National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series: Fool's Gold 100 2011: Preview

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Ernesto Marenchin (Speedgoat) fords the swollen creek just before the finish(Image credit: Ryan O'Dell)

Racers are making their way deep south this weekend to contest the ninth race of the Kenda National Ultra Endurance Series (NUE), the Fool's Gold 100. Now in its fifth year, the race traverses the rugged North Georgia mountains with a combination of gravel roads, doubletrack, and classic Georgian singletrack. The 100-mile course consists of two 50-mile loops and totals over 14,000 feet of elevation gain. The Fool's Gold also offers a single 50-mile loop for those not up to the full hundie distance.

Of note is the fact that the 2011 Fool's Gold 50/100 has changed venues and will be based out of the beautiful Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega, Georgia. This change was made to allow for a new and better race course, more parking, with scenic views and, of course, excellent wines. Racers should expect plenty of singletrack, including some new rerouted trail from previous years, and doubletrack with a fair dose of gravel road grunts. There are a couple of longer sustained climbs, however, it will also include many rollers.

In the men's open division, NUE series leader and three-time champion, Jeff Schalk (Trek Mountain Co-Op) will once again challenge the 2009 Fool's Gold winner, Christian Tanguy (Team CF). In 2010, Schalk edged out Tanguy by just two minutes winning in just 4:15:26 after torrential rains forced Race Director, Eddie O’Dea, to wisely cut the race short after just 50 miles, a first in the NUE Series, now in its fifth year.

2008 Fool's Gold 100 winner and 2008 NUE Series Champion Cheryl Sornson (Team CF) tops the list of women on the roster at the Fool's Gold 100. Sornson, currently second place in the overall standings, would have a major uphill battle if she attempted to take the series from defending champion Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt). Carey was last year's race winner at 5:02:20 in a field that included women's legend Sue Haywood of Virginia.

For Brenda Simril (Motor Mile Racing), a win at Fool's Gold would bring her into a near tie with Sornson for second place. Simril has second place finishes at both the Mohican 100 and the Wilderness 101. Another registered contender, Karen Potter (MTBRacenews), has a second place finish at the Lumberjack 100 and two third place finishes, including the recent Pierre's Hole 100. Potter could shake things up with a win and contend for the two spot in the process.

With his win at the Pierre's Hole 100, Pflug's strategy has worked flawlessly, taking out the competition at every race, he has made it virtually impossible for anyone to take his series title this year. The Pfluginator now owns the singlespeed division. However, that doesn't mean that the entire field won't be chasing him with hopes of capturing the headlines by winning on Saturday. Can Pflug hold off this field to make it eight out of nine?

Herriman has early season wins at both Mohican and the Lumberjack following a third place finish at the Cohutta 100 but he has been MIA ever since. He was expected at Pierre's Hole 100 yet failed to show up at the starting line. The defending champ is registered for the Fool's Gold 100 but now needs at least one more win plus a win at the series tiebreaker at Shenandoah Mountain 100 to defend his title.