ll go in.”