Leadville Trail 100 Aug 13 2011

Leadville 2011, An experience I won’t soon forget…

About 6 weeks ago my friend at Cascade Designs contacted me and asked if I wanted to race the Leadville Trail 100. Jim had placed Platypus (one of 5 brands Cascade owns) as a participating hydration sponsor for the race and was given a hand full of entry’s. I thought for a second no, but what was I thinking?

Leadville is possibly the single largest Endurance MTB event in the country right now. It’s huge! Attracting 1900 participants spanning all 50 states and representing 24 different countries. Impressive. To even get in takes a lucky lottery draw, a super high finish the prior year or you could buy your way in with a massive donation. Just lining up at Leadville is an accomplishment. This race is viewed as the nations pinnacle off-road endurance event, the holly grail of hard cores.

I had only read and watched some You Tube trailers about the race. “It’s all fire roads” is a common assumption of many and they’re right, it is mostly fire roads and double track. What’s not seen in the videos is the high mountain exposure to 10,000ft + Altitude and 7-12h of suffering. I won’t spoil my re-cap here but…as a first timer and fairly high finisher it’s easily the hardest one-day event I’ve ever done.

My “training” began two weeks earlier in Park City, UT. That’s right, I basically did no real focused training for this one out side of my usual Tues night SIR and Seward Park crits. Those who attend know that’s a bunch of sprinting with few efforts lasting over 5min. With such little time to properly prepare and no real plan going in I figured acclimation was the best I could do.

I went to Park City, UT with Nikole and friends for the OR (outdoor retailer) show. I spent a few good long days on the bike there but nothing to hard. Most my rides were 3-4h and over 8500ft so I was getting at least some “low” acclimation. After a week there I headed to CO and hooked up with my new friends Mark, Sally, Kaden and dog Kena in Avon (Vail). They put me up and lent me their spanking new Ford “Tonka” Truck to get to and from Leadville (a perk I don’t think I could have done without, Thank you!).

I re-coned the course on the Wed before the race. I rode the famous Columbine climb as well as the first (and last) climb on the course, Carter Summit. Columbine is defined by most as the maker or breaker. It’s a beast! Toping out at 12,500ft. After 5ml’s of fire road you come out of the trees to a rocky, lose double track wall that takes you strait up the last 1000ft to the course’s half way point and turn around. That wall is un-ridable by 90% of the racers. Carter Summit is tame in comparison. It however comes at 85ml’s in and can’t be overlooked.

On Friday before the race I encouraged my Platy teammates to re-con the 2^nd of the three climbs on course, Powerline. Powerline comes after Carter Summit, before Columbine …but wait! Then you come back and do it all a 2^nd time! That makes for 5 nasty climbs on course (Columbine as your high point, Powerline again at 74ml and Carter at 85ml). Once I had seen all three I picked Powerline on the return as the hardest part of the race. I was right.

Ok so the Race begins…

6:30 am, mass start…1900 people. What a zoo. I hold a Pro License and was supposed to be corralled up front with the other fast guys. With my ‘back of the pack’ number 2040, officials looked at me funny as I snuck through the front of the line (coming in backwards from the start line, a Pro roadie trick). “Pro staging…I’m heading to Pro staging”. After a few strange looks they let it throgh and we were off.

Road rage –

So 100ml race rolls out easy right? Nope. Full gas. Visualize 300+ MTB racers pinning it on pavement for 3mls, downhill, at 6:30 am, jacked up on whatever caffeinated something-er-other they could find. It was totally sketchy. I was chopped and cut off 12 times before we ever reached the dirt. Once on the dirt, sucking dust clouds and dodging boulders, it was onto the first climb.

That’s me 3^rd form right in the Blue/White

I made the cut with the front group over the climb. I was actually feeling really really good, maybe to good and came to the descent in the top 15. Eventual winner Todd Wells and a few others had already gaped us but were still in sight. As my group of 15 or so chased on the pavement up Sugar Loaf Pass to Powerline we could still see the leaders. I was BS’ing with Tim Johnson (Cannondale) and Many Prado (Sho-Air) “Is this for real? Are we going to go this hard for 100mls?” (I know Tim from way back and have kept in touch with Many after meeting him and his mates at BC Bike Race in 08). Neither had much to say and we just kept hammering, single file in a pace line. Some of the Herbalife riders were attacking as if we were in a 50k road race.

Coming to the start of the famed Powerline descent, I was about 4 from the back of the group, still in the top 15 or so. It’s pretty strait forward double track full of deep washed out water drainage ruts. A bad line could mean a face plant or nasty rock garden. About half way down I passed Tim fixing a flat. I think Tinker Juarez had also flatted before we started. Once to the bottom and onto the pavement I was a little gapped. With no real room to pass on the DH I was stuck behind some slower riders. I had to pin it hard to grab the back of the group. Many Prado was solo about 50m up the road, then me and a few guys chasing. We all came back together, wisely, as going solo for the next few miles on pavement is suicide. Like I said… Road Rage. This was like being in a fast road race on mountain bikes!  We all put in some work and eventually pulled back to the next group on the road, again making about a 10-12 man chase group. Only Todd Wells and a few others were up the road. At this point I think they had a few min on us.

Heading to the base of Columbine now…

I thought for sure we would back it down. No. Some more attacks came on the flat dirt roads before the base of the climb. My group split again. I was with Many and about 6 guys still as we hit the lower slopes of the Columbine monster. Right here is where my race took a turn.

As Many Prado (who finished 9^th) attacked, I let the group go. I though, ok, we just did 44mls in about 2:30h. This is a 7+ hour race. There is no way I can hold this pace that long. I have to slow down. So I did, and watched my small group ride away. I knew the top of Columbine and knew where it would get hard. I rode my own pace and even pulled over for a pee. I was still in the top 15-20. Bart Brentjens (Former World Champ and Butch MTB Icon) rode past me along with one or two others. I didn’t really care. 100mls was my mantra now. I paced it well and rode all of Columbine. With about 10min left to climb Todd and the front 3 passed me coming down. It’s an out-and-back course so you get to see everyone on the flip side. Cool yes but actually pretty sketchy on the way down.

With only a mile or so to the turnaround I was feeling a cramp. I clicked a leg out real quick and shook it out. It was expected. I knew I’d cramp in such a long event and was fully prepared to just deal with it. Up to this point I had hardly eaten any food and had only drank about 2 bottles. Can you guess where this is going?

At the turnaround I grabbed my drop-bag full of goodies and set on for the 2^nd half of the race. I didn’t know what to expect at the turnaround. I figured staff would have your bags out there for you ready to go. Not the case. I had to sift through a pile to find my stash. A gal helped me load my pockets as 3-4 riders blew through the aid station not taking on any refreshments. See, our Platy support team was a team of two supporting 8 racers. Getting up top of Columbine and feeding us at the other 3 aid stations was not in the cards. We as a team decided to use the event’s “drop bag” system for the big high mountain stop. As I learned…it wasn’t a stop for the top guys. Carl Decker was the last guy to blow through. I set out to grab his wheel on the short uphill before the long decent but he was gone. When the overall Downiville Classic winner drops you on a decent you can’t feel too bad, right? I was ok though, making my way down the long 20min decent trying not to take out any of the 1875 people I was passing on their way up. Man I wish I had had a Helmet Cam for that…what a sight.

Ok so now going through the Twin Lakes Aid Station. I’d guess about 2-3000 people piled up along a reservoir dam screaming and yelling at you. Banners, tents, loud music and the smell of BBQ…Visualize a large Belgian cross race. It was pretty cool. I didn’t take a feed there. I had loaded up big time up top and was topped off with Coke, Perpetuem and other sugars. Max Tam was with me and made this HUGE effort across the dam. I call that a hero’s pull because all it does is burn a match and impress the crowd. I stuck on his wheel and tried to keep my head up. There were still back of the packer’s coming towards us as we were doing 20+ mph on a flat, lose gravel road.

Into a short singletrack section one other guy made contact with us. We all shared the workload but at this point I knew I was fading. I expressed my condition with my new best friends and received their very same sentiments. We were all doing the best we could. Max however kept uping the pace with these big digs. No one said anything and we just kept it rolling. One of Bart Brentjen’s Milka teammates also made contact with us making our group 4. I’d say we were still inside the top 25 at this point.

As we made our ay back towards Powerline I was ok but starting the feel the effects of our 6am road race; tired, lethargic, cramps in the legs etc. I hadn’t been eating or drinking well (A big mistake in a long one like this). Rookie move? Maybe…more like I just didn’t make a good plan. I had put enough food and drink on board but I had changed what I was eating and drinking from my normal everyday fuel. My stomach was aching most of the morning but by this point I was totally locking up. I was struggling to hold down the Potatoes and PB sandwich I had brought. I needed to eat but it was too late, I was going down…dying a slow death.

With a cramped stomach and the sensation that I wanted to puke every time I tried to swallow food, I just kept on moving forward hoping I would snap out of it. As we came to the Powerline feed Jim was there with my bag. I had another round of Coke, Perpetuem and more shot blocks, all with caffeine in them. Like I said, no real plan. I pieced together a feed plan but failed to consider that nearly all my nutritional products had caffeine in them. Not a god call. Doing the math, I estimate I took on 6-700mg of caffeine during the race. No wonder my GI was locked up and I wanted to vomit.

Past Powerline Aid Station and just before the last of two climbs Tim Johnson and a 6-7 man group catches us. Wouldn’t you know it, big Max Tam puts in another big dig trying to push the pace. Tim said something to me to the extent, “Hey Buddy”. My reply… “ya, paying for it now”. His group rolled right through us as I again let the group go on the base of Powerline climb, 74ml in. At this point I was cracking. I hadn’t had nearly enough to eat or drink. My legs had cramped 4-5 times and my energy was on E. I was seriously considering pulling the plug. This side of Powerline was a beast, much shorter than Columbine but technical and steep. (I will never again slam anyone who needs or regularly uses a triple MTB crank. Sure, fast racers can make a 2X10 work nearly everywhere but I can sure tell you I was glad I had a 24 inner ring here)

Powerline gets very steep in one section it’s pretty hard to ride even fresh let alone as blown as I was. I did my best but one wheel slip and I was on foot until the top of that wall. After that section it’s pitch after pitch after steep pitch with a few very short sections of relief. I was utterly suffering. Each time I would look up to see another long pitch was like another nail in my coffin. The only thing keeping me going was that I knew where the top was and how much further to go. I was going SO slow that riding up even the easiest little rock sections was nearly impossible. I had absolutely no strength left in my legs. All I could do was spin circles and keep moving. I was passed by 3-4 guys but didn’t give a shit.

Once off the backside and onto the pavement (the same pavement from 5h ago where we were single file road racing) I was coasting, trying hard to eat and drink. I almost pulled over once or twice to puke. As I hit the last paved climb up Carter Summit, had I had a power meter, It probably would have read 100w. I was pedaling like a 4 year old that just wet him self. More guys were passing me like I was standing still. Ironically none of these guys were anywhere to be found in the early hours of the race. I was getting a crash course in Endurance MTB racing. Like a tale of two opposite races…

I was sort of keeping track of my place still but really couldn’t do anything about it. This last paved climb, which eventually switched to dirt, was exposed and hot. It was warming up with nowhere to hide and nothing to do but suffer. I stopped once again to pee. As I reached the top and the final Aid Station someone yelled “39^th place!” as Rebecca Rush passed me. Again, didn’t really care but was surprised to hear I was still so high up.

I pulled in like a tourist doing STP, grabbing anything other than what I had brought with me. “Coke?” someone offered… “NO thank you, I’ve had plenty”. I located some Watermelon, salty pretzel sticks and filled my bottles with Herbalife’s 24 (some kind of electrolyte drink). Wouldn’t you know it, I burped! Hurray!!! I was kind of digesting something! Whatever nutritional mixture Watermelon, Enriched Bleached White Flour and SportDdrink is…it worked. I wouldn’t’ say I was back but I had at least a clear head and a little energy to get home. The climb dished out a few more short steep pitches and onto the last decent. Thank freaking god.

On the last flat dirt section with only about 5ml left to race yet another guy caught me. I was just grinding it out with what little strength I had left. I could see Leadville up ahead and just focused on that. This guy sat on my wheel for a mile or so then jumped. I just smiled and let him go. Don’t care, surviving here man… have fun with that. Soon though I was back on his wheel. And sooner after that two more were on us. The young Milka rider from Belgium was also back! He didn’t speak English very well but remembered me from the early hours of pain and the Max Tam attack session after Twin Lakes. He too was shattered.

With about 3mls to go the course drops you down below town forcing a long low-grade gravel road climb up to the finish. Evil!  It just sucked. I had my one gear turning as best I could but these three guys kept pushing the pace, surging like we were still in it. I would get dropped and come back, get dropped and come back. They were pissing me off. Mostly it was the kid in red (who had sat on me miles back and attacked) that was twitchy. As we came onto the pavement and inside 1k I made a deal with myself; If these clowns decide to wind up and sprint for 40 something place I am going to wax them like a new surfboard. Approaching the finish is a strait line of sight, people everywhere screaming…like we were racing to win something big. Wouldn’t you know it, red jersey guy tries to fire it up at 150m but I shut it down, taking our 4 man bunch sprint for 43^th place. Ha! Success!

In any other event I would consider that a cheep shot Jit-Bag move but on tis day, against these guys, after 100mls of pain and suffering…I took no issue with it. I crossed the line and immediately got off my bike. People were trying to grab me, talk to me for an interview or something but all I wanted to do was fall over in the grass. I was absolutely shattered and empty. Laying there in the finish area with people everywhere, I kinda broke down and let it out. Laying on my back shaking with what I guess you’d call excitement to be done. Maybe a better way to put it would be relief that I was alive. I honestly wanted to die out there more than once. I had made the commitment to myself that no matter what happens I would not quit. I was a rookie at 6:30am that morning, with no experience in a race like this. Now, as a Leadville finisher, as cheesy as that sounds, I was genuinely proud to see this thing through.

I’ve been a Pro level bike racer for over 10 years, raced all around the country, in Europe, In all kinds of different disciplines against the some of best in the world. Leadville has set a new threshold of pain for me. It truly lived up to its reputation. The question now is to do it again? I joked about that with some of my Platy teammates as they made their way in to the finish. It’s really hard to say an event this hard is good for you. If you have a day like mine, where you force yourself to go to your absolute limit physically and emotionally, Is It a healthy choice? Is there benefit that comes from this? Was it all worth it? Well, we’ll have to see.

Today I am more soar than I can remember, with lower energy than usual. I am bouncing back but this will take a few to be fully recovered. I’ll revisit the above question soon, but for now I am glad to check that one off the bucket list.

I have an entirely new definition of endurance MTB racing now and tremendous respect for the guys and gals who do it for a living. I would compare Leadville (not that I have experience at this either) to a person who has done a 10k run that jumps into a marathon for the first time. It’s just another level and demands serious preparation and planning. Leadville was a good experience for me though. I had a semi-goal coming in and all said and done wasn’t too far off what I thought I could do. I didn’t see it doing the way it did but then again, didn’t make or stick to any real plan either. I combed through the past results and figured, baring big disaster, I could do a 7h ride. Some of my teammates thought I was crazy but I know what I’m capable of and I know allot of the top guys out there. Blown, cracked and limping in I finished in 7:33h. Stepping back to look at that, I know I can do 7h if I manage myself better. All 20 or so of those guys who passed me in the last 2h, they knew what they were doing. They stuck to their plan and raced their race. I got caught up in a road race and blew myself up in the first half only to pay for it on the backside. Foolish. Aside from the best of the best, being Todd wells and the other top 10 guys who actually can go hard early and stay there, the rest of the pack races in an entirely different way.

Tim Johnson? 16^th. Maybe that flat tire was his blessing?

Bart Brentjens? 6^th. He was not ever in the picture until Columbine. He rode his race from the very beginning.

Cark Decker? 21^st. He too was not participating in the early action and just rode a steady tempo all day.

Max Tam? 39^th. He cracked. Maybe three too many half wheeling surges dude.

Tinker? Flat in the first 10ml, rides back to 15^th. What a veteran.

Many Prado – 9^th after going all out in the early half. Impressive.

Todd Wells and Rebecca Rush….Wow.

Coaches Take – Russell’s Lessons – Bike Tech

1)   Respect any event of this distance and especially at such high altitude. Do not take things (or your fitness level) for granted.

2)   Learn to pace yourself or you will pay for it. An athlete’s tank is only so big and every watt over your Threshold takes away from that tank exponentially.

3)   Have a very concrete fuel and nutrition plan. Do not rely on others to make it work for you. Know what works for you and stick to it. Deviating from your regular nutrition and fueling is a bad idea, especially in endurance racing.

4)   Always race your race. No matter what may be happening in an event this long you have to know yourself and your ability for the entire duration.

5)   Preparer properly. Doing short road races and crits is no way to prep for a 100ml race at altitude.

My Machine -

I rode a 2012 Raleigh Carbon Talus 29’s Hard Tail. It was flawless! Not a single mechanical issue for two weeks. Thank you Brian and Kyle at Raleigh for setting that up for me! It came spec’d with complete 3X10 SRAM XO, Fox 32 F100 15mm QR, Easton EXC 90 Carbon Tubeless wheels and Easton cockpit. I went for the heavier KENDA Small Block 2.1 tires. I had some lighter rubber with me but after scouting I chose the beefed up heavier tires for obvious reasons – no flats. I don’t think a lighter tire would have made a difference. And JSYK, for any of you 29’r haters out there, they are here to stay. At Leadville I would estimate 85-90% of all bikes there were 29’r. All the top men and women rode 29 hard tails. For an event like this, as long as it is, and with so much on and off road, a HT 29 is truly the right tool for the job. (Sponsor Plug: NOBLE bikes, has a HT and Dually 29 bikes coming soon)

All for now my friends, thanks for reading! I’m pouring a beer now…

Russ

Here’s a good one. Bikes for 3min from the start line…