Leadville 100 Trail Run 8/16/24 - Pt 1: The Leadup

Leadville 100 - Pt. 1: The Leadup

The leadup to the Leadville 100 is probably equally if not more significant to me than the actual race itself. Due to the expected length of the write up leading up to the race, I've decided to break this up into two separate posts. See below for Pt. 1. Enjoy!  

11/21/23:

Two days after completing my first triathlon, my friend Natalie Warren and I were driving back from Santa Fe and I was so eager to get moving on the next challenge. 

After completing the Triple Bypass in July '23, my first endurance event, I was craving another challenge immediately for two reasons:

1. I had just pushed my limits well beyond whatever I thought was possible upon signing up for this event and wanted to see how far I could really push it
2. The primary reason for me signing up for the Triple Bypass was to establish accountability for myself through the training required to complete an event of this caliber. Turns out, I fell in love with the training. I wanted to continue intense & disciplined training and needed a serious event to work backwards off of.
   

At the time (Jan '23), the Triple Bypass was the hardest thing I could think of (~118 mi // 10.8k ft of vert road bike ride at altitude) and reasonably have a chance of completing (was still recovering from a prolonged ACL recovery where any sort of running was not in the cards for me).  

I had signed up for IRONMAN Arizona exactly 96 days out or a little under 14 weeks (8/15/2023) from race day (11/19/23) with no swimming whatsoever since middle school and one run the whole year (~5 miles, following a ~25-30 mi bike ride to ultimately prove to myself that I could do a triathlon). IRONMAN was the hardest thing I could think of at the time. 

I knew in the back of my head that an ultra marathon was the 'next thing,' but fuck! 100 miles?! These races are insane. However, similar to Triple Bypass and IRONMAN, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing signing up for those and ended up figuring it out. 

Over the next few days, Leadville began popping in my mind from all angles. This was the event. This is the OG, legendary, badass ultra. I had heard of Leadville for so long. Looking back, this was pretty much the only Ultra I knew of. I had watched Nick Bare's YouTube doc of his 2021 race dozens of times on my bike trainer and could never get enough. I had read of David Goggins' participation. Any conversation that came up about Leadville always included a special classification of character for those who participated: badass and insane. The Leadville 100 was the hardest thing I could think of. 

12/1/23:

Lottery opens. In the meantime, I had learned that my friend Ryan Maguire, was also interested in running Leadville. I text him right when it opens to get his name in. He immediately rebuttals that the lottery is a total waste of time given the low odds of entry and that if I'm actually serious, I need to go the charity fundraiser route (which bypasses the lottery and guarantees entry upon successful fundraising). We hopped on the phone to chat through it for a while and we ultimately came to the conclusion that we were both going this route...this was the only way.

I remember sitting at Bardo Coffee Shop working remotely that Friday, once again with Natalie Warren, and freaking out that I was actually about to commit to this. One thing led to the next and my registration was secured. I was going to be running the Leadville 100 in August '24 upon successful fundraising with the LifeTime Foundation...no ifs, ands, or buts about it. 

The Lead Up - Training:

I had been scouring the internet for training plans to figure out how I could most effectively meet my primary objectives for the summer: Grand Teton Picnic, Triple Bypass, and the Leadville 100 all within less than a month of each other. I ultimately decided that I'd be prioritizing the running training for Leadville and more or less figure out the other events and add in the sport-specific volume as I saw fit. I targeted to formally begin my training 20 weeks out from Leadville (March 29, 2024). 

On January 27th, back from the holidays and fired up to get back into training mode, I went out for a 15 mi run with two of the strongest athletes I know: Luis Lopez and Josh Hoeft. I hadn't run at that pace or distance since Ironman training 2+ months prior; however, as a huge believer in the central governor theory, I didn't care when I started feeling pain...I just went faster. 

That run kicked off a myriad of problems that haunted me all summer and truthfully continues to haunt me as I am writing this close to a year later. I had never dealt with hip issues; however, after that run I could barely walk. My left hip was fried. 

I spent months exploring different approaches to fix this issue. I went to two different physical therapists, scoured the internet endlessly, reached out to multiple running and triathlon coaches, saw multiple chiropractors, tried every PT/prehab/rehab routine you could think of, and started running barefoot to address the issue. This process was so painful. For the Triple Bypass and Ironman, I was so intimidated by each of these goals, but gained comfort in having a disciplined training plan with near-perfect execution. Leadville was the hardest thing I could possibly imagine and I couldn't even follow a training plan given my injury. I had no idea what to do. 

A major silver lining to this experience was the amount of doubt most of these practitioners had around my summer goals. I will never EVER forget one of the conversations I had with the last physical therapist I met with (and probably the last PT I will ever meet with for that matter) where he said something along the lines of, "Running the Leadville 100 was already going to be an uphill battle, but with this (my hip injury), you should really be reconsidering running at all." I think about this guy and this conversation constantly...nobody understood how important this goal was to me and what I would do to achieve it. 

I found a godsend of a chiropractor, Russ Sellers, who was able to identify and begin addressing my issues. Simultaneously, I was having ongoing conversations with running coach and high performing ultra runner, Mark Bottenhorn, about working up to a minimum weekly running volume for him to take me on as a client. My goal was to get to 30 miles a week by the beginning of May. I got it. 

I trained under Mark for a solid month and a half before my hip began flaring up too much again and I was constantly having to make alterations to his plan. We ultimately agreed that it no longer made sense to work together since I was having to listen to my body so much that it was simply inefficient to have anyone else instructing me on what to do. 

At this point, I made a very important and pivotal decision on my training approach: running was out the window and I would simply focus on doing HARD SHIT to prepare me for Leadville. I didn't care what it was - as long as it was hard...it fit the bill. I began thinking back to David Goggins recounting his pre-SEAL training where he'd go jump in a cold pond near his home in freezing weather and just suffer for the sake of suffering. Everyone around him thought he was insane, but he knew that he was slowly but surely callousing his mind.

I began focusing on doing at least one hard objective a week, primarily on the weekends while maintaining base volume during the week. This included long trail runs, bike rides, rucks and mountain traverses. I guided my objectives through this concept I came up with that I called the Savage Scale. It was important for me to maximize the level of savage to the highest degree possible: 

My training to an innocent bystander probably seemed insane, but I didn't care, it was the only methodology that made sense to me given my situation to best prepare me for the challenge ahead. My 'key workouts' going into Leadville were not what you'd find in a PDF'd spreadsheet training plan. They were just hard:

• June 19th: Golden > Mt Blue Sky > Golden Bike Ride (~80 miles / 10.4k vert / High Altitude): Decided to do this the morning of Junteenth, once I realized I had the day off, because why not? This was the hardest bike ride I've ever done. The last 90 mins or so of the ascent I completely lost feeling in my left arm and couldn't feel my right hand. The weather was MISERABLE. Crazy snow + freezing rain for the last few & hardest miles given the elevation (summit is +14k ft) & high grade and no visibility. It got to the point where it was truly one pedal at a time...it was so hard, but I was so pumped about it. This was the exact mental training I was seeking. I was so cold & numb reaching the summit, that I hopped into a Park Ranger's car at the top who very kindly took me back down to the park entrance. Upon hopping into her car, I couldn't converse with her for the first 15 or so min out of delirium...I literally felt not sober. I couldn't connect thoughts or put any real sentences together...perfect.

Summit of Mt. Blue Sky (after spending ~20 or so min thawing out in the Park Ranger's truck)

Brooke, my unassuming park ranger savior who took me down to the park entrance

• July 4th Weekend: 
• 7/4 - Ten Mile Range Grand Traverse (~18 mi / 7.6k vert / High Altitude): Badass trail run, scramble, mountaineering effort. Not really a whole lot of true running whatsoever...once again, just hard. Ten peaks all pretty much within 12-13k ft...lot of off trail & committed decision making to continue going off trail and bagging each peak vs taking the easier way out.

My good friend, Luis Lopez, joined me for the first ~1/3 of this. Pretty epic views along the traverse.

• 7/6 - Copper Triangle Extended (~105 mi / 6.6k vert / Decent Altitude): Two days later on absolutely cooked legs, biked the Copper Triangle starting in Breckenridge (perhaps could call it the Copper Lollipop??). My legs hurt so bad & my CNS was still pretty fried going into this ride, but once again in the spirit of just doing hard things...I knew I had to do this.

One of my favorite ' picture portrait' views from the road in CO. Somewhere b/w Leadville and Minturn. 

• July 13th: Triple Bypass

Just being a psycho on the Triple...poor guy next to me. 

• July 27th: Grand Teton Picnic
• August 3rd: Power of 4 50k Course (~32 mi / 9.8k vert / Decent Altitude): Taylor, my girlfriend, really wanted to do this route so we agreed that we'd make a trip out of it and start at opposing ends (Snowmass / Aspen) for the first finisher to pick up the second finisher. I went into this so care-free and non-chalant and holy shit did I get my ass handed to me. This route was no joke, summit each of the 4 Aspen Mountains: Aspen > Highlands > Buttermilk > Snowmass @ high grades. I started completely care free around 8:30 AM with the pure thought of I am going to absolutely hammer this. The mountains are so savage and do not care about your intentions whatsoever. Going up Buttermilk in the peak heat of the afternoon was probably the hottest I have ever been in my entire life. I fully accepted the fact that I could pass out from a heatstroke...I was out of water and dying. However, once again the exact training stimulus I was seeking for Leadville :). The beauty of 'burning the ships' is that in these scenarios, there is no path but fwd. You can't bail out because there literally is no bailout. I am in the middle of the mountains with no water and my whole body on fire...I can't just step off the treadmill and call the workout. The only way out is pushing forward.

The Lead Up - Team:

My first ultra marathon experience was pacing & crewing Ryan at Canyonlands Ultra over Halloween in 2023. It was absolutely insane (story for another time). I'll never forget the true feeling and Ryan emphasizing / reinforcing how much of a team effort it takes to complete a 100 mile race. I knew I needed the absolute dream team to accomplish my goal. 

For 2024, Leadville only allowed four crew members and two pacers for each racer, restricted by wristband access. I selected my dad and sister as the first two crew choices. I really wanted my whole immediate family there, but was truthfully worried it would be too much for my mom to see me in the state I knew I was destined to enter. 

Dad & Ise at Twin Lakes

Third choice was Freeman Payne as crew chief. I couldn't have been more excited for the mere opportunity and thought of having Freeman on my team, let alone being the captain of the whole ship. If you know Freeman, you know that he is literally everybody's biggest fan. But further than that, I know how seriously he takes these roles & responsibilities and that he possessed the exact balance of character that I was looking for. 

Yeah, ok...and everyone thinks I'm the athlete 💪

Lastly, fourth choice...Natalie Warren. For some reason, I had waited until only a few weeks before making this last call with an odd feeling that I just knew it'd work out when the time came. Natalie has probably been the most supportive individual for this whole endurance journey I've embarked on, showing up so consistently as she does for all of those that are close to her. It was an obvious choice to have her as part of the core crew.

Sam, Ise and Nat Saturday morning at Outward Bound

For pacers, Sam Ireland and I had become really close throughout the year to the point where I'd probably now call him my best friend in CO. I locked him in as a pacer fairly early on to pace me from Outward Bound to Finish (~23.5 miles). We talked about the event and the anticipated experience constantly. I will truly say I had specifically been looking forward to the time we were going to get to spend together on this final segment all year. I was so incredibly excited to share that experience with such an important person in my life. 

Sam was typically the first person I would see at the first few aid stations and would run me in to the team

I locked in Stephen Darling later in the summer and I will never forget the conversation / experience. I asked Stephen if he'd be interested in pacing me at Leadville on the way down from hiking Grays & Torrey's and you would have thought I just told him I cured his entire family and future lineage of all chronic disease, gave him a winning Powerball ticket, and free Taco Bell for the rest of his life...all at the same time. He could not have been more ecstatic and it meant the absolute world to me. 

: )

I could not have assembled a better team and I am so so so grateful for it. 

The Lead Up - Fundraising:

As part of my registration with the Lifetime Foundation I had to raise $2,800 in order to be an official race participant. Up to this point, I had never raised money before, let alone a few thousand dollars. I was pretty nervous and uncomfortable about the whole thing. Although the fundraiser was for an organization and mission that I truly do believe in, is a fantastic cause, and is in no way benefitting me...I still felt it was a selfish act to ask others for their attention and money. I started bouncing unique fundraising ideas off two of my close friends to differentiate my 'ask' and try to provide value in return. I was committed to making the ask as personal and direct as possible and also delivering something in return. 

I quickly got unanimous feedback that the people that truly love and care about me would love nothing more than to support me in the achievement of my goals. The 'value' they would receive was being able to directly support a close friend, brother, son, cousin, co-worker, etc. in an effort that truly meant so much. It was really cool to gain this perspective from those two people so close to me...what I thought would be the creation of a 'burden' (to ask others for $) could almost be seen as an 'honor.' That sentence is really weird to type out and obviously sounds insanely narcissistic & egotistical, but I hope it potentially resonates with a reader that may be thinking about approaching their network with an 'ask'...do it! They would love nothing more to be a part of your story and support you in any way they can. Think about the five people closest to you...if they asked for your help (via finances, time, energy, etc.), you would be EXCITED at the opportunity to provide support! I agreed with them that I would just go directly to my network with a clear ask to donate to my fundraiser in order for me to race Leadville. 

I sent an email on May 5th to 72 of my closest friends, family, and current and past co-workers - people from all different chapters and across every aspect of my life. It took me weeks to draft the email and finally hit send. I basically detailed my 'Why'...which required me to demonstrate vulnerability and really share my story. As with most endurance athletes, you don't start this journey when you're on top of the world, crushing life. A successful 'start' could perhaps be better characterized as more of a desperate, hopeful finish of a dark period. The start is not about running towards something, it's about running away. My story's similar and I wanted to give a few people a glance in for them to understand why Leadville was so important to me. This wasn't about running, a buckle, or a time...this was about becoming the person I want to be. The person I want to be consistently does the hardest physical challenges. Therefore, I have to do the hardest physical challenges. Simple, not easy. 

I hit send and had no idea what was going to happen...

What happened was truly remarkable...

Donations began to poor in. New conversations were spurred with so many individuals that gained inspiration and/or were going through a dark time themselves. People were amped! People wanted to show up for me and demonstrate their support. It was absolutely amazing. I hit my goal of $2,800 in 11 days from one email send to those closest to me. 

I truly could not have done this race without so many people. All those whole donated, literally got me to the start line. I am so grateful for them and their generosity. 

The Lead Up - Pre-Race (8/16): 

Friday morning, I packed up the car and left my house with my dad and sister, who flew in the night before, at 8:45 AM MST. I was feeling pretty good, but also quickly realizing how soon race start was approaching. The whole week I was so focused on being as present as possible and visualizing race day. The drive up to Leadville really made this set in. I was mentally in and out of conversation with my dad and sister the whole drive up. I'd be fully engaged in a conversation and then be hit with waves of complete overwhelm from the task at hand. I was taking deep breaths behind the wheel as we approached the mountains of Leadville. It was clear as day what I would be taking on the next morning...and it looked hard as hell. I typically try to play major offense in situations like this, but from time to time it does kind of knock the wind out of you. The drive up was filled with those moments. 

Start of the drive from Denver to Leadville...kudos to Ise for knowing exactly when to stop or redirect the conversation during the moments of overwhelm I had throughout the drive 

We arrived to the Airbnb and quickly unloaded the car to make the Athlete Briefing. I really had no idea what to expect from the Athlete Briefing. There were so many logistics to an ultra given the crewing & pacing component, so I figured the majority of the 'briefing' would be around this. Man! Was I pleasantly mistaken and surprised. 

After Tamira Jenlink, the Race Director, went over the logistics (& even oddly and heavily advertised the fact that there would be shuttles and timely logistics for DNF'ers at Winfield). Ken Choubler & Merilee Maupin, the founders of the Leadville 100 took the stage. 

If you don't know the story of how Leadville got started, it's worth reading. 

Merilee led a very inspirational & motivating speech about the gritty & unrelenting values of Leadville as a town which drove the values of the race, pushing yourself to complete the race, etc. 

...then the mic was passed to Ken.

The whole place went completely silent. Everyone knows that high altitude, mountain silence - it's different. Ken, who needed help both getting up the stage and standing upright from decades of intense time spent in the mountains both recreationally and to support his family as a miner, began delivering one of the most powerful speeches I have ever witnessed. He talked thoroughly about the specific challenges of the course, never quitting, simply putting one foot in front of the other, to ultimately lead the chant: “I will commit! I will not quit!” 

It was so epic. 

Upon leaving, my Dad, sister & I could not get over the experience already, which notably included my Dad 'finally realizing that this is going to be really really hard.' We were so fired up. 

My Dad & I in the parking lot outside of and before the Athlete Briefing...this is not a look of stoicism, I was freaking out.

Athlete Briefing, with arguably the prettiest backdrop I've ever seen for a stage. Leadville is truly such a a special place.

Ise even got to meet Ken & Merilee at the expo!

Throughout the rest of the day, the remainder of my crew began to trickle in to the Airbnb. Highlights include: 

• Ise & Natalie unveiling the BADASS Leadville shirts & hats they created with Sarah Smyth (go support Raw Rebellious)

• Family spaghetti dinner where my Dad introduced the idea of 'making the trail your prey, by going on offense and being the hunter'

• Final huddle outside with the whole team where my Dad led the final speech going into race day

Our whole crew continued to hang out back after my Dad's quick & motivational huddle. We were having so much fun and on a normal night I knew all of us could've hung out there for hours on end. While the sun was still out, I called it to turn in for the night. I had been 'practicing' going to sleep between 7-9 pm the whole week to get used to the early sleep schedule given the 4 am start time...of course, on the night before the race, no preparation whatsoever helps in getting to sleep. I journaled and continued reading 'Can't Hurt Me' for a few extra minutes and went lights out, laying in bed knowing that the hardest challenge of my life was only a few hours away.