Wrenn's story: Cheaha Challenge

BaseCamp athlete Wrenn Herman shared her experience at the 2025 Cheaha Challenge fran fondo in Alabama.

Saturday I raced the Cheaha Challenge TT 12.4 miles. I arrived at 5:20am to the start as my start time was 7:04. About the time I got to the parking lot a huge thunderstorm came through. It rained so hard we thought they would delay the start but they said the race will start on time. So once it eased up a bit I got out of the car and got my bike ready. I didn’t have time to do a complete warmup but I rode up and down the trail for a few minutes.

They have a narrow start ramp but they didn’t have a holder so we all started with a foot down- tricky on a ramp.

My amazing BaseCamp coach Len Pettyjohn and I had a goal of a negative time/power split. I was trying hard not to go all out at the start and die at the end. I don't think I achieved a negative split but my power looked pretty stable the entire ride not sure what’s that called. 😂

This was not my best time but my power was higher than last year so I was happy. I was pretty cautious because of the wet bridges on the course, I didn’t want to crash.

I was very happy to win and to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World TT which will be held in Lorne, Australia this year.

Since this was a one way course I didn't have anything with me at the finish so I wasn't able to put on my planned BaseCamp vest over my skinsuit. All of us were freezing from being wet and having to wait around at the finish but it was all worth it. We were thankful when the sun finally came out. Always so thankful for a positive result as it’s never a given, it takes a lot of hard work. Thanks to BaseCamp and everyone who keeps the training fun! 🥰