Episode Details

Like many of you I didn't know who Andrew Onermaa was before he signed up for the 2020 Arkansas High Country Race. And if you still don't recognize his name, maybe you'll know him as the guy who was going toe to toe with Ted King before he ultimately went on to set an FKT. Andrew withdrew from the race around mile 700 after pushing himself further than ever before. Literally pushing his mind and body to it's limit. Sitting there on the side of the road, eating McDonalds pancakes, Andrew turned on his cell phone and captured those raw emotions he was feeling in that moment. After watching that video I knew I had to talk to this guy, he is all heart and I wanted to hear his story.

Six months later I was able to meet Andrew in person and hear his story from the banks of the Mulberry River, there in the Ozark National forest where the race took place. His story is truly incredible, but it became a little more so for me when I learned that he didn't even get his first gravel bike until May of 2020, which means he only had 5 months of experience before signing up for the ARHCR!! Think about that for a second. Think about how hard he must have pushed himself leading up to and then during the race. He lined up at the start line on an entry level Salsa Warbird with 5 months of experience against a former world tour pro who has transitioned over to gravel earning the title King of Gravel. At some points of the race he was leading, but it was always close, as Andrew pushed his limits and probably pushed Ted King to dig a little deeper.

This story typifies one of the best aspects of this sport, it is an equalizer. It shows that anybody can do this, anybody who is willing to train hard, ride hard, push hard, and dig deeper than ever before can do this if they choose. It's not easy, in fact it is very hard, but it is possible and I love that about this sport. For this event Ted King's decades of experience paid off earning him a well deserved FKT and I couldn't be more happy for him. I'm equally happy for Andrew Onermaa for the courage it took to push himself that hard, to find his limit, and for his willingness to share so openly his story.

I think it can be easy as a dot watcher to be numb to how hard these efforts really are and how hard the athletes dig to find the courage to keep p