Race across the sky: The Leadville 100

By Gale Bernhardt
For Active.com

Each summer Leadville, Colorado, a city rich with mining and Wild West history, is host to a number of challenging endurance events. Endurance events are a challenge in and of themselves; but once you add altitude to the equation, the ante is increased. The town of Leadville sits at a crisp 10,152 feet above sea level.

One of the events, the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race, is so popular that racers enter a lottery in January to secure one of the 750 available starting line spots for the August race. Riders are looking for a start at a ride where the entire event is at elevations above 9,200 feet, with the highest point at the famed Columbine Mine aid station at 12,600 feet.

For some, it's the challenge of riding a mountain bike 100 miles at altitude that attracts them to send in the entry fee. For others, it's that in any given January, fitness goals are promised after a plentiful holiday. No matter the promises made in January, most riders find simply getting to the start line on race day challenge enough. Of course, once at the start line, the big challenge is to finish.

Finishing facts

Of the 750 entrants, about 600 made it to the start line at 6:30 am on race morning, August 13, 2005. Of those 600 riders, only 471 would be "official" finishers. The cut-off time to be an "official finisher" for Leadville is 12 hours. If a rider's finish time is between 12 and 13 hours, he or she is awarded a finisher's medal signifying completion of the distance; but not within the cut-off time.

Riders expected to finish over 13 hours are helped off the course for their own personal safety and for the safety of all the volunteers that have spent long hours on the course.

For all finishers under the 12-hour mark, riders receive a shiny silver belt buckle, women get a pendant in addition to the buckle, and there is a sweatshirt with the rider's name and finish time on the sleeve. (Yes, people stay up all night doing printing operations so the shirts can be handed out at the awards ceremony the next morning.)

Riders under the nine-hour mark receive the coveted gold and silver belt buckle, "La Plata Grande," to signify the accomplishment of this challenge. Category winners receive a mining pan filled with goodies. For the last finisher under the 12-hour mark, a small statuette of the hind end of mule is awarded. The trophy says, "Leadville Trail 100 Bike Race, LAST ASS UP THE PASS."

The challenges

What is it that causes roughly 37 percent of the entrants to miss their goal of finishing under 12 hours? Certainly the altitude is one challenge; but this challenge doesn't stop entrants from 37 states and five countries from giving the event a shot. Athletes come from coastal areas, living at sea level. Many of the racers coming from altitude-challenged states do just fine, finishing well within the 12-hour mark. Living high is no guarantee, as some racers that live and train at altitude don't finish.

Altitude is one challenge and certainly the course itself can keep riders from reaching the finish line. It's essentially an out-and-back course, with only the last few miles to the finish that are different than the start. There are five areas of the course that seem to cause the most problems.

Downhill start
First is the downhill start on pavement. Riders too eager to score the best spot in the peloton, vying for a key position when the road turns to dirt, make silly mistakes and take themselves or other riders out within minutes of the 38-degree Fahrenheit, 6:30 am start.

St. Kevin's climb
Once on dirt, the first real climb begins up Saint Kevin's (pronounced Kēv-ins). Here, less than hour into a long day, riders are jockeying for position and some of them allow adrenaline and aggression to rule decision making. There are crashes on this climb, but it is likely overdrawn energy-bank accounts that take the highest toll. For most overdrafts, the penalty, with interest, is collected later in the day.

Sugarloaf Pass
The next challenging climb is around 13 miles into the day, up and over Sugarloaf Pass. Riders can be heard huffing and puffing, riding a sustained effort at lactate threshold intensity or above. They are racing this five-mile climb, early in the event at an effort reserved for events lasting far less than seven to 12 hours. More overdrafts are noted.

Powerline
The descent after the Sugarloaf climb is known as "Powerline." It's steep, there are loose sections and it usually boasts deep ruts created by heavy mountain rains. Powerline not only takes riders out of the game on race day, but it slams riders into the dirt and rocks in the few weeks prior to race day. Some of these pre-ride injuries are not-so-gentle warnings, while other tumbles exact a race-ending toll well before the start gun is fired.

The first full aid station on race day comes shortly after the Powerline descent and is known as Pipeline. Pipeline is the first time crews can meet their riders and riders without crews can pick-up drop bags. There is a relatively short distance to the second full aid station at Twin Lakes, where riders can again have crew support or race-supported drop bags. Riders must be through the Twin Lakes aid station on their first pass at 40 miles, in less than four hours of racing time or by 10:30 am.

From Twin Lakes, at roughly 9,400 feet, riders climb to the Columbine Mine aid station boasting an altitude of 12,600 feet. Just outside of the Twin Lakes aid station is where the last riders starting the climb see the lead riders already on their way back. The lead riders, so enthused about this event, shout words of encouragement to slower riders.

Columbine Mine climb
The ten-mile climb to Columbine Mine, and subsequent descent, is the fifth area to cause riders heartache. Obviously, climbing 3,200 feet in roughly eight miles on a rocky road, where the oxygen concentration is quite low, can cause problems. Additionally, weather can be a serious factor at this altitude. Add a low endurance base; early race pacing, fueling and hydration errors to the mix; and riders find themselves "in a bit of a bother," as Phil Liggett would say. Some early racing overdrafts are collected here.

After descending the Columbine Mine climb, the second cut-off time comes at the second pass through the Twin Lakes aid station. Riders must be through the 60-mile check point by 2:30 pm or an elapsed time of eight hours. From that last cut-off, riders have four hours to get themselves to the finish line. Within these four hours, on an out-and-back course, what went down early in the race is now up. The hike-a-bike grind back up the Powerline section of the course can break a tired rider's spirit. By now, even the smallest successes must be celebrated to push out the mental demons, eager to take over the mind with whispers of negative self-talk.

Winners

Although 37 percent of the athletes that send in entry fees in January didn't cross the finish line under 12 hours, 63 percent successfully finished. In 2005 the lead male rider, Dave Wiens, finished the event in 7:17. The lead female, Joan Miller was at 8:51. The top single-speed male, Todd Scott, was 8:59:54 and single-speed female, Kara Durland was at 11:12:43. This year marked the first time a female over the young age of 60, Wendy Skean, has finished the race within the cut-off time at 11:24:36. The top tandem racers, Mark and Serena Warner, scored a 9:36:23. Pulling up the rear, the last ass up the pass at 11:59:55 was me.

If you're aiming to finish this event under 12 hours, I would not recommend the five-second-buffer method since the last few miles can be a bit tense. Whether you are looking to complete or compete at this, or other similar ultra-distance events, there are ten key elements to consider in your training and racing. Those topics will be covered next month.

See also:

Race across the sky - Part II