Fairfield woman digs deep to finish 150-mile gravel bike race

LINCOLN, Neb. — Fairfield resident Annalisa Thompson sought to test her endurance, so she signed up for a 150-mile bike race on gravel, more than twice the distance she had ever traveled.

Thompson was one of several Fairfield residents who traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska for the Garmin Gravel Worlds race on Aug. 20. Cyclists could choose between the 75, 150 and 300-mile races. Thompson was the only woman from Fairfield to compete in the 150-mile race, and she finished in the Top 50, very good considering that 1,000 women competed in the event.

Before this race, the longest bike ride Thompson had ever done was 63 miles at the Albia Holy Cow race one month before Gravel Worlds. In the lead-up to Gravel Worlds, Thompson tried to get in at least three 20-mile bike rides per week, though she was limited by an injury she suffered just before the race.

When it came time to register for Gravel Worlds, Thompson said she initially signed up for the 75-mile race, but changed her mind at the last minute and opted for the 150-mile race.

“I wanted the endurance challenge, to push my limits,” she said. “I wanted to find that part of me that you only find in the middle of nowhere on a hot gravel road when you can’t go any farther, and you have to find the strength to put one foot in front of the other. I knew I could do 75, but I didn’t know if I could do 150. I wanted to see if I could.”

Fairfield resident Clint Stephenson did Gravel Worlds the year before, so he “rallied the troops” and got a group together to go in 2022. Nine people from Fairfield competed in the race. Three of them signed up to do 150 miles, and they were Stephenson, Thompson and Ti Liptak. Six signed up for the 75-mile race, and they were Skylar Messer, Kooper Dahlstrom, Tanell Liptak, Amy Greenfield, Aurelien Windenberger and Leo Runyan.

Thompson said the race started at 6 a.m., and though she was there with a big group, she didn’t see the other cyclists from Fairfield until the end of the race. That’s because cyclists were grouped together based on how quickly they expected to complete the race. Thompson said she expected to finish the 150 miles in 12 hours, so she was put with other riders with that same expectation.

“Ti and Clint started closer to the front, and I didn’t see them for the whole ride,” Thompson said. “We gave each other high-fives before the race, and then we celebrated at the finish line.”

The cyclists were put in groups of four so they could take turns being the lead cyclist, and shielding the riders behind them from head winds. This allows the cyclists to conserve energy and ride more efficiently.

The weather was perfect, Thompson said, and the temperature never got above the high 80s.

“I was grateful it didn’t get into the 90s, because it was 96 the year before,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that the first half of the race went according to plan. She remembers looking at her Garmin watch, which indicated she had gone 80 miles. She was still feeling good, and was glad she had switched to the longer race.

At around mile 117, Thompson fell off her bike, and 5 miles after that, she could tell that an intense fatigue was setting in.

“I was in a calorie deficit and dehydrated, and it was hard to focus on the road,” she said. “But I knew we were coming up on a mandatory checkpoint, so I told myself, ‘It’s just 10 minutes out. You can do anything for 10 minutes.’ I knew there was going to be food and calories and everything I needed there.”

At the checkpoint, Thompson chugged two Cokes and ate half a hot dog.

“It was difficult to eat,” she said. “I had pushed my body more than I’ve ever pushed it. I was in survival mode.”

Thompson said that sugary drinks like Coca-Cola provide fast energy, and hot dogs with a bun provide a mixture of slow and fast calories. After these refreshments, Thompson said she knew she’d be able to finish the race, but also knew it would be a challenge.

“Around mile 136, I really had to focus,” she said. “Before that, it was still fun. About 15 miles before the finish line, the members of my team broke up and we rode at our own pace. Those were the most challenging, because I had to dig deep. I told myself, ‘Annalisa, you can do this!’ That’s the experience I was looking for, of feeling like I couldn’t go any farther and finding the strength to do so.”

As Thompson crossed the finish line, her name was announced on the loudspeaker, and she was in ecstasy.

“I saw all my people at the finish line, and it was pure bliss,” she said. “I had so much adrenaline in my body. We sat there and watched everyone cross the finish line. It wasn’t until after dinner that I felt the fatigue. I was planning on going to meet up with the people I rode with, but at that point, there was no chance I was getting out of bed.”

Thompson finished the race in 11.5 hours, counting the four times she got off her bike to rest, eat and drink. She spent about 10.5 hours on the bike, averaging 14.5 miles per hour.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com