Catalyst Race Series

The Catalyst Race Series is back and with new venues and more fun!

Stop #1 Is at Lake Glendale Recreation Area. You can expect flow, chunky rocks and roots, lung and leg burning climbs and some of the fastest downhills in all of the Shawnee! These trails have been hand tuned and are maintained by members of the Shawnee Mountain Bike Association and other volunteers. These are the first trails to be designated for MTB use in the Shawnee National Forest and are some of the best riding we have in our area.. All proceeds from this race will support future trail building and maintenance by the Shawnee Mountain Bike Association. 

Stop #2 is The first ever Cannonball MTB race on the rocking CampO MTB course. Come experience the fast and flowy CampO trail network. This course is custom built MTB specific trails that cut through the ~800 acres of CampO private property. These trails have been built over the last four years by the staff at Bike Surgeon and many volunteers to be used for the Southern Illinois Fat Tire Festival. It’s time we host another MTB event here. This singletrack includes creek crossings, rocks, roots, punchy climbs and some flowy downhills. It is in some of the most scenic property in all of Southern Illinois. All proceeds for this racing series are dedicated toward trail maintenance and improvements. May 22nd

Stop #3 Is at the professionally designed and built MTB trails at SIU Touch of Nature in Makanda, IL. The first phase of completed trails officially opened on May 1st 2021 after five years of planning, fundraising, construction, and thousands of hours of volunteer work. This trail system is the fastest and most flowy of the three locations. Although most of this trail system is fast flowing singletrack, a few creek crossings and small rock gardens are thrown in to keep everyone on their toes and keep things exciting. All proceeds for this racing series are dedicated toward the ultimate goal of constructing 30 miles of trails at Touch of Nature. June 25th

Racing will start at 10AM on Saturday, April 30th with the Experts starting their 3 laps. 15 minutes later at 10:15AM the Sport/2 lap race will start and at 10:30AM the Beginner and Youth race will start. Finishing up with the kids class at 10:45. Registration and check-in will open at 8AM.

Each course will be between 8 and 10 miles per lap. The course will be taped and spray painted for fun and fast racing, helping even first time riders on these trails easily fly through the woods.

When the racers are finished, there will be a fun podium ceremony for the winners followed by lunch, a post race meal with ice cold drinks . Approximately 30 minutes after a full podium we will recognize the top three male and female riders in each category, and points will be awarded for every race for our overall series winners to be announced.