Leadville 100

As we drove up into the mountain region where the small town of Leadville sits, my head wasn’t feeling very good at all. Every since we got of the plane in Denver, all the signs of trouble were building and by the time we checked in I knew I was going to have a problem. I’ve been fortunate this year not to have blighted with migraines and this one caught me off guard. From the time I woke on Friday I wasn’t able to eat or drink without my body rejecting it. We did go out for breakfast but I had to leave Guthrie to eat alone and during the race brief I made a hasty exit before the end to throw up. For the rest of the day I stayed in bed getting progressively more dehydrated. In the evening we ordered room service and I managed just 4 mouthfulls of pasta that miraculously stayed down. At 2 am the next morning I drank a cup a black tea and ate half a bagel with PB before the start. The weather was decidedly cooler than the conditions we left in CT and the weekend forecast was for possible snow showers. As it happened, race day brought hail, rain and chilly temperatures.

Because of the my disaster the day before my intention was to simply survive the day and finish, the start was a stampede and I was careful not to get caught up in the rush. The first aid station was 13 miles out and after leaving town we followed a trail by a lake that yeilded a cold off water breeze. I took a digger in the dark but thankfully didn’t do any damage. The aid station was chaotic as runners and supports squeezed into the shelter out of the weather. On the way to the next aid station thunder rumbled around us. The trail followed some power lines and they buzzed in the damp atmosphere. Suddenly a huge spark flashed above us from the cables as lighting flashed. With a few screams from the runners below everyone seemed to pick up their pace!

Despite the topic of handling the altitude at Leadvill, there is a significant amount of road running in this race before the ‘highlight’ climb up to 12,000 ft and Hope Pass. The climb up was brutal and the thin air quickly left you gasping and I felt quite helpless several times as I stopped to catch my breath. Just below the summit is the aid station know as the Hopeless Aid Station. All the equipment is packed to the summit on lamas and a collection of about 40 animals were tethered around the grass meadow around the station. From the top it was a quick descent to the half way point.

By now I was definitely struggling and contemplating calling it a day. My stomach was sore from heaving the day before and the feeling of nausea was still there. I trudged into the aid station and chatted things through with Guthrie, naturally she pushed me to try and make one more aid station, so I set off. Of course this meant revisiting Hope Pass! Just shy of the summit we passed a runner in distress complaining of pulmonary oedema, a complaint often brought on by the bodies inability to cope with high altitude. He declined assistance but asked that we advise the medics at the aid station. At the top I stopped for soup while the runners I had crested the summit with continued down, I caught them well before the next stop and was pleased for taking the time to take on nourishment. By now though my lengthy stop at the half way point was taking its toll. Leadville has a tough time cut off considering the difficulty of the route and as I arrive at the aid station after Hope Pass I had just a few minutes to grab supplies and leave before the cut, I then had to make the next station by 12:45 am. I made it with 15 minutes to spare. Again a quick re provision and out with a need to make the next cut before 3:00 am. Earlier in the night it hailed and the air was remained chilly, plus once I got wet I couldn’t warm up. No matter how much I tried to pick up the pace to generate warmth or drink warm soup, I shivered and my lower back around the kidney region started to ache. My inability to raise my core temperature was a worry and every time a took a drink from my drink bottles the cool liquid made it feel worse.

I arrived at the penultimate aid station having made the decision to call it a day, I knew the next section involved a 2,000 ft climb over 10 miles and the final stage was 13 miles of chilly lake side trail. Guthrie tried to encourage me to continue but afterwards said she was relieved.

So, the outcome means that my Slam quest is over although I still intend to do the other races. Would I do this race again? I found the volume of road mileage to be disappointing, The Bear 100 in Idaho is a much more scenic course. I would be much more alert to the amount of time spent at aid stations, this is a race where you can’t afford to squander time at the rest stops and I would also spend more time doing hill work, there was nothing ‘gently undulating’ about Hope Pass!