Pb-ville race report, miles 0 to 50

Damn, where to start? Had this one in my sights since last November, after taking a month completely off of running. Trained hard, had some real rough times along the way, but I was rewarded with a finish of a helluva tough race.


Pre-race:

Left Colorado Springs early Friday morning for the beautiful drive to Leadville. Had to make the medical check in by 11AM. The scene at Leadville was phonemonal, I felt proud of being part of the ultra community. After the pre-race briefing and bag drop I went to check in at the local Super-8 motel and then hung out in town for a bit. Before too long Melissa arrived and we headed to Rosie's (America's highest brewpub) for my final meal. Had a pint of Mt. Massive (a homebrewed malt liquor) and a dozen wings. Dani arrived shortly, and after she wolfed down a cheeseburger it was back to the hotel.


Race morning:

Too nervous for a good night's sleep, I ended up getting up at 2AM. Showered, dressed, and then it was off to the start. Standing at the start, I reached into my pocket and found a ten dollar bill that had been through the wash. I took this as a good luck sign.


Start to Mayqueen (13.5 miles)

Let the fun begin. 600 runners toed the line, ready to take on the challenge. The most important thing here was to not let my adrenaline get the best of me. Too fast a start here would doom me later on. At the same time, I knew I couldn't go too slow, I needed to get some time in the bank that I would need later on for the hills. Did my first mile in 8:47. I was happy with that, I was afraid I'd screw up and run 5:45 or something. The first leg is run on a wide dirt road which narrows after about five miles for some technical singletrack around Turquoise Lake. Just before we turned onto the singletrack, I could hear the beat of a drummer off in the woods. A surreal scene, a very peaceful night, 600 trailrunners with their headlamps, with the steady drumbeat in the background. It's difficult to pass on the singletrack, so I just settled in with a group of runners and kept the pace to the Mayqueen aid station. Was quite the sight, you could see a line of runners with their flashlights all around the lake. Came into Mayqueen feeling good. Took me 2:28 to get there, 47 minutes under the cutoff. It was 6:28AM.


Mayqueen to Fish Hatchery (10.0 miles)

Never ran with an iPod before, but decided to do it here so some of the early miles could pass quickly. Had to be careful not to let the music push me too hard, it was still way too early for fast running. This section had the first major climb, up and over Sugarloaf Pass. Felt strong, could have easily ran the whole thing, but I let common sense win out and I hiked up the hill. Got to do a good chunk of the climb with 1SGT Sowers, a buddy of mine who I've had the pleasure of running with several times during my Leadville training. Let myself go on the downhill, wasn't crazy but I did pick up the pace a lot. The iPod really helped, this section went by pretty quick and I still felt strong as I came into the next aid station. Took me 2:08 to do the ten miles from Mayqueen to Fish Hatchery. It was 8:36AM and I was 4:36 into the race.


Fish Hatchery to Halfmoon (7.0 miles)

One of the easier sections of the course. Gotta give props to my crew, Melissa and Dani, they were teriffic the entire time and I would have had a much harder time completing the race had it not been for them. Along with the crew from Team CRUD, I felt like a professional nascar driver, I'd just come in to an aid station and sit down, and a swarm of people would descend upon me, filling my camelbak, giving me food, asking if I needed anything. The first part of this leg was on a road, which I would have hated, but there were amazing views of Colorado's two highest peaks, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, to take my mind off the boring road. Ironically, my iPod rang up "Mountains Win Again" by Blues Traveler during this part. After the paved road the course turns onto a dirt road that runs back to the Halfmoon aid station. I come into Halfmoon, just over 30 miles into the race, feeling good. I arrive at 10:04AM (the cutoff is noon), 6:04 into the race. Takes me just under 90 minutes to cover the leg.


Halfmoon to Twin Lakes (9.0 miles)

Six hours into the race and I'm still feeling good. Almost too good. The iPod has really helped me and the miles have passed quickly. I'm hydrated, as I've been stopping to piss about twice an hour. Also crapping all over the woods, but it's not the horrible issues I had at San Juan. There are some decent climbs during this section, but I'm running smart and making good time on all of them. This section takes me on some familiar trails, it's part of the climb up Mt. Elbert I did last year. I bomb the final downhill and hit Twin Lakes at 12:34PM, 8:34 into my race. The cutoff at Twin Lakes is 2:30PM. Did that nine mile leg in two and a half hours.


Twin Lakes to Winfield (10.5 miles)

I realize the next twenty miles will be one of the most physically challenging events of my life. I'm starting to show signs of having just run 40 miles, and Hope Pass is staring down at me. I leave Twin Lakes, eager to begin the defining section of the race. Finally get my shoes wet, as getting over to Hope Pass required crossing a very wet field as well as a thigh deep river. And then the climb began. Hope Pass was as tough as advertised, the climb seemed to go on forever. It climbs over 3000 feet in about 3 miles. I latched on to a Hardrock veteran and kept a good pace all the way to the top. Passed quite a few folks on this section. It was a real hard climb, but since November I've been doing nothing but mountain runs, so I was able to survive. In fact, I told myself that sometime next year I'd drive out here to see if I could run the whole pass without stopping. I think I can do it. Anyways, there's a small aid station near the top of the pass, the "hopeless" aid station as it's called, and it's great to finally arrive. They hump all the supplies up here on llamas. At the aid station I see fellow CRUDer Harry Harcrow, on his way back. He's looking very strong in 5th place (he would end up second overall). I grab a bite to eat and head out, only a half mile from the top now. The top comes, and what an amazing view I'm treated to! You can see all the way back to Leadville, and I'm amazed at how far I've run. And I try not to think that I hafta run it all again. I fly down the other side of the pass and before I know it, I'm halfway there. Arrive at Winfield at 4:26PM, 12:26 into the race. The last ten miles took me 3:52 to cover. I feel surprisingly well for having covered 50 miles over rough terrain. See lots of familiar faces at Winfield, including my awesome crew, and I'm looking forward to beginning the second half of the race. Melissa is going to tag along the next section, and I'm glad to have the company.