March 2010 marks my 3rd season as a Pro, as each year that passes I feel like I make a little more progress especially in the Cross Country and Short Track style races. The difference from a long distance Endurance race like the Leadville 100 or La Ruta is that you really have to manage your efforts, your nutrition in an Endurance race is very critical compared to an XC race where all you need is a couple of Gels and about 40-50oz of hydration to make it. The good thing is that my body is adapting little by little to the violent hard efforts required to race XC and Short Track. This past weekend at the Bonelli Park US Cup Triple Crown, I was able to come out with a top 10 overall after the 3 events including the Super-D, now with some more speed work I expect to step it up a little closer to the top 5-8 at the national level races where all the top riders come out to race, at the end of this races I always feel like I get a lot out of them just so I can become a better Endurance Racer and at the same time rub shoulders with the Continent's best riders.

This Saturday is the Vision Quest Endurance Race here in Orange County, I have won it 2 times and I'm hoping to defend the title against some top endurance riders, more to come on that on next weekend's update.

Till then,

Manuel Prado