Leadville Trail 100 2014

I woke up at 2am on Saturday to get ready and head down to the start of the race with Kim. It was all a bit strange seeing the race from another perspective. I remembered so well how a year ago that day it was me on my own walking down the street to line up for what would be the most epic race of my life so far. I was excited for every runner out there and also excited for myself to help crew and pace for a friend and just be back out having fun with all other crews , runners and pacers in what is an amazing atmosphere at this race.

I do love this place

So the gun went off at 4am and they all set off down 6th street to try and be running/walking/limping their way back up the same street in under 30hrs. I went straight back to bed and managed to catch a couple hours extra sleep until the rest of Kims team arrived at 7am. John , Marcy and Anna completed the team for the day. Our first stop off was at Fish Hatchery aid station at mile 23.5. Kim made it through the first checkpoint at Mayqueen in 2hrs 11mins which is around the normal time for most runners as at that stage the trail around the lake is just a huge conga line and it is worth just staying in a spot and cruising round. It all starts to spread out a little after that.

Start

Next up was Fish Hatch at mile 23.5 and Kim arrived in 4hrs 32mins. Again a totally fine time with loads to spare as the cut off here is 6hrs. The cut off times in the first part of the course are pretty easy to stick to but they do get hard once at around mile 40 with the hardest part of the race ahead. We gave her a few new gels here and she changed into a short sleeve t shirt as it was now getting warm and off she went. I hung around for an extra few minutes here to see another friend come in. Angie is a girl I met at the race last year and missed the cut off at mile 73.5. She was back to settle a score here this year and was in high spirits when I seen her. She couldn't find her crew so I ran over and gave her some food from our stash and off she went as well.

Coming into Fish Hatch

Marcy and Anna on crew duties

We then headed to Twin Lakes. Mile 39.5. We got set up here as it was going to be a long wait for some of us. From Twin lakes there is no more crewing until the runner gets back here at mile 60.5. Our plan was for when Kim came through here first time Marcy was then taking me straight to Winfield at mile 50 dropping me off for me to start pacing and then heading back to Twin. John who was pacing Kim from Twin back Fish Hatch had a long day there(9hrs!) Kim came through Twin in 8hrs 7mins. Again well under the cut off of 10hrs but the race was really about to begin with the double crossing of Hope Pass.

Kim coming into Twin Lakes

Angie coming through Fish Hatch

I had an ace time hanging around at Winfield at mile 50 waiting to start pacing. I met loads of other pacers and just generally had a blast cheering in other runners. I did start to get a bit worried here for Kim as she took a bit longer getting here than expected. She still appeared at Winfield at 4.36pm which was 12hrs 35mins into the race. She was still inside the cut off of 14hrs but the way back over is always longer. I told her she could have 10 mins here getting fuelled then we had to leave in order to make the Twin Lakes cut off at 9.45pm. This sounds a long time I know but it is still a 1000m climb up to 12'700m then 1000m down and a total of 10 miles. Again doesn't sound too bad but believe me it is hard. If you think it's easy then by all means sign up next year. Entries open January 1st.

Leaving Winfield

Pushing hard

Anyway off we went at 4.45pm. I managed to get Kim jogging along at a good pace for the first 2 miles in the forest. We passed Angie here who was still heading to halfway. She wasn't looking good but I just grabbed her and told her to keep moving and get to her pacer and he would get her back up and over in time. To be honest I thought that would be the last we seen of her but thankfully I was completely wrong and will explain more later. Once the climb started I eased way back on the pace and told Kim to just keep moving. It was slow very slow but we just went step by step and we were still passing people hunched over not looking great. Kim never stopped once going up here and we were at the Hope Aid Station in 2hrs 18mins which was a great time. It was only 6.51pm and we had ages to get to Twin lakes before the 9.45pm cut off. From here I called Anna and said to expect us within 2hrs. We grabbed some soup and coke here and began the descent. Kim was doing fine and I was at the front putting on a little jog and she was behind me doing great. At the technical parts however Kim had to walk which did affect our time but when we got back onto smooth surfaces again we could jog more. So down we went chatting to other runners and pacers and just having a good laugh enjoying being out on the course. I was loving it and knew we were getting to Twin in time. This is the most vital checkpoint to get through and on average if you make it through Twin with time to spare then the race is generally in the bag if you can just keep moving. So it was through the absolutely baltic river crossing and almost at Twin. I wish we could have jogged the last mile in but Kim said no so it was a fast hike but we got to Anna , John and Marcy at 9.02pm. A little longer than I had hoped but still 45mins inside cut off times. Kim sat down here and changed her wet shoes and socks and got some warmer clothing on for what was to be a cold night.

Almost at Hope Pass

Down to Twin we go

Refreshing for 3 seconds then it was baltic!

Her new pacer John doesn't have much Ultra experience so I told him to keep handing her gels and chews and water , keep her moving at all times and keep her warm. I said it didn't matter if she walked slow on the ups but she had to do little jogs on any downhill sections even if it was only 50 yards. From Twin to Fish Hatch it is 16 miles. In the morning she ran it in 3hrs 35mins. I told John we really need 4hrs here or 4hrs 30mins max. I had worked out if she did the next 3 sections at 4hrs each section she was home in 29-29.30hrs but she HAD to stay to those times or faster.

Back safely at Twin Lakes

So they set off out of Twin Lakes at 9.15pm aiming to get to Fish Hatch before the 3am cut-off but I wanted her to be there at around 1.30am max. Anna , Marcy and Myself then headed around to Fish Hatch to try and grab a nap. I managed a very uncomfortable hours sleep here in the car but couldn't get any more so went out to the aid station and stood around one of the many fire pits chatting to other pacers also waiting for their runners. It was getting mighty cold now(we were still at 10'200ft) but it was an amazing night with clear skies and more stars than I had ever seen. We hung around a while here but at 1.50am John and Kim came into Fish Hatch. The time wasn't great. 4hrs 50mins from leaving Twin. It was 1.50am but we still had time. The cut off was 3am here so it wasn't lost yet. Kim had to go to the medics as on the last few miles she got very very cold and was breathing strange. The doctor checked her out and said she was fine that the dust from the dirt road is affecting her lungs but nothing major. Kim was sitting next to the fire and asked me if we had time to get to Mayqueen at this pace. My reply of “not sitting down we don't” was received quite well! So she got up and off we went. We stuck another two layers on her to keep her warm. I again took over to get the final 23 miles home. It was just before 2am and we had to get to Mayqueen by the 6.30am cut off but in reality we had to be there for 6am. So we had 4hrs to get there. My predicted time. I had done this section with a destroyed knee in 3hrs 10mins so thought 4hrs for Kim would work. Yeah she would be slow going up but we could get a jog on the downhill and make it.

So we began down the road towards the Powerline Climb section. We were walking fast but no running at all. It actually took me a while to warm up here. I had on a t shirt and just one long sleeve top over it. I had another two jackets in my bag but thought it best keep them in case Kim needed them later. I first started noticing signs Kims head was a bit mush when about a mile along the road she decided she was too warm(15 mins previous she was freezing) and wanted to take off her two long sleeves and be in her running top. I told her to keep on at least one of the long sleeved tops and she did. So we started up the dreaded powerline. It is a long long ascent and really steep at the bottom and it just goes on and on with a ton of false summits. Kim stopped a few times on this saying she didn't think she could make it because of her breathing. She was wheezing a lot but her legs seemed fine. I think she was a bit scared of her shortness of breath and wasn't sure if climbing to 11'200ft was a good idea. I told her the time was fine and we could go like snails up the climb but we would need to move faster on the descent to Mayqueen. It was hard for me to offer advice as I have never had problems with my breathing and I am no doctor so I couldn't decide if it was getting worse or not. Legs , back , head problems I can help with but shortness of breath sorry it's beyond me. Kim stuck in there though and kept her legs moving , plugging away bit by bit until we finally reached the top. The top was amazing as there was a group of locals there who had set up and unofficial aid station called Space Camp! They had blow up aliens everywhere and glow sticks and a massive sign over the trail that said GOOD FUCKING WORK! It was hilarious and it cracked me up. The 10 or so of them were stoned out of their minds and they gave us some cans of coke and just kept saying GOOD FUCKING WORK , GOOD FUCKING WORK. Not another word just that over and over. If I had come 70 odd miles and seen that I would have been sure I was hallucinating but they really cheered everyone up and Kim even cracked out a few tears thanking them for being there. We had got up the climb in a little over 2 hours and now it was all downhill to Mayqueen. We had just over an hour and a half to make the cut off and I was pretty sure we would get there before 6.30am. Honestly I wasn't sure if Kim would get much further past Mayqueen but just getting there would be good enough to motivate and you never know what can happen when you only have one more section to the finish. So we began the descent and it just all went wrong. As soon as we started going down Kim said she didn't feel right. She said she felt dizzy and cold and she might pass out. I took out the two jackets I had in my bag and put them on her. She kept moving but at a slower rate than she was going up the climb. It wasn't looking good and after an hour of nursing her down the road I new the race was over and now I had to just get her to the safety of the medic tent at Mayqueen but it was still a few miles away and we were moving so slow it would have taken 3 hours or more. She was still cold so I took off the jacket I had on and gave it too her. It was bitterly cold and I myself was feeling the chill but just had to keep Kim awake , stop her from sitting down , keep her moving down the hill and make sure she didn't just pass out. It did cross my mind what the hell I would do if she just collapsed. We were far back in the pack and anyone who passed us was in the same kind of state and some without pacers , one guy walked past me white as a ghost talking to himself in some form of language I think he made up. It was rather strange. At this point Angie came flying past us! I couldn't believe it. She asked if I had some food she could have , I gave her some bars and a massive high five and told her to move move move , she tried to motivate Kim but Kim was like a zombie by this stage trying to negotiate just walking. I was so happy for Angie she had made it this far. It was going to be tight for her to make the Mayqueen cut off but her and her pacer disappeared out of sight. For us however the race was over and I kept checking my phone but no signal to call the race safety crew for a rescue. We just walked at less than a snails pace for another 15 mins and it seemed out of nowhere 2 guys on quad bikes came up behind us. I flagged them down and asked for help. They were search and rescue and had already picked up 2 runners from way behind us and were taking them to Mayqueen medic tent but he told me to wait 5 mins and he would be back to get us. He returned and we got Kim on the bike. I told them I would just run down and see Kim at the aid station.

So I ran back down the awesome single track to Mayqueen urging on every runner and pacer I passed as it was now 6.25am and cut off was at 6.30am. I got to the aid station at 6.32am and John met me at there outside the medic tent and informed me that Kim was doing okay and was warming up. He also told me that Angie made the cut off and ran through Mayqueen with her pacer bang on the cut off and was on her way to the finish but it was going to be tight. To scrape the cut off at Mayqueen and make it in 3hrs 29mins to the finish is so so hard. It took me nearly 4hrs last year for that section albeit with a destroyed knee but I was sure Angie could make it if she just dug deep.

Best sign I have ever seen(left) Incredibly offensive but hilarious

We all warmed up in the medic tent for a while and then made our way back to town. We got to the house unpacked the car and Kim went off to bed. Myself , John , Anna and Marcy went for a coffee and to watch the rest of the runners come through. The rest of the team then left to go home to Denver. It was now 29hrs into the race and I started making my way down the road to cheer in other runners. I walked down about the last mile and a half and just sat waiting and waiting for the sight of Angie coming through. It was getting tight. It was 9.30am. 30 mins to cut off and no sign. It might sound like a long time to do a mile and a half and it is but not after you have come 98.5 miles. Your legs are finished and just walking is so so hard. Then at 9.40am she appeared hobbling up the road with her pacer. I was next to a local guy who said to me “you need to get her moving , 20 mins is the absolute minimum time left to make it under 30” I ran down towards her shouting “come on , run , move , don't bloody stop” she seen me and was sooo excited , she grabbed my cowboy hat off me and told me I had to run the last section with her. So off we went on the last mile which does have a climb in it. It was so inspiring , we all just kept balling at her to keep running , she was in agony and tears but she kept running. When we crested the hill we could see the finish line and it was packed with spectators , runners,  pacers. The whole town was there to see the last runners try make the cut off. We still had her running and when we were within about 100m of the end we all peeled off and let her go it alone. I nearly cried! She was pushing so hard and was in so much pain but she did it. She crossed the line with 8 mins to spare and the whole place was going nuts. I couldn't believe it. To be having such a hard race at mile 50 and turn it around and finish was incredible. She ran the last Mayqueen section in an incredible 3hrs 20mins! 35 mins faster than I did it! It was the most inspiring thing I have ever been a part of.

Angie. Incredible stuff.

So Leadville 2014 was amazing. I loved ever second of it and was so happy to play a part in so many peoples race. I am gutted for Kim but she gave it everything she had. She could have pulled the plug at Fish Hatch but she stuck in there and went for it and went until her body would go no further. To get over 80 miles in this race on first attempt is still incredible and for sure next year she will get it done. Her times were fine and if she could have moved once reaching the top of powerline she could have made the Mayqueen cut off so I don't think she needs to work on her timing at all. Just running on empty and knowing how it feels when your dizzy and cold and you just need to run. It's the hardest thing in the world to do but that's when you realise that Ultras are not about how fast you can run but just how you can keep moving when your body says no. For sure she will be back next year and get that belt buckle.

63yrs old!

Thanks to every other crew member , pacer and runner I spoke to over an amazing weekend. Everyone was always so happy and just there helping each other out. It really is unlike any other race I have run in or been a spectator. There really is something special about the LT100 and I want to be a part of it every single year from now on whether its pacing , crewing or running it again. John , Marcy and Anna you were a blast to hang out and crew with.

This sums up Leadville for me. This is the race
founder Ken and his wife Merilee greeting runners
near the end. This was actually a couple who ran it together. Ken and Merilee have greeted
every single runner who has crossed the line in the 32yrs it has be going.

For me it's going to be a big week of training as I rent a car and head to the hills on my own to get in some last long runs before I start to take it easy and then attempt to get another 100 done myself.