Cat's story: Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo

BaseCamp athlete Cat Paquin shared her experience at the 2026 Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo in Alabama.

I've had just over a week to soak in the 2026 Cheaha Challenge UCI Gran Fondo World Series 96 miles race with 9k+ ft of elevation.

Official Stats:

• PRed by over 22 mins from last year

• 2nd in age group (1st place won overall, too, and just 20 mins ahead of me, she's a CAT1 racer, so I feel good about this finish)

• 3rd under 45

• 6th overall

First off, none of this would have been possible without BaseCamp. Yes, I put in the time and effort over the last year to see such performance gains, but our coaches and community is what kept me motivated to crush my goals.

I had three goals at Cheaha this year, to PR my time from last year, not to get dropped in the first quarter mile again, and to control my controllables (nutrition/hydration), and if I got a podium spot, it was going to be a bonus.

The weekend was not without its difficulties. It began with my husband getting a severe stomach bug the night before we were supposed to drive down to AL. As I was lying in bed awake while he struggled, I kept thinking, "Please don't let this be viral." I came to terms that life was life and whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I felt guilty for leaving him in bed while I drove down to Jacksonville, but he just needed to sleep it off anyway. On the drive down I kept getting random waves of nausea, but those were just in my head. Whew.

By the time I got to Jacksonville, I was pumped to see Shannon and Den Scanlon for our shakeout ride, which helped us prep for our big day, thanks to Jill Gass. We were all then joined by Clovis Pitchford for dinner, along with many friends from my local club. We left carb loaded and prepped for race day.

Race morning, the weather was looking great and hot, but I hydrated and was ready for the long day. The race started, and I was super anxious about being dropped but stayed with the group, since we went out slower than last year and I was able to settle in. I pushed a bit up the first climb and stayed with the group no problem, then burned a match to stay with the first break of the day. That flat stretch felt like an eternity, but it gave me confidence in my fitness.

Around mile 20, when the real climbs began, the group broke up and the "pros" took off up the climb like they were on e-bikes. Hah, I just stayed at my comfortable threshold pace that I knew I could hold for a long time, since I had almost 50 miles of climbing ahead. That's when the group behind us with my friend, Kat Welling, and Shannon caught us. We all rode together for a while.

Back to the race, halfway, at the turnaround, I burned another match on a downhill section to catch up with 2 people I had been riding with that had not stopped for water. It was the best decision of the day. Sarah, Joe, and I pacelined the majority of the way back, but we lost Joe with 8 miles to go on the last climb. This is where we also ran out of water, but it was downhill to the finish, and we knew it. Sarah and I finished together on a fun sprint, but there were a lot of people and cones, so we slowed down and crossed at the same time.

I just started 1x1 coaching with Greg Waggoner on May 1 after meeting him in Mallorca, and he got right to work to make sure I was prepped for my race 2 weeks later. I'm so grateful and impressed. I can't wait to keep working towards my evolution in strength and durability with Greg and BaseCamp.

I also want to give more than just partial credit to Scott Moninger and our entire P1 crew in Mallorca. All winter long I trained for training camp with our group winter training, and Lori Thomson made sure my strength was topnotch. Not only did it pay off in Mallorca, but it paid off at Cheaha.

Greg told me after the race, "Enjoy the moment." Well, I am still enjoying this moment and think I will be for a long time. I know that I still have more to give and learn, and it is my goal to continue to grow as a well-rounded endurance athlete with our BaseCamp Community.

Peace, love, bikes.