Jena's XCM National Championship experience

The expression "Well, that's racing" is a common expression in cycling.

On any given day, a racer, no matter how well prepared they may be, can have a bad day.  It can be caused by a number of things: A poor night's sleep, a crash, an upset stomach, a wrong turn on course... the list goes on and on.

For Jena, her goal of standing on the podium at the US XC marathon championships came to a halt when she heard the sound of air rushing out of her tire.  Flat tires happen during bike races.  It's always been part of the sport and it always will be.  

After attempting to fix it multiple times with no avail, Jena, unfortunately had to call it a day.  She was physically and mentally ready to kick butt that day, but the sharp, jagged rocks on this Arkansas course got the best of her.

So what does an athlete, one who trains year round and fully dedicates themselves physically and financially to their sport do when such a thing happens?  Well, they can make excuses, sulk and whine about it, or do the opposite.  Jena decided to do the opposite and this makes for one proud boyfriend/teammate.

Jena chalked this DNF up to a learning experience and made the most of it.  She found a friend in the woods who had the same fate and the two of them hit it off.  Jocelyn Linscott and Jena spent the rest of the day hanging out and laughing and realized that yeah "that's racing"... and it can happen to anyone on any day.