My Race Across the Sky in Leadville Colorado

“You’re better than you think that you are. You can do more than you think that you can.” — Ken

These two statements were running through my head as the cold, hard, rain of Leadville, CO poured down on me while descending Hagerman Road. Two hours ago I handed my rain jacket to my support team at the Twin Lakes Dam aid station. At that time, the sun was shining brightly, with fluffy white clouds against the bright blue sky. No need for me to carry a rain jacket, I thought. I regretted my decision as the rain and lightning started to intensify.

I was nearly 82 miles into the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and about to complete the most exhausting parts of the course. I wasn’t mentally prepared for the climbs and descents that I would encounter on the remaining miles. Nor was I physically prepared for the rain.

The rain in Leadville is cold. Uncomfortably cold. The raindrops were large and full. Each raindrop so heavy that I thought the drops were hail. The rain stung my face and back as I slowly coasted downhill. The lightning lit up the sky as I counted the time between the lightning flash and the sound of thunder. The lightning strikes were uncomfortably close.

I held on while descending the gravel road, which would connect with asphalt. The race support staff directed me around the hard-left turn onto the pavement. The rain still stinging my face and back. I was cold, wet, exhausted and disoriented. My Garmin showed my mileage at roughly 85 miles and I started my slow sustained ascent on Turquoise Lake road.

I panicked. I wasn’t going to finish the race in under 12 hours. My spirit was crushed.

Ahead of this brief, but intense rain shower my Leadville MTB 100 race was positive and my mood uplifted.

Leadville Start, 6th & Harrison Avenue, Elevation 10,152 Feet (Outbound)

That morning, I jockeyed to a good position in my corral. This was my first Leadville race, so I started in the white corral along with nearly 50% of the total field. You can participate in some of the other Leadville events in order to improve your corral. Participating in other pre-qualification events gets you closer to the leaders.

The race starts with a shotgun blast! The sound of the shotgun firing was muffled due to my location in the pack of 1600 plus racers. The first section of the route is a slow series of stops and starts resulting in an “accordion effect”. The paved and gravel roads out of town are mostly downhill and the pace is fast. The temperatures can vary between 30 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I chose to wear arm warmers which were warm enough for me that morning.

I stuck with some of the faster riders nearby and tried passing racers whenever possible. I noticed a few racers on the sides of the road changing tires or taking care of other mechanicals. Racers around me were moving fast and I did my best to keep my position. I had many opportunities to pass. I was pushing speeds of up to 40 mph and was cautious. I didn’t see any crashes. Avoiding a crash on pavement at the start of the race was my primary focus. I had pre-ridden this part of the course and felt confident and calm as I made a sharp turn onto Tennessee Creek Road towards the St Kevins climb (pronounced Saint Key-vens). The road breaks from pavement to gravel at this turn.

The Leadville event attracts cyclists of all levels. I’d read that the St Kevins climb is the first major bottleneck in the route. I felt strong and passed cyclists on the climb. There’s enough room to pass and the racers I was able to pass were courteous.

I was nearing the top of the St Kevins climb and before I knew it I had ascended to 10,900 feet. 10,900 feet elevation was my first point of interest (POI). The first climb tops out at 11,072 feet but pedaling became easier at this POI. I was grateful for my positive attitude while climbing St Kevins … I was stoked!

The remaining section of the St Kevins climb was quick, with rolling ascents and descents. I enjoyed pedaling this section and felt confident in my ability to finish the race in under 10 hours. My time at this point also aligned with the feeling in my gut. Shortly thereafter, the gravel road ends and a sharp right onto pavement begins a surprisingly fast descent down Turquoise Lake Road.

Carter Summit Aid Station, Elevation 10,714 Feet (10.6 Miles Outbound)

The Leadville 100 race course is an “out and back”. I became increasingly aware of the fast sections on the outbound which would become slow or unrideable sections on the inbound.

Another sharp-right turn and I’m back onto a gravel road climbing Hagerman Pass Road, but not working too hard. I was 13.5 miles into the ride and felt amazing!

My biggest challenge with any endurance race is nutrition and hydration. I needed to eat and drink enough to stay hydrated and keep my body fueled. That becomes increasingly difficult for me the longer I keep a sustained pace.

I built my nutrition plan around GU’s CEO Brian Vaughan Lays Out His Nutrition Plan article. Having raced and completed multiple ultra-endurance mountain biking events, I’ve tried multiple approaches to nutrition. Consuming only real food, consuming only liquids, consuming a combination of liquids and endurance foods, sugar, no sugar, Enduralytes, Salt-Tabs, all the things … I once ordered a Dominos pizza during a multi-day bike packing race.

For longer endurance events I’ve found that real food, with breaks to stretch my legs and catch a nap, work best. For Leadville, I changed it up a bit, so that I could ensure that I was on my bike, riding while consuming food, water and electrolytes. I set a timer on my Garmin Edge 1000 to alert me every 30 minutes. The timer ensured that I was consuming fluids and eating at regular intervals. I ate GU Roctane gels every 30 minutes and drank 1 bottle of GU Roctane hourly. I really like the GU Roctane Energy Summit Tea flavor. The taste is subtle and I could drink it at mile 100 almost as easily as I could at mile 10.

This nutrition plan worked for me. My suggestion to you is to find a plan and stick with it. Any adjustments to your plan should be ironed out ahead of the race. Also leave yourself options.

I packed bags full of random foods and flavors which my support team had available at the Twin Lakes aid station. Some items that I typically crave earlier in the race don’t work for me at mile 50 or so. I really enjoyed the Taos Bakes energy bars. Their Pecan Praline + Maple Syrup flavor was easily consumable, tastes great, contains all organic ingredients and provides 200 calories per bar.

The next section was more grueling and peaked at the power-line descent. I recall looking down the power-line descent and thinking, “man, that’s steep”. This year, the power-line section had been graded so it didn’t appear as rutted or scary as I remembered in the Race Across the Sky videos.

My brakes were squealing on the descent. The squealing made me nervous and I hoped that my brake pads weren’t worn out, or worse … I focused on my descent without compromising too much speed for safety. My preference for the descent would have been a full-suspension frame. I was riding my Trek Stache with 27.5 wheels and 2.6-inch tires front and rear. I will add my full setup later, if you are interested in the details.

The power-line section ends abruptly on pavement where you begin your “road ride” to Twin Lakes. This section is fast and flat. I had read about opportunities to form a tight group and work together. This didn’t happen for me on the way out. The group in front of me was too fast and I wanted to “race my own race”, so I had to mentally dial back. Racing my own race was accepting my ability, assessing if I was exceeding my capability and realigning myself to ensure that I attained my goal of finishing the race in under 12 hours.

Pipeline Aid Station, Elevation 9,693 Feet (28.3 Miles Outbound)

The pavement ended at gravel. It was mainly double-track or jeep roads for the next few miles. The sun was out, I was hydrated and felt amazing. This is the 2nd time that I really started to notice the energy and power of this event. I was filled with gratitude … grateful that I could afford to participate in the race. Grateful for the organizers that hosted the event. Grateful to my friends and kids for the opportunity to attend. Grateful that I could take a week off from work. Grateful that I had trained for the event and made many personal sacrifices to be there. Right there, at that moment in time, enjoying the sun … enjoying the experience … enjoying my favorite activity, I was riding my bike. I was overwhelmed with happiness and contentment. 🙂 I was less than halfway through the race and confident that I would crush my goal of finishing in under 12 hours.

I stayed on the gravel until entering one of the only sections of true single-track. I saw racers both ahead of me and behind me. The single-track is narrow, with no real opportunities to pass. I settled in behind the line of racers and descended down the rolling single-track, ending at yet another gravel road which graciously crossed over private land. A little while longer, I started to notice the crowds and was at the Twin Lakes aid station.

Twin Lakes Dam Aid Station, Elevation 9,263 Feet (40.0 Miles Outbound)

The Twin Lakes aid station is an event.

The aid station is easily accessible by road and this year the organizers had a shuttle for support teams that drove directly to this point. Twin Lakes was a motivating experience, with cheering crowds of people and room to move. It’s busy and crowded, but support teams are conscious of the racers coming through. My support team was waiting for me near the end on the right-side with a noticeable marker. Perfect! I highly recommend finding something noticeable that you can easily identify in the crowd. Also, don’t leave logistics to chance. I knew approximately where my support team would meet me, and on which side of the course I should be looking. This is the last fuel point before the Columbine climb and I needed to refuel.

I had listened to a few Leadville podcasts which talked about nutrition and support teams. Here’s how I minimized any confusion for myself and my support team:

Outbound

Take my trash, and ask for my empty bottles. Next, hand me my chicken noodle soup, and I’ll start eating that. While I’m eating, fill my empty bottles with fresh water, and add 1 packet of GU Roctane to each fresh bottle. Also, ask me if I need to lube my chain, or if I need anything else to eat or drink. Once I finish eating, hand the bottles back to me and I’ll put them in my bottle cages. Hand me 4 GUs from my 1st SAG bag, which I’ll put into my left-side pocket. Hand me the remaining 4 GUs which I’ll put into my right-side pocket. Lastly, hand me the contents of my 2nd SAG bag, which I’ll put into my back pockets. I’ll hand you back the empty bag, and then take off from there.

Inbound

Take my trash, and ask for my empty bottles. Next, hand me my chicken noodle soup, and I’ll start eating that. While I’m eating, fill my empty bottles with fresh water, and add 1 packet of GU Roctane to each fresh bottle. I’ll need my chain lubed for sure, so ask me to get off of my bike to eat. Also, ask me if I need anything else to eat or drink. Once I finish eating, hand the bottles back to me and I’ll put them in my bottle cages. Hand me 4 GUs from my 3rd SAG bag, which I’ll put into my left-side pocket. Hand me the remaining 4 GUs which I’ll put into my right-side pocket. Lastly, hand me the contents of my 4th SAG bag, which I’ll put into my back pockets. I’ll hand you back the empty bag, and then take off from there. Before leaving ask me if I need to drop anything to reduce my weight.

I was back on my bike and topped off with water and fuel. I was prepared to climb, but wasn’t sure what to expect. I read and heard stories about the Columbine climb. Topping out at 12600 feet above sea-level was something that I had never done. I was mildly concerned with how my body would react ahead of the race.

I spent the past week enjoying some hiking at over 11000 feet, like the Great Island Basin hike near Silverton, CO. I felt confident that I could perform strenuous activity at that elevation and had mentally prepared for “the walk”.

The first section of the Columbine climb begins with a couple of quick climbs. I passed a few racers that chose to walk the sections as I rode by. The group I was with continued the climb on the gravel road. The race leaders were descending as I was starting my climb up to Columbine. The leaders were really fast. It would be easy for me to veer off my line and into oncoming riders on this climb. I vowed to stay aware of oncoming traffic while focusing attention to the exhausting ascent.

I have ridden sustained climbs so was prepared both mentally and physically for the Columbine climb. It’s a long climb, at 9+ miles with over 3000 feet of elevation to reach the aid station. The climb starts with gravel and then becomes less groomed as you near the top. I’d read about the loose gravel and sections where most were forced to push their bikes. These factors were not concerning, as I’ve “been there and done that” on many bike packing adventures. I wore the right shoes for the event and was accustomed to comfortably walking miles in them. “No problem!”

The groomed gravel road turns into loose gravel roughly 2 miles from the top of the Columbine aid station. This is also where you continue the ascent above the tree line. I noticed a slight change in my breathing and stamina at this point in the race. I backed off and accepted that I wasn’t going to ride the entire climb. I passed another racer and noticed he had one leg and was pedaling asymmetrically. This race attracts people with different challenges, some of which are obvious. This racer inspired me and I had a deep respect for him and everyone else that started the race that morning. Racers continued to climb towards the aid station as I looked up into the bright and blue sky above, noticing the long line of racers ascending on foot and some still riding. Such a magnificent sight!!

More climbing and switchbacks. I was nearly at the top.

This article mentions knowing the maximum elevation for each of the big climbs. I had the numbers attached to my handlebar and was tracking my elevation on my Garmin Edge device. I knew how much higher I had to climb and could now see the turn-around point. It appeared to be slightly below me, but the elevation on my device stated differently. Racers started mounting their bikes to ride through the turn-around and I followed.

I had enough food and water to last me until I returned to the Twin Lakes aid station so I didn’t stop at the turn-around aid station. The view once you get above the tree line is spectacular! I took advantage of every opportunity to “take it all in”! At the turn-around, I did grab GU gels because they were easily available. The flavors were different than what I had waiting for me. Variety!

Columbine Mine Aid Station, Elevation 12,424 Feet (50.0 Miles Turn-around Point )

I finished approximately 50 miles of the course thus far and was ascending fast inbound on Columbine! This was a major victory for me, as my actual time was ahead of my target and I felt great! Confident that I would finish the race in under 12 hours, closer to 10 at this point! My brakes started squealing again, so I actively feathered them as I rode back to Twin Lakes.

Twin Lakes Dam Aid Station, Elevation 9,263 Feet (60.0 Miles Inbound)

I stopped at the Twin Lakes aid station, picked up GU and some other items to eat. I swapped my empty bottles for full ones and grabbed some unopened GU Roctane hydration mix for later. I also made the decision to drop my rain jacket, as the sun was hot and the clouds didn’t show any signs of rain. I would regret this decision later that day. Be prepared. The Leadville race will challenge you in many ways, some of them unforeseeable, others obvious.

I stored the GU Roctane drink mix in the back pocket of my bib shorts. I ended up losing the drink mix as I rode off when I tried pulling the jersey from my pocket. Not stopping to pick up the drink mix was a mistake. Later that day I would need easily consumable calories and I just dropped 500.

I pushed onward. Back through the waning crowds at Twin Lakes and onto gravel roads. Across the private land and back to the single-track. Again, I entered the single-track with a group of racers. I settled in and gradually climbed via switchbacks and small inclines. Nearing the exit, there were a series of roots that I rode over. I recalled these roots while riding outbound so knew that I was finished with the single-track.

Back onto the jeep and gravel road. This inbound section is a fairly easy ride and easy to maintain your speed.

Gravel road to pavement and a straight and fairly easy ride back to the power line climb.

Pipeline Aid Station, Elevation 9,693 Feet (73.1 Miles Inbound)

This time the road ride had been fairly windy and I was able to get behind some other racers and give my legs a little break. My friend Paulie talked to me about etiquette while riding in a group. I offered to start a cadence with the other racers. My offer was not accepted, so I tucked in behind a larger rider who pulled for most of the ride. I tagged along and pedaled easily behind him. Thank you, sir!

The next memorable turn was towards the power line climb. There were still spectators offering water, wet towels and enthusiasm. I pedaled up the power line climb as far as I physically wanted to and then dismounted for a vigorous hike a bike. No one around me was trying to ride the powerline. Up, up, up I walked. I passed other racers when it made sense. Mentally, I was tired. Physically, I was tired. Visually, I thought that I was closer to the finish then I actually was.

I could have eased my anxiety if I had studied this section of the course more thoroughly. For me, knowing the mileage and points of interest for the remaining 20 or 25 miles might have made the finish easier. This last section is where I noticed how tired my body was and also when I stopped consuming food and water at regular intervals.

As I crested the power line climb, I assumed that it was downhill from here to St Kevins. Not sure why I would have thought this, but I had completely forgotten about the long paved road that I would have to climb … forever. And the long gravel climb up to Turquoise Chief Road that I ended up hiking and barely riding due to exhaustion and lack of calories.

Then the unthinkable happened. Thunder and lightning with dark rain clouds overtook the blue skies. I was told about the variability of the weather in Leadville. I witnessed that variability first hand.

I had dropped my arm warmers and my rain jacket

My good feeling drained quickly as the heavy rain started, hitting my face and back. The rain felt like a shower of medium-sized ball bearings. I was uncomfortably cold and grew increasing concerned about hypothermia. Typically, it’s easier for me to resolve these negative thoughts. At that moment, I couldn’t resist the negative and destructive thoughts and my realization that I would not finish.

Crippling and negative scenarios ran through my mind … how long would it rain? how cold would I get? would I get struck by lightning? I was destroying my chance to finish with every new thought that ran through my mind.

I panicked and doubted my ability to complete the Leadville MTB 100 race in under 12 hours.

I had crushed my own spirit. My anxiety was building, slowly moving from my gut into my throat. My self-talk becoming increasing belittling. “You didn’t train hard enough.” “You didn’t plan correctly.” “You shouldn’t have dropped your rain jacket, you knew that you would need it.” “You won’t finish in under 12 hours.” “You aren’t gonna make it.”

All of my self-defeating feelings and thoughts eclipsed my positivity.

THIS is when I recalled Ken’s mantra …

“You’re better than you think that you are. You can do more than you think that you can.”

I was 9 hours into the race. I had 3 hours remaining in order to get the buckle. I had trained hard for this race. I had spent a lot of money. I had promised myself that I would finish in under 12 hours. All that I had to do now was keep pedaling. I would make it.

Turn those pedals. One stroke, two strokes, three strokes.

I started checking in with myself again. Did I need to eat? Did I need to drink? How was I feeling overall? Was I about to cramp? Was I pushing too hard? Could I push harder?

I continued checking in and kept pedaling.

My legs wanted to cramp. I took 4 Enduralyte tabs and drank a half bottle of water. I would do that one more time near the top of St Kevins thus avoiding leg cramps until after the finish.

Carter Summit Aid Station, Elevation 10,714 Feet (90.8 Miles Inbound)

I barely made it up Turquoise Chief Road, past the aid station, climbed up to St Kevins and descended too. I was still in the race with around 2 hours to finish. I was less than 10 miles from the finish once I joined the gravel road at the bottom of St Kevins and a huge smile erupted on my face.

Tears filled my eyes and I continued pedaling. My mind was clear. Not empty, but focused. I would finish. I had overcome a great deal of anxiety and anguish. I reminded myself to keep pedaling and to enjoy the remaining ride while I pushed on.

The last section of the course leading up to the finish line skirts the town. The route has some baby head boulders and is a gradual climb on gravel road. The gravel road is straight and I could see far ahead of me. There were spectators on either side of the route, which was motivational. I noticed the racers ahead of me bearing to the left. The turn uphill brought me to pavement. That pavement brings you to downtown Leadville and the finish.

There are two quick climbs that end at the finish, where Ken greeted me with open arms and a finishers medal!

Leadville Finish, 6th & Harrison Avenue, Elevation 10,152 Feet (101.9 Miles Outbound)

My GPS reported 101.9 miles total from start to finish, and my official finish time was 11 hours 16 minutes, and 58 seconds. The Leadville Trail 100 MTB event is an emotionally charged race from beginning to end. I’m so grateful that I was chosen to be a part of this race series. The race itself is hard. The overall event was so much more than I expected. The race fee is expensive at $450.00, but worth every penny and more. I am looking forward to training for the 2020 event, and to finishing in under 8 hours and 30 minutes. New year, new goal!!