Spokes

The Starting Line I was laying in bed with my eyes wide open when the alarm went off at 2:50AM. For the past six hours, I had been mentally running through every segment of the run between a few short sleep breaks. It was going to be a long day and I was ready to finally race. I had a pit in my stomach knowing the event was finally here. I ate a Clif Bar and went downstairs to heat up some water for coffee. My crew and pacers were still sleeping and it looked like a college slumber party downstairs as I stepped over bags and sheets making my way to the kitchen. Sipping on my coffee I went back upstairs and put on the rest of my clothes. This included my standard run gear, arm warmers, wind shell, gloves, beanie and headlamp. The rest of my crew would be waking up shortly, so I sat on the bed for a few moments, closed my eyes and did some deep breathing. Julie came over to me and put her arm around me and laid her head on my shoulder. “ You will do great baby .” She whispered in my

It’s hard to believe that it was three years ago when I made my first trek up to Leadville to compete in the Heavy Half. It was my first official trail race and likely the spark which ignited my passion for trail running at a more competitive level. There is a deep sense of respect I have for the historical town of Leadville that sits above 10,000 feet. The ghosts of the past still brush up on your sides as you walk down the sidewalks and look at the snow-capped peaks in the distance. The cool air whispers to you in the night and lets you know that your presence is now another thread in the history that paints this town with mystery. The 2016 Leadville Marathon would be my last official race before heading deep into the cave of training that will carry me to the 100-mile trail run in August. It would also mark the 10th marathon or further distance run I’ve done this year in training or in races. My friend Seth flew into Denver on Friday afternoon and we loaded up his rental car

This was my second crack at the infamous Dirty30 50K trail race in the mountains outside Golden, Colorado. I use the word ‘infamous’ due to the insane amount of vertical you see on this race course. Over 32 miles, your legs will take you over 7,300 feet of vertical climbing and another 7,300 feet of descending. It’s a calf-rocker, quad-rocker, lung-busting, how much do you have in you, type of race. Homemade Tattoo of the Course  Heading into the race, I questioned whether or not this particular race was the best choice heading towards Leadville in 10 weeks. The Leadville course is a different kind of challenging. You’re racing at a similar altitude as D30, but the continuous up and down is not the case in Leadville. It was a moot point second-guessing my decision to race this ultra, as I had paid the fee and I was going to go through the start-line regardless.  Chris and I at the Start  I lined up at the start with the 300ish athletes and took a few deep breaths. My fri