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 to head up to the mountains. We had booked a hotel room close to the race. The lodging in Leadville is not exactly luxury, but it is nice to have a place to sleep close to the race start.
We woke up around 6AM on Saturday and put on our racing battle gear for the day. It was 36 degrees out, but the Colorado sun was warming things up quickly. After getting all our gear in order, we drove our car up to the check-in and picked up our race numbers. We found a little coffee shop to post up at and hang out before the 8AM start. I wasn’t nervous, but I was ‘respectful’ of what was in front of me. Leadville has a way of taking any hint of overconfidence and complacency and crushing it into tiny pieces just to step on you some more. The Leadville altitude, vertical, terrain, and climate are God’s way of keeping us all in check.
We headed over to the start line about 15-minutes before the race start and took a few photos. The crowd of anxious runners was corralled up like cattle ready for the slaughter. Seth and I lined up just outside the shoot about mid-way through the field. The idea was to take the start easy and get into a manageable rhythm for the day. They sang the national anthem and in classic Leadville fashion fired a shotgun in the air to start the race.
We started off in a slow uphill jog heading East out of town. The looming monstrosity of Mosquito Pass was in the distance as pounding footsteps sparked up the heartbeat of the race. I watched my heart rate closely and made sure I didn’t break into my tempo zone. I was feeling pretty good despite the altitude. Seth dropped back a little to stay conservative on the first climb.The marathoners broke right up the first steep hill, and I slowed down to a power hike. I would pace this way the entire race if I could. There was no sense burning useless matches early on. The first 13 miles of the race would include over 4,000 feet of vertical gain. I could spot the runners in the field that I would easily pass later in the race if they kept firing useless bursts of energy in an effort to gain a spot or two on the climb to aid station one.
The first major aid station at mile 5.5 signaled the summit of Ball Mountain. I headed right through the station and started down the rocky and steep trail that would drop me into the valley below. This section was added to the course in 2014 and is a treacherous downhill run if you are not alert. The loose gravel and steep washouts are an invitation for stubbed toes and face-plants. Shortening up my stride and increasing my cadence, I let gravity take me to the bottom of the hill. I was hydrating well to this point and felt good enough to continue on at around a 12/min mile pace.
The next section of the course features some rolling terrain. These fire road hills look runnable, but top 15 percent grade in sections. I once again started into power hiking mode and made my way up to another Pearl Izumi athlete to kill some time. We chatted for a bit as we made our way to the top of the hill.
We crested the top and I made my way down to the next aid station at mile 9.5. This aid station is at the base of Mosquito Pass. While the summit is a little over 3 miles from this aid station, it looks like it is an eternity away and a mile high.
The next three miles were incredibly difficult but my main goal was to not stop. I have been working on slow steady progress in my climbing and this would be a test of my fitness. As I power hiked among the field, my legs were starting to throb, I was struggling to breathe and my brain was yelling for me to stop and recover a bit. I kept hiking….slow…steady…progress…
Mosquito seems to go on forever. There are plenty of false summits and moments of self-doubt. The lack of oxygen over 12,000 feet helps amplify the emotion, pain and lethargy. All I could think of is making it 5 feet at a time and never stopping. Eventually I would get to the top.
What felt like an eternity later, I made it to the summit. I was three hours into the race. I crossed the checkpoint and turned around to head back down the mountain. The rocky scrabble and steep descent off this mountain is the gnarliest part of the course. There is two-way traffic on a narrow trail. On my right side, the cliff dropped off into the valley below, on my left, I was dodging people still making their way up the mountain. It was hard to stay focused due to the altitude, but I did all I could to watch my feet and run steadily down the mountain. I was running 8 minute miles off the mountain and encouraging hikers going up the whole time. My quads were starting to hurt a bit, but my heartrate still was in check so I kept pushing.
I saw Seth just starting to make his way up the mountain so I deliriously reached out to give him a high five and encourage him a bit. I don’t remember if we slapped hands or not, but hopefully it gave him some good motivation to keep pushing.
Back into the valley at the aid station, I refilled my water bottle, took a couple of GU’s, ate a watermelon and downed a cup of coke. I stopped here for a couple of minutes to regroup for the remaining ten miles of the race.
I took the next several miles steady. There are a couple of runnable climbs that I chose to hike up. The fatigue was setting in a little bit, and I knew the climb back up to Ball Mountain was going to be relentless. Close to 1000 vertical feet over a-mile-and a-half is a crusher at mile 20 of the race.
Taking the left turn onto Ball Mountain, I fell into a power hiking pace that I felt like I could manage. I watched my heartrate and fell into a rhythm. I put some music on my headphones and hiked. I passed at least 10 people on the climb. I wasn’t moving quickly, but the climb was crushing the field. Happy that I was mentally prepared for the difficulty, I powered on to the top of the climb.
Cresting the ridge of Ball, I stopped at the aid station for about a minute and refueled with another GU, some coke and some water. There were about 5 miles and one climb left. I looked at my watch and it looked like I was on pace to break five hours so I hurried on.
I started to open it up in the last section of the race. Powering down the descent, I made my way to the base of the next uphill. The final climb is about a mile long, and fairly runnable if you have the legs. I wound up alternating about one minute of running with three minutes of hiking, and made my way to the top.
The town of Leadville was below me and to my left now. I began to push pace down the hill into town. With a mile to go, it was apparent that I wouldn’t break the five hour mark, but I sprinted anyway. At sub-seven-minute-mile pace, I sprinted towards the finish line.
Hearing my name on the speaker, I cruised to a 5:02 finish and left it all out on the course!
My strategy this year was different than last year. By hiking the uphills, and more importantly, not burning matches early, I was able to finish strong. It’s not at all easy to do at Leadville, but hopefully I can continue to gauge my effort and get ready for August…..
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 to head up to the mountains. We had booked a hotel room close to the race. The lodging in Leadville is not exactly luxury, but it is nice to have a place to sleep close to the race start.
We woke up around 6AM on Saturday and put on our racing battle gear for the day. It was 36 degrees out, but the Colorado sun was warming things up quickly. After getting all our gear in order, we drove our car up to the check-in and picked up our race numbers. We found a little coffee shop to post up at and hang out before the 8AM start. I wasn’t nervous, but I was ‘respectful’ of what was in front of me. Leadville has a way of taking any hint of overconfidence and complacency and crushing it into tiny pieces just to step on you some more. The Leadville altitude, vertical, terrain, and climate are God’s way of keeping us all in check.
We headed over to the start line about 15-minutes before the race start and took a few photos. The crowd of anxious runners was corralled up like cattle ready for the slaughter. Seth and I lined up just outside the shoot about mid-way through the field. The idea was to take the start easy and get into a manageable rhythm for the day. They sang the national anthem and in classic Leadville fashion fired a shotgun in the air to start the race.
 |
| Let the games begin |
 |
| View from the top of the first climb up Ball |
The next section of the course features some rolling terrain. These fire road hills look runnable, but top 15 percent grade in sections. I once again started into power hiking mode and made my way up to another Pearl Izumi athlete to kill some time. We chatted for a bit as we made our way to the top of the hill.
We crested the top and I made my way down to the next aid station at mile 9.5. This aid station is at the base of Mosquito Pass. While the summit is a little over 3 miles from this aid station, it looks like it is an eternity away and a mile high.
 |
| Starting the climb up Mosquito Pass |
 |
| The hike up Mosquito Pass |
The next three miles were incredibly difficult but my main goal was to not stop. I have been working on slow steady progress in my climbing and this would be a test of my fitness. As I power hiked among the field, my legs were starting to throb, I was struggling to breathe and my brain was yelling for me to stop and recover a bit. I kept hiking….slow…steady…progress…
Mosquito seems to go on forever. There are plenty of false summits and moments of self-doubt. The lack of oxygen over 12,000 feet helps amplify the emotion, pain and lethargy. All I could think of is making it 5 feet at a time and never stopping. Eventually I would get to the top.
 |
| Mosquito Pass Nearing 12,500feet |
I saw Seth just starting to make his way up the mountain so I deliriously reached out to give him a high five and encourage him a bit. I don’t remember if we slapped hands or not, but hopefully it gave him some good motivation to keep pushing.
Back into the valley at the aid station, I refilled my water bottle, took a couple of GU’s, ate a watermelon and downed a cup of coke. I stopped here for a couple of minutes to regroup for the remaining ten miles of the race.
I took the next several miles steady. There are a couple of runnable climbs that I chose to hike up. The fatigue was setting in a little bit, and I knew the climb back up to Ball Mountain was going to be relentless. Close to 1000 vertical feet over a-mile-and a-half is a crusher at mile 20 of the race.
Taking the left turn onto Ball Mountain, I fell into a power hiking pace that I felt like I could manage. I watched my heartrate and fell into a rhythm. I put some music on my headphones and hiked. I passed at least 10 people on the climb. I wasn’t moving quickly, but the climb was crushing the field. Happy that I was mentally prepared for the difficulty, I powered on to the top of the climb.
 |
| The summit of Ball Mountain |
I started to open it up in the last section of the race. Powering down the descent, I made my way to the base of the next uphill. The final climb is about a mile long, and fairly runnable if you have the legs. I wound up alternating about one minute of running with three minutes of hiking, and made my way to the top.
 |
| Powering to the finish |
Hearing my name on the speaker, I cruised to a 5:02 finish and left it all out on the course!
My strategy this year was different than last year. By hiking the uphills, and more importantly, not burning matches early, I was able to finish strong. It’s not at all easy to do at Leadville, but hopefully I can continue to gauge my effort and get ready for August…..
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