Leadville Trail 100

August 19

I am in Leadville, Colorado to run my one and only attempt at a 100 mile race this year.  I have been here since Monday, and it is now Friday.  Before Monday, I was in Colorado Springs since last Thursday.  This has given me nine days of altitude acclimation above 6,000 feet.  The interesting aspect is that my step acclimation was easier on my body.  I didn’t plan it this way; rather it was just how my schedule dictated things.  When the event in Colorado Springs was announced, I looked up the date for the Leadville 100 miler, and the two complimented each other well.  My acclimation in Colorado Springs went well, and I had a good round of golf on Sunday.  Monday’s flight up here to Leadville was interesting as I had never had my plane above 11,000 feet before then, and as Leadville is at 10,000 feet, I flew up to 12,000 feet.  All of the physiological effects that occurred in Colorado Springs re-occurred here in Leadville.  Nothing dramatic with the acclimation, but the thirst is present, and any climb or brisk walk will make the breathing hard.

I spent the week here mostly working, although I did play more golf on Tuesday.  I was disappointed as the course wasn’t very nice, and instead of being a long wide open course where I could just hit it long, the course was a tight, technical course with very small greens.  I ran Monday morning in Colorado Springs, and then I did a short run on Wednesday.  I know that most people will do some hiking, but I was busy tapering and resting.  I wanted to make sure I gave my body every opportunity to be well rested for this event.

Yesterday, Rick and Snipes arrived here in Leadville.  Rick is my crew for this race, and Snipes will be running his seventh 100 miler this year.  Leadville is the third race in the grand slam of 100 milers.  He couldn’t settle for just that, but had to add in the other two races for the great last race.  In addition, he ran Massanutten and will run Grindstone.  Then he found two more 100 milers that he needed to run so that he can get an even 10 in this year.  Whereas I have done a reasonable amount of acclimating, he is not doing much of any.  So, this may be an interesting case study as we are close in our ultra running speed, except for the fact that he has a lot more 100 mile experience than me.

Last night for dinner we went to a bar that was only one of two places in town that serves Buffalo wings.  We get there, and I order a dozen as I had tried them out the night before and deemed them acceptable.  Then Rick goes to order some, and the waitress says she needs to check to see how many they have this evening.  She reports they only have a dozen, so both Rick and Snipes order buffalo burgers.  Despite this, and the fact that I had to slather on about half a bottle of hot sauce in order to make the wings the proper spiciness, we enjoy our evening and end it with a few games of pool.  After eating and pool, we stop by to see some British friends of Snipes.  They are interesting characters, and the conversation is most engaging.

So, this brings us to today.  We had already checked into the race yesterday, but today we had to go to the mandatory runners briefing at 11am.  There was a mandatory crew briefing at Noon, but after the first hour in a hot, stuffy gym, we felt we could skip that.  It wasn’t like we would be missed amongst the other couple of thousand people there.  For dinner, we went to the only Italian restaurant in town at which I had made a reservation earlier in the week.  Because of the high demand for this restaurant, I had to make the reservation for 4pm.  Another runner, Justin gets into town today and will be sharing our room with us.  He joins us for dinner, and it turns out to be a nice place, and we all stuff ourselves.  Stuffing oneself at 10,000 feet is much easier than at lower elevations as your body apparently doesn’t want to divert any extra blood to the intestines.  After walking the length of town though, we decide we have enough room for an ice cream cone.  Then it is back to the room, and we turn the lights off around 8pm.

August 20

Justin and Snipes get introduced to the human buzz saw (aka, Rick), and we all get some sleep before Snipes alarm goes off at 2:10am.  My turn in the bathroom comes at 2:30am.  The body is working quickly this morning, and I am out quickly.  All three of us are ready to roll by about 3:10am, but as we are only five minutes from the start, we sit there for another 15 minutes before we can’t stand it anymore and load in the vehicle and drive to the start.

As we all have timing chips on our race number bibs, there is need to check in before the start.  Rick takes our picture and then we all start to mingle through the hoard to get into the middle of the pack.  I think all of Leadville is out here to cheer us on.  The gun goes off precisely at 4am, and our adventure begins.  Did I mention that this is all at 10,000 feet above sea level?

Mile 13.5    2:38:45 (11:46 avg./mile) May Queen

The first three miles are downhill out of town.  As soon as we leave the town limits, I take the first opportunity I see to relieve the pressure inside my bladder.  Snipes and Justin are now ahead of me, but I have 622 other runners to keep me company.  I am rolling along nice and easy and making good time—about 10 minutes per mile.  Just past the five mile mark, there is a short, steep uphill section that really makes me question my sanity for wanting to run this race.  If this little hill makes me breath really hard, what are the other hills going to do?  After the hill, we start our way around Turquoise Lake.  We are now on single track trail, but there are still 625 of us, and we haven’t spread out that much.  So, it is follow the line in front for most of the way.  There are a few occasions to pass, but not many.  Still, I am into this aid station in a nice time.  Rick is here waiting for me amongst the other 500 or so crews.  I drink a good bit of chocolate milk and take a bagel for the trail.  I leave my long sleeve shirt on for now as it is just getting daylight and hasn’t warmed up any.

Mile 23.5    2:22:16 (14:14 avg./mile) Outward Bound

Leaving May Queen campground, there is a nice uphill section—first on the Colorado trail and then on a jeep trail to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.  Then we get to go downhill on a power line trail to a road that then leads us into this aid station.  My climb up Sugarloaf went well as I passed a few people.  It is nice and cool, and I am really enjoying the early morning air (what there is of it).  The trail over Sugarloaf tops out a little over 11,000 feet, so things aren’t too bad.  I leave this aid station at 9:01am, which puts me almost an hour ahead of the cut-offs.  At this aid station, I drink some more chocolate milk and then some Conquest.  I try to eat my grilled ham and cheese sandwich, but my stomach doesn’t want to let much food in very quickly.  So, after eating about half of it, I start on down the road with the other half in my hand.

Mile 29.1    1:29:35 (16:00 avg./mile) Half Pipe

Leaving the Outward Bound aid station, the course is on a paved road for a couple of miles.  Then we turn onto a dirt road, pass the tree line where there is an optional aid station for crews, and finally get back on a good trail.  On the dirt road section, I catch up to Snipes.  He is moving well, and we run and walk as we continue to move forward.  This section is slightly uphill most of the way.  This aid station is one where the crews are not allowed to go, so I grab a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwich quarters and head up the trail.  Snipes has a drop bag with a Yahoo chocolate drink and some gummies in it, but he is out of the aid station just behind me.

Mile 39.5    2:16:13 (13:06 avg./mile) Twin Lakes

Somewhere on the climb up from Half Pipe I left Snipes behind.  This was not an intentional act on my part, but as I neared the top of the climb, I looked back and he wasn’t behind me anymore.  Obviously, I am climbing well today, and I hope that Snipes lack of acclimation isn’t hurting him.  When I reach the top, it is then about 3.5 miles downhill to the aid station.  I run down the hill making great time and come into the town of Twin Lakes feeling good.  With all of the crews in this small town, it seems like the whole town is basically the aid station.  I went through the official check-in point and then continued on through town until I see Rick.  I sit down and eat a cup of Ramen, some hash browns, and chocolate milk.  I am not able to eat all of the hash browns as my stomach just doesn’t want to accept food really quickly.  The chocolate milk tastes great, but I also have to be careful to drink that slowly as well.  The Conquest on the other hand goes down easily.  It is 12:46pm when I leave this aid station, so I am 1:14 ahead of the cut-off time.

Mile 44.5    2:05:49 (25:10 avg./mile) Hope Pass

At some point before Twin Lakes it dawned on me that going up Hope Pass would be about the same as climbing Baldy Mountain at Philmont.  With the Scouts, I did that in 4.5 hours.  This time, I will be moving up the hill in a race, and then turning around and doing it again.  Well, I always wondered how fast I could go up Baldy by myself.  Now I get to find out.  The first mile out of Twin Lakes is flat over marshy land.  Then I make the river crossing and begin the climb.  The river crossing was nice with the water about knee deep.  I start the climb and figure I just need to breathe as deeply as I can.  This works for the first mile or so, but then the trail gets steeper, and the higher elevation starts to take its toll.  I pass a couple of people feeding the bushes with vomit.  Having only salt capsules to offer them, I keep trudging up and up.  Before I reach the tree line, here comes the leader bounding down the hill with a female pacer in tow.  When I finally reach the tree line, the aid station is in view.  My lungs are burning, and breathing harder than I have ever breathed in my life doesn’t seem to help much, although I don’t have a choice.  At this aid station, there are llamas around as they were used to haul all of the aid station supplies to this point.  Crews aren’t allowed here either.  I get some Ramen with instant potatoes and sit down to eat it.  I also eat another PB&J sandwich quarter and then decided that the top wasn’t getting any closer staying here in the aid station.

Mile 50.0    2:06:29 (23:00 avg./mile) Winfield

After leaving the Hope Pass aid station, I only had another 500 feet of climb to the top.  As soon as I crested the pass, I had to start running down the other side.  My legs feel surprisingly great considering the climb I just did, but then again my pace going up was limited by my lungs, so I don’t think I actually stressed my legs too much.  Each step down the mountain takes me closer to a lower elevation.  Mike Priddy, who was back with Snipes, catches me on the downhill, and we push each other all the way down to the road.  Mike had to ask a few runners to get out of our way, but otherwise, we only had to avoid the ever increasing number of return runners.  When I got down to the dirt road, I was told that it was about two miles to the aid station.  As the road was gently uphill, I elected to walk most of it into Winfield.  At the aid station, it is an absolute zoo!  Rick had to park about a half mile away, and just about every crew is here right now.  A third are trying to leave, a third are waiting for their runner, and the last third are trying to get in so they can park.  In addition to the crews that have been out here all day, there are also pacers that are waiting to start running with a runner.  I sit down and eat a grilled ham and cheese.  I try to wash it down with some chocolate milk, but it is slow going with the sandwich and chocolate milk.  However, I know that I need to get the calories into my body, so I take my time.  In between bites and chewing, I change my shoes and socks.  My original goal was to get to halfway by 4pm (or 12 hours), but it is almost 5pm when I finally get away from Winfield.  I tell Rick that I hope I will see him at Twin Lakes in less than 5 hours, but I have no idea how long it will take me to get back over Hope Pass.  I take my headlamp with me and initially take my Houdini jacket, but then decide to leave it at the crew vehicle.

Mile 55.5    2:30:46 (27:25 avg./mile) Hope Pass

I run all the way from Winfield back to the start of the climb.  It is a gentle downhill, and I don’t feel like I can waste it.  About 15 minutes out of Winfield, I see Snipes heading towards Winfield.  He says that he has no desire, whatsoever, to go back up Hope Pass.  I tell him that he has to as he is going for the Grand Slam.  I start the climb up Hope Pass not expecting to see many runners still coming down, but for the first half of the climb, there are numerous runners.  Most are walking down the hill as they know they won’t beat the cut-off at Winfield.  The climb is nice and steep, but I continue to trudge up to the pass.  Every other switchback, I stop for about 30 seconds so that my breathing and heart rate can drop below redline.  Halfway up to the pass, I can see the top and the runners ahead of me.  Everyone around me is working hard, but we are all hurting.  As I catch my breath at one of the switchbacks, I let four people behind me pass.  Two are runners, and two are pacers.  One of the pacers is struggling much more than either of the two runners.  My lungs are burning, and I cannot wait to get to the top.  Finally, I crest the pass, turn around, look back down at the poor runners behind me, and let out a huge yell!  It might not be all downhill from here, but I can see Turquoise Lake and the town.  I shuffle down to the aid station and begin to suck down some calories.  I get some more Ramen soup and eat a few sandwich quarters.

Mile 60.5    1:46:17 (21:15 avg./mile) Twin Lakes

I make decent time coming down from Hope Pass.  I only pass a couple of runners, and before I get to the flat portion, I have to turn on my headlamp.  Making my way across the river and through the marshlands is challenging in the dark, but I am motivated to stay in front of the cut-offs.  I get into the edge of town just after 9:00pm.  Rick is there and asks me what I want first, and I say that I want to change my shoes.  He says he forgot to put a dry pair in the bag to replace the ones I put on at Winfield.  However, I ask him to go back and get a pair as it will be 16 miles until I see him again at the Outward Bound aid station.  While I am waiting, I eat my oatmeal and bagel.  I dry my feet off, get my iPod all setup, and then wait for Rick.  It takes him about 10 minutes, but it is fine as I am resting and have a chance to eat all of the food nice and slowly.  I get my shoes and socks on and then I am off up through the rest of town and check into the aid station.  It is 9:16pm when I go through the aid station, so I am only 29 minutes ahead of the cut-off.  I hope that Snipes is moving well down the hill so that he gets through here before 9:45pm.

Mile 70.9    3:03:20 (17:38 avg./mile) Half Pipe

After getting my shoes on and filling my stomach again, I am ready to roll.  I climb out of the Twin Lakes aid station on a mission to gain some time on the cut-offs.  I climb the 3.5 miles up out of Twin Lakes in an hour.  I am feeling good, and I pass several other runners coming up the hill.  One of the pacers asked me if I was a runner as I was moving so well.  The only time I run with music is at night during a 100 mile race.  It helps me delay the onset of sleepiness.  It is a nice night.  We have avoided any storms.  I am by myself for several minutes at a time before I catch the next runner.  I also get caught by a runner or two, but I am passing more than pass me.  Before I get to the aid station, I get pretty tired.  I don’t have any time to spare and push through to the aid station.  At the aid station, there are a lot of runners and pacers sitting around.  I grab a couple of sandwich quarters, choke them down, and then get some soup.  I was starving getting in here and feel like I could eat some more, but I know that I can’t stay too long.  As I am leaving the aid station, Snipes is just getting there.  I tell him that I am sure he will catch up to me quickly, and he says he just has to grab a Yahoo drink from his drop bag.  It is 12:19am when I leave this aid station, and that gives me 56 minutes on the cut-off.  So, I have gained time, but I cannot relax.

Mile 76.5    2:13:11 (23:47 avg./mile) Outward Bound

In less than a half mile from the last aid station, Snipes catches up to me.  We spend several minutes comparing how things have gone since we last ran together earlier in the day.  After that I again start to get sleepy.  Snipes offers me some No-Doze (caffeine pills), and I take two of them.  They seem to work as I manage not to fall asleep on my feet.  We run and walk all the way to the Outward Bound aid station.  There is the long, paved road section on this part of the course, and we end up walking most of it as it is slightly uphill to the aid station.  When I get to the aid station, I go up and check in, and then visit the port-a-john.  I would rather not spend the time sitting down, but what am I supposed to do?  I guess the caffeine pills kept all of my systems awake.  Feeling much lighter, I go back to Rick and eat a cup of Ramen and a couple of hash browns, while washing it down with Coke and Conquest.  With my extended break, I leave the aid station at 2:32am, just 28 minutes ahead of the cut-off.  Apparently, whoever made these cut-off times expected us to run the whole way from Half Pipe.

Mile 86.5    3:26:08 (20:37 avg./mile) May Queen

Leaving Outward Bound, I begin to do the cut-off math in my head and realize that the last section doesn’t leave much time to finish in less than 30 hours.  So, Snipes and I are motivated to keep moving forward and hope that we still have enough to push it to the end.  We start the climb up Sugarloaf Mountain.  This will be our last climb of the race, and initially I am climbing a little better than Snipes.  However, it doesn’t take him long to get back in front of me and lead us up the hill.  While this climb is nothing like the climb up Hope Pass, it is getting late, and it has been a long time since my legs were fresh.  I stay with Snipes all the way to the top, but when we start to go down the other side; he is moving better than me.  I tell him to go ahead and not to wait for me as he needs to finish under the cut-off.  I also figure that I will catch up to him as soon as my legs get going.  I shuffle down the dirt road, and it isn’t until I get on the single track that I start to find my stride.  On the last two miles into the aid station, I pass several other runners.  I get into the aid station just as it is starting to become daylight.  Rick is there with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.  I eat the whole thing, and then take the Coke with me.  I drink the Coke walking the next quarter of a mile.  I leave the aid station just before 6:00am, which is 30 minutes ahead of the cut-off time, and I have four hours to go 13.5 miles to the finish!

Mile 100     3:38:18 (16:10 avg./mile) FINISH

Now on fresh legs, walking four miles an hour on relatively flat ground takes some effort, but it is doable.  Add in that the trail around Turquoise Lake is very rolling and that I have been at this for 26 hours, and four miles per hour is hard.  As a matter of fact, three miles an hour is not a walk in the park.  I make good time coming around the lake.  At first I am passing many runners, but then a group of 4-5 runners comes by me.  Now it is just a matter of continuing to move forward.  After the lake portion, there is the steep, short downhill, and I run down it.  I can still run, but I don’t really know how much more I have left.  With three miles to go, the course begins the climb up to Leadville, and a lady named Kim passes me and is being paced by Roy Heger.  It is getting warm and the uphill seems to go on forever.  In addition, most all of the people cheering us on are congratulating us on finishing, but all I am thinking is that I can’t count my chickens before they are hatched.  I still have a good uphill portion left, and one never knows what will happen.  As I get into town, there is a little downhill and then uphill to the finish.  There are about five or six runners around me, and one of them starts talking about how great this is.  I agree with him, and then run to the finish.  I finish by myself, and the race officials hold up the tape for each and every runner to break.  I find out after I finish that Rick and Snipes were starting to worry about me finishing.

Official Finishing Time 29:37:07

302^nd out of 625 starters (347 finishers)

I was in very good shape coming into this race.  This spring my races have all gone well, and my body overall felt as good as it has in quite a few years.  I thought I had a chance to run a faster time at this race, but I didn’t have an appreciation of how difficult this race is.  The altitude is one thing, and then there is the fact that there are no easy 100 mile races.  This one was not easy, but I felt in control of the outcome most of the time.  Coming over Hope Pass the second time was the one point that I was not sure of the outcome.  I was close to the cut-offs, but I always felt like I could stay ahead of them.  The last section was a little stressful at first, but with five miles to go, I knew I had it.  Could I have finished with more time to spare?  Maybe, but that is easier to say after I finished.  Still, all in all, I enjoyed the race, am proud of my accomplishment, and don’t have plans to come back any time soon.

At the awards ceremony, Snipes talks with Kim.  She was around him coming back over Hope Pass.  She ended up finishing 12 minutes ahead of me.  When her name is announced, I find out that she is Kim Martin.  Kim Martin, that name sounds familiar.  Yes, I know her from the Mohican Trail 100 where she was a top female a few times.

My fall race schedule is empty as I will spend my weekends watching Nathan play football and Amy run cross country meets.  I plan to train hard for Hellgate in December, and I look forward to my ninth finish there.  My legs are good, but it is now a month later, and I can just now no longer feel the fatigue in my lungs.  Until December, take care and …

Never stop running,

Darin