During late April and early May, Kevin Callahan competed in the Men’s 3 class of the New Mexico road race the “Tour of the Gila.”

The Men’s 3 class race spans across 259 miles in a five-day, five-stage format from Apr. 29- May 3.

Callahan was able to snatch 12th place in the GC rankings- putting him above the 70th percentile in a 45-man field of competitors.

Looking on his second stage, Callahan noted on his Facebook page that “the pace was fast as someone had put 2 minutes on us during a breakaway, but once we caught him things mellowed out around 30 miles to go. In the final 15 miles the pace picked up again, and I was in the front of the pack for most of that time. The finish was at the bottom of a long, gradual descent. I swung around a corner with about 1KM to go, and found myself at the front of the peloton.”

Stage two was a 75-mile race, following the stage one race, which was just two miles shorter at 73 miles. Despite the distances, Callahan said on day four that “As the week goes on I’ve been feeling stronger and stronger.”

Callahan’s race-day routine starts with a warm up. This can be anywhere from ten to 45 minutes depending on the length of the race. Then, he shows up to the start around ten minutes early to relax, clear his mind, and prepare for the race.

This was Callahan’s fourth race this year. In total, he is approaching the 40th race mark with around 36 races of experience.

On the whole, Callahan said that he learned a lot about racing and is looking forward to his next race.