Leadville 2009, part II

Winfield to Leadville


Weighed in at Winfield, ten pounds down. It was hot, but I didn’t feel like I had lost that much weight (there has been recent discussion on the e-mail list over whether that scale was off…). Was still unable to eat any solid food here, so it was more ensure, a can of coke, and a few swigs of Pabst.


Picked up Mike Safari here to pace me for a bit. A future Leadville finisher, Mike wanted to see what the big deal about Hope Pass was. We left the aid station and made real good time along the road. Soon enough we were on our way up the steep side of Hope Pass. I wasn’t feeling the greatest so again I picked a pace that allowed me to stay slow but steady up the mountain.


Saw a bunch of friends on this part of the course, all making their way down Hope Pass. Also saw a bunch of people I didn’t know cheer for PBR as I passed, it was awesome!


Got passed by a few folks on the way up but I kept at it and soon enough Mike and I were at the top. I point out Leadville to him in the distance. Holy hell did I still have a long way to run!


Shortly after the Hopeless aid station I stopped to drop my first deuce of the day. A monumental occasion, I was hoping this would clear up my stomach. Once again, I didn’t think my stomach was ruining my chances of getting a finish, but I could definitely tell my pace was suffering from not being able to take some solid grub in.

Good run the rest of the way down Hope. Had Mike hold my water belt as I crossed the river so I could take a nice dip all the way in. We headed across the grass field and soon saw Katie and Nacheaux. They had made some awesome signs and had a cold beer waiting. What a great crew I had!


In and out of Twin Lakes fairly quickly. I’m out at 5:43PM, a scathing two minutes ahead of schedule. Stomach was still giving me some issues. This section was where I began to fall apart last year and I wanted to get through it as quickly as possible.


Mike and I began the long hike up to the Colorado trail. I did cover this a lot more aggressively than Hope Pass, but I still wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Once we hit the Colorado trail, things started to improve a bit. I wasn’t exactly Usain Bolt, but I started running more and even passing some people. Got through Box Creek Pass at 7:42PM and made it a few more miles before having to switch on my light. Before too long I could hear Katie with her cowbell and I rolled in to treeline.


Mike had done a fantastic job as a pacer, keeping me moving even though I wasn’t at my physical best. We talked about all kinds of topics out there and he always managed to keep my mind off how bad I was hurting. But he was done now, and it was time for me to pick up a new pacer. My friend Clark would take the reigns here, with the job of getting me to Mayqueen with enough time to finish the final leg under 25 hours.


For the first time all day I was finally able to choke down some food. You’d be amazed at how good a snickers bar tastes when it’s the only thing you’ve eaten for 70+ miles. Took another dump before leaving but after that Clark and I tore up the road to Fish Hatchery. Yeah, it’s a boring part of the course, but it was some of the best running I would do all day. Clark kept me moving, pushing me forward and making me run most of the way. Probably ran 80% of that section, arriving at Fish at 9:46PM, 15 minutes ahead of my goal time.


Attempted to change shoes at Fish. Was planning on switching to the La Sportiva Fireblades. But I had developed a blister on my heel during Pikes Peak, and it had gotten worse throughout the day at Leadville. When I put on the Fireblades, I could tell things were gonna get painful pretty quick, I guess it’s a much tighter fit in the heel. So I changed back into the Wildcats. I would end up running 67 miles of the race in the 'cats.


Left Fish Hatchery still feeling great. Ran the road over to the bottom of the final climb of the day, Sugarloaf. I hammered up Sugarloaf pretty good, hiking as hard as I could. Managed to pass quite a few people. Soon the downhill came and I was able to run most of it. Along the dirt road and back on the Colorado trail. That last section of the CO trail always takes a lot longer than it should, but at 12:45AM I was finally at Mayqueen, the final aid station of the day.


By the time I changed into my Saucony and rolled out of Mayqueen, once again being limited to ensure, it was almost 1AM. Clark was now done, and I was on my own for the final 13 miles. Normally I wouldn’t be worried about covering a half marathon in four hours. But after going at it for 87 miles, I was kinda pooped.


I spent the entire trip around Turquoise Lake falling asleep while running, then waking up as I was falling to the ground. Sometimes I was able to save the dive, sometimes I wasn’t. I remember when I finally got to the Tabor boat ramp I saw Judy D, and I was so tired that I just curled up into a ball by her feet and tried to drop out. It must have been pretty comical to see. She gave me a coke and some caffeine pills and somehow got me back on my feet and moving slowly towards the finish line. I remember thinking that I still had seven miles to go, which at that time felt like an impossible distance for a human to cover.


The caffeine kicked in and gave me a boost for a few miles. I was soon caught by Larry D, Paul S, and Rick H. Ran with those guys for a bit before they pulled away. As we made the left turn on to the Boulevard, Paul told me that I could walk in from here and still finish sub-25. I took that as an order and walked the next 1.5 miles.


Eventually the lights of Leadville came into view and inspired me to get my ass moving. Managed to pass two more runners just as we got back onto the paved road. About three blocks from the finish I met Katie and Nacheaux, who handed me a well deserved PBR. Soon after that I crossed the finish line in 24:29:20, my new 100 mile PR.