Leadville Trail 100

         

The infamous Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, the biggest hundred miler in the US. I was completely stoked just to get into the race but I knew I needed to show up in great shape just to finish, let alone do well in it. My prep period was not as long as I had wanted it to be because of a full XC season up until mid July. I took advantage of the time I had though and did some serious volume. I tried to maintain the snappiness that the XC season had left in my legs but also increase my endurance in a relatively short amount of time. To be able to recover after my long days I always would drink a bottle of Hammer Recoverite and then cool down with my Compex’s Active Recovery program. Along with staying fueled on the bike with Hammer Perpetuem and Hammer Bars, this was a vital asset to my success. The EMS that the Compex offers has allowed me to make huge gains in a little amount of time. The Active Recovery program increases blood flow, flushes out lactic acid, and also promotes the release of endorphins, all really good things for a tough training block!!

My parents and I showed up in Leadville Friday morning to see hundreds of cyclists consuming the town. It was a pretty rad sight! I headed immediately over to registration to get that stuff situated before heading to the riders meeting. The meeting was held in a high school gym which was filled to the limit with nervous riders. There really wasn't much race info given out but I got to hear some inspirational stories and enjoyed the atmosphere, Lance even showed up! I spent the rest of the day getting my nutrition ready and trying to relax. My nutrition plan was relatively simple. I was going to try and drink one bottle of Strawberry-Vanilla Perpetuem along with one Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel an hour. The combo would give me a total of 360 calories an hour. This is a substantial amount but in my training I have been able to consume this with no GI distress thanks to Hammer’s easy digestibility.

         

             Race morning started bright and early with a 6:30 start. A couple buddies of mine and I went out to the start at 5:00 to place our bikes nearest to the front of our corral as we could. My dad was generous enough to chill with our bikes so we could head back to the house to stay warm. By the time I returned at 6:00 the start corrals had transformed, thousands of riders now were standing next to their bikes. Now there was nothing left to do but take a few Hammer Race Caps and get ready to go!

           I was in the last start coral, about 1200 riders back, so when the gun sounded I stood there for about 90 seconds before I finally started moving. Once I got going though, it was on. I knew I had to move up as fast as I could and started weaving my way through the seemingly endless riders in front of me. A lot of sketchy moves were made on my part but they were totally worth it. Although I passed a lot of riders in the first 30 minutes by the time we hit the first climb up St. Kevins I still had a lot of work to do. I ended up riding a little harder than I wanted to but was able to pass another few hundred riders up the climb.

            By the time I started descending down the backside of Kevins I finally got some open trail. There were still plenty of people around, but I could at least ride the line I wanted to. The descending on the dirt was fun but then we hit a wide open pavement descent. I recovered here and just sat, tucked, and cruised at around 40mph the whole way. Before I knew it though the climb up to the top of Powerline began. With all chaos of the start this is where I really started to focus on my nutrition, sipping from my bottle of Hammer Perpetuem regularly.


         The climb up to Powerline was pretty fun. Large groups were forming so I would bridge from one group, recover, and then bridge again. By the time I reached the top I found a solid group that I knew I wanted to be with going across the flats that were soon to come. Coming down Powerline was super fun. Tons of flow and hardly any sketchiness in the group. Unfortunately at the bottom of the descent my tire went flat. It was a small hole so I just aired it back up and it seemed to hold. I started off again but was in a bit of bad spot. I was inbetween groups going across the flats, definitely not where I wanted to be. I ended up pushing hard and getting back up to the group I was with. Super hard effort but worth it, I sat in for the remaining flat and ate and drank a ton. Rolling into the Twin Lakes feed I was feeling really good. I took a couple gels and bottles from my crew and then started the climb up Columbine.

        I settled into a strong tempo and just sat there. The climb was super steady and smooth so I could just zone out and get it done. The portion of the climb above treeline was where it got quite a bit steeper. Traction was good though and I was able to ride everything. As I reached the summit I made sure to look at the view. It is absolutely beautiful up there, wish I could have stayed up there for a little longer, but I still had work to do!

       The descent down Columbine was my favorite part of the race by far. You could absolutely fly!! My Garmin said I hit 45mph on my way down. The corners came fast so most of the time I would end up foot out, drifting them, which is one of my favorite things to do! Also, getting to see a lot of my friends climbing up was super nice. It was amazing to see a continuous line of a thousand people working there way up.

         Coming through Twin Lakes Feed for the second time I grabbed another couple bottles of Hammer Perpetuem and a few Hammer Gels from my pit. It seemed like I was in and out of the pit in ten seconds, they had everything so dialed! After cruising out from the feed zone I found myself riding with one other guy. He was super strong and really pushed me across the flats, I am really glad he was there. The headwind on this section of the course was strong to say the least. The other rider and myself traded pulls and made it across quickly though. By the time I reached the bottom of Powerline my legs were starting to feel it.


        I started cramping almost immediately up the climb. I was able to push through them though and keep moving. I can't say I like that climb at all. It seems like it lasts forever. I was able to ride everything but it was probably the most painful thing I have done. About three times going up that climb I wanted to stop so bad! When I reached the top I was so tired I really couldn't even be stoked. I cruised down the backside and tried to eat and recover as much as I could. I grabbed a bottle from my dad at Haggerman right before starting the last major climb back up to the top of Kevins.

Photo of me suffering up Powerline!
        A few minutes into my climb I noticed my tire was going flat again. I rode it for a while but I eventually needed to stop and air it up. A couple of guys and Rebecca passed me but I was able to get back up to them by the top of the climb. I was feeling good again and stoked for the descent down Kevins. I flew down Kevins and had so much fun. There was tons of little water drains that you could air off of. I found my flow and went down it fast!!! At the bottom of Kevins the race was definitely not over though. There is still a couple miles of flat and then another climb called the Boulevard. Rebecca was back on my wheel within a few minutes of riding the flats. I knew she had a big chance of breaking the record so I took some really hard pulls to try and help her. At that point in the race, those pulls really hurt me.

       

           Finally I hit the pavement again, topped out the final short climb, and could see the finish. It was a pretty great feeling. I put in a good final effort and finished strong. When I crossed that finish line I was absolutely done, I had left everything out on the course. I could barely stand, and could do nothing but sit on my top tube for a few minutes. When I did gain my composure, I walked out of the corral and got a big hug from my Mom and Shea. That felt pretty great!! I found a spot to sit and just zoned out. I downed a bottle of Hammer Recoverite and ate some food before cruising back to the house to take a shower.

          After sitting down for a little while at the house I cruised back over to the finish to watch my friends come in and finally see my dad who helped me so much all day! It was great to see them come across the finish line, absolutely stoked. Congrats to Charlie, Alex, Pete, Chuck, Jared, Ken, and Tonya! You all did great!!!!

        

          Later that night my friends and I ate some good food at the Golden Burro and then chilled to talk about the race. Got to hear some good stories from everyone! Soon after that I crashed out. Laying in bed, listening to some music, and doing a Compex Recovery Plus Program felt pretty good!

         Awards were Sunday morning at 7:30. A little to early I think but whatever, I was stoked to go. Once again I was in the extremely full high school gym. The atmosphere was a little more chill this time though, its hard not be happy after you just finished the Leadville 100! It was great seeing the champs up on stage and hearing what they had to say. I ended up with a final time time of 7:27:38, winning the U19 age group and finishing 28th overall. Earned myself a big belt buckle along with a cool trophy. Stoked!! After the ceremony I headed over to the Carmichael Training Systems celebration. It was great to meet Chris along with all the other great people at CTS. They have helped me a great deal this year and I really appreciate their support! Thanks Andy Applegate!!!

        My first Leadville experience was one I will never forget. I had a great race and got to be around a bunch of awesome people the whole time. I couldn't have done it without my support crew, AZ Devo, Hammer Nutrtion, Carmichael Training Systems, and my other fantastic sponsors.  I really appreciate all the help! It is truly and amazing event in a beautiful place. I can't wait for next year!