Perhaps the greatest part about the Leadville 100 is that everyone who rolls off the start line has a great story to tell by the time he or she crosses the finish line. And even the people who don’t manage to finish have great stories to tell. This year, 888 of nearly 1400 starters reached the finish line in under 12 hours to record official times. Lance Armstrong, Dave Wiens, and the rest of the guys battling for the victory may get the lion’s share of the attention, but some of the best stories are back in the pack. Here are a few I’ve managed to collect over the past few days:
Lindsay Hyman (Finishing Time of 10:45:59)
When I told everyone that I was doing Leadville my friends and family automatically assumed it was the run, not the bike. I had been on a mountain bike a couple of times about 4 years ago; I was covered in bruises, crying and swore I would never touch a mountain bike again. So here is a short progression of my Leadville experience:
• January: CTS coaches receive an offer of bypassing the lottery to get into the race; I put my name on the list and mailed in my entry fee.
• February: Still waiting for my mountain bike to arrive.
• March: First mountain bike ride, what the F–K am I doing.
• April: First crash – 2 endos, 1 cracked helmet, and shaken confidence.
• May: First mountain bike race.
• June: Enjoying mountain biking and exploring trails.
• July: Won a couple of mountain bike races in Colorado Springs.
• August: Leadville 100, 10:45:59.4 (15 minutes under my goal)!
Leadville was a good kick in the butt, riding for 10 hours in the the rain, hail, wind, mud, some sun, and a couple of rainbows was well worth the training, cuts and bursises along the way. Would I do it again…. give me another week or two to think about it.
Mike Durner (Finishing Time of 10:21:00)
I want to start by saying I did not ride within myself, I did not achieve my goal yet I had a great time and can’t wait to do it again! The first 2 hours were awesome; I couldn’t have asked for a better suffer fest, riding on pace in cold, wet, muddy, conditions and things got bad. First my legs just stopped, and then my stomach stopped working, but I decided early on that quitting was not an option. Instead, I soft-pedaled and hike - a - biked through 55 miles of Lake County beauty. During this time I chatted with other riders, the CTS crew and daydreamed about the I.V. that I was going to get at the finish. I had experiences that I never would have thought of, vomiting while descending from Hagerman Pass Road to May Queen (at least until I realized that this might end in a crash) and giving one of my former athletes, as he put it “the highlight of my racing career, passing you.” So if your day ever sours at Leadville, don’t quit, just continue to enjoy.
Nick White (Finishing Time of 9:32:38)
As a coach, I definitely understand the importance of course preview. So without the opportunity to see or ride any of the course beforehand, my strategy was to be as strong as possible, know as much as I could about the route, and minimize the potential dangers that I could control. Nearly everything went according to plan, except for the climb up the Columbine. Tough hill. I’ll probably take another shot at ‘er next year.
Kirk’s Leadville Story (Finishing Time of 9:00.5):
I started the day hoping to ride sub-9 hrs but thinking that if everything went well I could be closer to 8:40. I was nervous about the start…not sure how crowded and dangerous it would be and not sure what the weather would hold (the clouds looked pretty ominous hanging over the mountains). Despite the nerves, my start actually went very well. I moved up easily through the field and climbed quickly over the first big climb. I was feeling great, in a good group, and following my nutrition plan: exactly where I wanted to be.
But once it started raining I got wet, muddy and cold fast. I wasn’t feeling great approaching the base of the Columbine climb, but I wasn’t expecting to feel as bad as I did when I started climbing. For whatever reason (cold?) I just couldn’t climb like I expected. Other riders were flying past me; I wondered if my sub-9 bid was over as I watched the minutes tick by. I was on the ground with intense hamstring cramps at treeline…I started walking up the steep sections and my legs felt better, but I was much slower (4:45) than my goal time at the turn-around point. I’d have to ride a 30 minute negative split to break 9 hrs. I kept telling myself it was still possible, but I knew I was cutting it close.
On the decent down Columbine and through the flatter middle sections I started feeling better. Going into the last few hours I knew I was on the edge and every section mattered. I only let myself focus on one hill at a time…don’t loose any time on that climb. I was 8:02:30 with 10 miles to go. I knew it was possible to ride the last section in under 60 minutes and I approached the last 5 mile “Boulevard” pretty confident I’d finish with a few minutes to spare. My chain broke with about 3 miles to go and with surprising patience and ease I was able to replace a link and start going again. But now I was really cutting it close…I kept looking at my watch and trying to estimate how much time I’d need to get up and over the last straightaway.
I turned the final corner with spectators shouting how little time I had to go sub-9. I crested the final rise and had 60 seconds to make it the final few hundred yards. It was going to be close…the crowd was screaming…my legs were screaming…the clock was ticking 8:59:57, 8:59:58, 8:59:59. I finished 5 seconds too late. I lay on the ground for a few minutes after crossing the line, completely exhausted and in disbelief that I had missed my goal by so little. As my wife and other volunteers helped me out of the finish area, they were quick to say I’d still earn a big belt buckle since my chip time would be a few seconds under 9 hours. Plus, they said, Ken always holds a vote and everyone will vote to give it to you!
Sure enough, I got the big buckle. I’m enjoying the accomplishment as a lot of hard preparation went into my event. But I’m also trying not to think about all the places I could have shaved off 5 seconds over the long 9 hour day!
Jessica Niles (Finishing Time of 11:44:00)
This was my first Leadville 100 and I squeaked just under the 12hr cutoff. All was going well until the Columbine climb, where I had a mini meltdown. I should have purchased a new chain before the race. The sequence went something like this: snap chain, pull over to side of the road, fix chain, pray. Repeat three times with 5 minutes easy pedaling between intervals. I begged, I pleaded… and someone was listening. I covered the last 50 miles and 4th (and would-be fatal) mechanical never happened. Thank you to our supportive crew who filled me full of GU Electrolyte Brew and optimism. You said I’d finish under 12 hrs if I just kept going and I didn’t believe you until I reached Carter Lake!
Adam Pulford (Finishing Time of 8:33:40)
It was a fast start to an eventful race this year. The top 100 racers set a high tempo, but it was fine by me since it was such a cold start to the morning. A group of us coaches got organized right away on the paved descent and when we hit the first dirt section rolling through a cow pasture up to the first significant climb, our first surprise of the day came from a heard of cattle. Looking to my left, I saw some big animals with horns coming through the woods wanting to cross the fire road we were riding on. Growing up in Northern Minnesota, we herded cattle with my Uncle a bit, so I just yelled “Hee-YA!” like we did back then. It seemed to work a bit, as some of the cattle went back up in the woods and some running along side the road instead of aiming directly for us. As our group slowed, soon everyone was yelling “Hee-YA!” at the cattle. About a half dozen of the cattle crossed the road and some stayed at bay. We sped back up and started climbing. One of the racers said it well: “Only in Leadville…”
Thankfully, there were no more cattle incidents for the rest of the race, but the weather gave it’s fair share of surprises along the course. From wind, to rain, snow, and hail we seemed to ride through just about every type of weather condition imaginable. We even got some sun, which was welcoming. But where else can you herd cattle, ride through all four seasons of weather, and reach 12,7000ft all on a bicycle? Only in Leadville…
Michael Berg (Finishing Time of 10:33:18)
Please extend this to all those at CTS. The training camp in June was an awesome amount of help and was great timing to allow for my own on course training leading up to race day. I look forward to being involved with CTS for my next Leadville.
I especially would like to send a big Thank You to the ladies that helped me on my second trip through the Twin Lakes aid station. I was so sick. I was set on quitting at that point. You guys got me through and I finished!
Here is a blog entry from my experience. It is kind of long, but I hope I’ve captured my experience so I can read this again in 20 years and feel like it was yesterday.
I’m ready to go again! Next weekend!?! (not really, need a few weeks)
