2 cycling, mountain biking, and running events in Ravenna, Ohio

NOMBS, Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association, & Shenanigans Jr Cycling are proud to present the 2026 Ohio State MTB Championship Race at West Branch State Park!

In 2025 West Branch saw a major expansion of the MTB trails, with the effort led by Mike Ryba, CAMBA, and ODNR. Mike has been the driving force behind so many NE Ohio trails for 25 years. What better way to celebrate these milestones than to host a race!

Camping & Pratice Laps:

• By special permission of ODNR we will be allowed to camp at the trailhead for race weekend!

• RV sites can be booked here.

• Group campfire Friday and Saturday evening.

• Course will be marked for practice laps early Saturday.

THIS EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE!

Course info pending.

Day Of Registration:

While we strongly encourage you to preregister (and greatly appreciate you doing so as it helps the event go more smoothly), there will be "day of" registration. It will be an extra $10 after 6pm Saturday evening, and will close 60 minutes before the start of your event.

Race day Schedule:

• 9am registration/packet pickup opens

• 9:30am Cat 3 Jr Novice U19-U13 & Kids race day of registration closes

• 10am Cat3 Jr Novice U19-U13 & Kids race start

• 11:30 am day of registration & number pickup closes.

• 11:40 am Jr Novice podiums and riders Meeting

• 12pm Cat 1 categories start

• 12:40pm All remaining cat 2 and cat 3 categories start. THIS TIME IS APPROXIMATE!

• 2:30-3pm, all podiums.

• Adaptive racers, we may alter where in the schedule you start as we work with you and learn what works best.

!!!!!!!Start time notes!!!!!

In an effort to offer a safer and more fun race environment for all participants we are now starting Cat 2 and Cat 3 racers after Cat 1 and E Bikes have completed one lap. This greatly reduces conflict between very fast cat 1 and E Bike racers passing novice racers by nearly eliminating lap traffic. The posted start time of 12:40m for cat 2 & 3 is approximate. We will begin releasing the remaining cat 2 & 3 waves after Cat 1 racers go through scoring. Know your wave number!

10am Cat3 Jr. Novice Races

You may have noticed that we are doing Cat3 Jr novice races early in the day and be asking "hey, what's up with that?" We want to give Jr's, and particularly novice Jr's the best race day experience we can. Separating the Jr. novice races to an earlier start allows us to do 3 things:

• Fewer racers on course for the race.

• For families where the one or both parents also race it gives the parents a chance to spectate and cheer their kids.

• Novice Jr's get their own start, with more people cheering and spectating. Bring the cowbells!

USA Cycling Licenses, and NOMBS Series Championship rules & eligibility:

NOMBS is proud to be bringing a USAC sanctioned series to Ohio and be hosting the official USA Cycling Ohio MTB Championship. Partnering with USA Cycling helps us offer you a great series with structure, consistent categories & scoring, good insurance for landowners, and allows an opportunity for riders with goals outside Ohio to earn USAC points.

USA Cycling Race Age:

Your “race age” is the age you will be on December 31st. This rule exists so that a person does not have to change the age group they are entering partway through a race season.

NOMBS Series Championship Eligibility rules:

1. A rider must have a current USA Cycling License (need not reside in Ohio).

2. Must race in the season finale race.

3. Scored on best 5 races.

4. In the event of a points tie the season final race is the tie breaker.

Complete series rules can be found here.

NEW 10k for 2026!

We will be celebrating the new Buckeye Trail section at West Branch State Park. The Buckeye Trail has recently been designated a State Trail by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and is only the third trail to receive this recognition. This new section is the first of more to come!

West Branch State Park is predominantly forested with a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. The forest is primarily oak-hickory and provides habitats for a diverse array of wildlife, including deer, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, pheasant, and songbirds. The dense canopy provides shade and cool temperatures in the warmer months making it perfect for hiking and running.

Marathoners will make their way around the eastern end of the lake crossing the dam and then continuing to the entrance to the campground before returning back to the beach. Half marathoners will finish at the turnaround and take a shuttle back to the finish party at the beach. 10k participants will complete an all-trail route from the beach to the dam and back.