Join the Alliance for Ten on Zen.
There are many ways to break with consensus reality. While the Alliance may enjoy various avenues to this end, by far our favorite one is through the Pain Cave. You know, rip your legs off just to get to the door. Open it up, step inside and spend the rest of your time flogging yourself with those same legs. Why? Well, if you’ve never been there, you can’t know and those who have do know and don’t ask the question.
Ten on Zen is a challenge. It’s not really a race because everyone’s trip is a little different and that’s ok. The idea is to see how many laps you can do on the Zen trail in ten hours. If you are unfamiliar with the Zen trail, it is a short, sub-6-mile lap, that has steep climbs and almost endless tech. Doing one lap clean is a challenge for most riders. Doing two laps is considered by some to be sadistic, but we aren’t here for mere physical pain. No, this is about getting past that and finding your place where everything else fades. The trail is just the pill you swallow to find it.
Meet at the bottom of Zen at 8 AM. It’s advisable to have some way to refuel and rehydrate at this spot. You will pass through the trailhead between each lap making for an easy resupply point. We will do as many laps as possible ending somewhere around 6 PM.
This is a challenge, a personal challenge. If your Pain Cave door sits after one lap and you are flogging yourself somewhere on the climb of Lap 2, awesome! Come join us. If you want to run, cool. Want to do both? Not a problem. Need a goal to get there, well beat the course record of ten laps in ten hours deemed to be harder than TrueGrit 100. We’re kind of an inclusive group.
Current Course Records:
- Most laps – 11 held by Josh Onarheim
- Singlespeed Laps – 10 by Millard Allan
- Female Foot – 4 laps by Mama Bear
- Male Foot – 6 held by Josh Onarheim
Please note you will need to provide all your own support, snacks, alcohol, psychologist and legs.
Everyone who finishes gets a high five if they can still lift their arms.
Ten on Zen occurs on a Sunday that corresponds with John T Digger’s time off. For 2025 that will be the 5th. Stay tuned for updates.