Race Across The Sky Leadville Trail 100 Run 2016

What Pain!?!?!?

I don't know where to begin...I threw my name in the lottery for the Leadville Trail 100 Run and was chosen. The 2016 Leadville Trail 100 Run would be my 3rd time with my sights set on a 2nd finish and a quicker time than I managed in 2014 the first time I finished @ 29 hours 12 minutes. All finishes are amazing in Leadville, but everyone wants that "BIG BUCKLE." (pictured below) is the Under 25 hour finishers Buckle. Its about twice the size of the Under 30 hour Buckle. If you come in over 30 hours you can be still considered an unofficial finisher, but 30 hours is the magic number they give you to complete the 100 mile foot race which takes you from 10,200ft up to 12,600ft with 18,168 feet of elevation gain and loss that is a 36,336ft of elevation change which in not the the biggest by any means in terms of 100 mile races, but by actual elevation standards it averages some of the highest elevations of any race in the world which makes a huge difference because everything is much harder above 10,000ft.

I had a bit more experience going in this year with a handful of 24 hour race finishes and and made some training changes that showed promise. Sights were locked onto a sub 25 hour finish. Training was great. I stayed healthy and injury free. I was faster and ready to chase down that faster finish. My mental game has always been my biggest strength and I was excited. Fast forward to the start of the race and mile 15 in.....Going downhill on what is the infamous "power-line" section of the course. It's a very steep section that is a washed out rocky jeep trail. I was flying down knowing the downhill sections are my go to where I make up tons of time. It was routine quick choppy steps descending downward when my left ankle rolled slightly. Like a quick foot drill a caught myself with my right leg down to offset the rolled ankle and the leg locked and hyper extended. I dropped a F Bomb....well a few F bombs...sorry Mom! 1. The race is hard enough, but with a nagging injury my mind began to panic. For those of you that know me I am a pretty mellow dude. My resting heart rate is 36 ( which they say people with lower resting heart rates are more mellow and not hyper active.) and I adapt to most any situation really well......BUT Mile 15 ish into the Leadville 100 and I'm in pain!!! Let's say a 6/10 on the pain scale. I knew I had stretched or sprained my knee and my first thought was can I make it another 85 miles!? I'm hitting my aid station paces almost to the minute to take down that sub 25 hour finish, but now the game changed. I made it down that steep section and onto a flatter piece where I could really assess and make a game plan. Next aid station is mile 24.5 so I had some time and my instinct said Finish this thing!!! My rational part of my brain said this is going to be a long day on a weakened leg. I made it to "Outward Bound" mile 24.5 and was only 9 minutes off of my projected time. Let my family and crew know what I had done to my knee, but said I was going to go on no matter what and see what I could do. Quick hugs and bottle refills and I was off headed to the next station which was mile 31. My knee slowly started to change the mechanics of my running. I was in pain and knew that this finish would be very difficult. So here I am a 1/4 of the way in and I'm already talking about a difficult finish. I said in my head just about 3 more marathons and I am there. Oh boy!!!! I am used to pain (minor quad pain) at around mile 40 in these races so I was in new territory. With all the work and coordination to get me and my friends and family here I wasn't about to throw in the towel. I wanted to see if it could possibly work itself out. Sometimes you get lucky and run through a little pain and it magically goes away. Mile 31-39.5 wasn't too bad I made okay time and made it to the 39.5 mile "Twin Lakes" aid station around 10 minutes slower than I had projected on my pace chart. Twin Lakes is in my opinion the game changer of the course. It is the lowest part of the course at 9,200ft and is filled with people and energy. It sits low looking up at the highest part of the course "Hope Pass" some like to call it Hopeless Pass. it is above tree line meaning it is12,600ft above sea level and plants/vegetation don't grow up there. The reason I say it is the game changer is that it sits at mile 40 to 50 and then you have to turn around and climb it again to make it back to mile 60 which is twin lakes again. They say the race doesn't actually begin until you hit mile 60. In a matter of 20 miles over the below monster you gain around 6,600 Vertical Feet. The amount of carnage you see during this section makes you cringe. I will explain later. 




I was still strong at this point. My leg was a bummer, but doing these races you get used to being in a bit of pain so it was not too far from the norm... so I thought. Annoying, but not enough to throw in the towel. I saw my family and my two boys Drake and Tyce. They were so excited to see me race and wanted to run with me. They were worried and said "daddy you hurt your knee!?" I said Yeah, but I wont quit!!! At that point it SOLIDIFIED my journey ahead.






Giving Drake some Love before I head onto the hardest part of the course...Hope Pass.







Tyce chasing me to Hope Pass. Look up high..You can see where I am headed.





Off....or Up to Hope I go. hi ho hi ho lol


River Crossing.....oh so cold!!!!! Knee deep water was raging around my legs and it was awesome and refreshing. I crossed through holding onto the rope that was strung across the river. Got towards the end of the crossing and dipped down so the water was now waist deep. Wheeeeewwwwww. I needed that!

This climb is nasty...I mean nasty. Hope gains 3,181ft and its steep!!! For anyone that has climbed a 14er its similar, but it hits you at mile 40---60 and oh does it hit you!!! It was here where I noticed how much I was over using my left leg to compensate for the pain in my right knee. My climb was slow. too slow for that sub 25 hour finish. It was during this climb I really didn't know if I was going to be able to make it to that finish line at all. I said to myself one aid station at a time. I passed several pukers on the way to the "Hopless Aid station" yeah it's called hopeless lol. Only cool thing is the volunteers are amazing and there are llamas.




Grabbed some water here and headed up to the summit. I am normally excited for the summit, but not this time. I knew that meant I had to go down 3,181ft vertical feet into the 50 mile mark. That would mean knee pain from the tweak way earlier in the day. I tried to let gravity take me, but the pain was bad. The hard part about this section is that you are trying to get down a very very steep single tack trail while others are trying to get back up it...It is an out and back course so there is traffic both ways at this point. The people going up have the right of way and they were ahead of me so they earned it. I would go down as quickly as possible then dodge out of the way to get off trail so other racers could make their way up I thought some of these guys and gals still have a chance to hit that sub 25 hour finish...or even better. I then thought about myself and said I just need to finish this damn thing!






Mile 50


I finally made it about 1.5 hours late from what I had projected. It was 5pm now and I was only an hour ahead of the cutoff. About a 13 hour 50 miler :( Ok now it is time for me to pick up Pacer Joe and take off ...or back Up Hope Pass again and back to twin lakes to mile 60.

Pacer Joe finishing in 2014 "Sub 25!!!"

 I am in Good hands. Joe has done a few 100 milers including Leadville and he is ready to push me....even though there wasn't a whole lot to be pushed. Finish Finish Finish is all that played in my head. As we made our way back Hope Pass I felt amazing the first 15 minutes hahaha. I could run the flats and had a burst of energy. The mountain gets steep in a hurry and I go slow in a hurry. My left leg had an unreal pump going on I think because I was over using it all day. Joe is an incredible climber and even on my best day he would out climb me. Today was a bad day for me. We passed other runners coming down the mountain still and I knew they would barely make or most likely miss the 50 mile cutoff.  This gave me an added motivation to go faster and get to the summit...Again!!! High elevation can do bad things to your stomach and it hit me near timber line..Quick pit stop and I felt better and the summit was close. 

2nd Summit of Hope

Alright!!!!!!! We made it to the top and I could see Twin Lakes which looked like a far off town in the distance. 

We made it back to the llamas and made a quick stop to fuel up and then we rolled down the mountain!!! I am always better at downhill running than any other aspect of running. I go fast, but not today. The pain of that right knee has set in along with tired quads made for an interesting climb down the mountain. The funny thing was we were passing people still. Racing the sun at this point and it's going down fast! Hope has lots of trees and it was getting dark. I did not plan to be in this section at dark. Headlamp is on now and we were passing lots of runners at this point...most of which didn't have their headlamps on so I am assuming they forgot to bring them which most were hoping not to be here so late in the race. Joe and I made it back to the flat marshlands and it was now completely dark now. I heard water and knew the river was just ahead. stomped through some puddles and made our way through the river crossing once again. All I can think of at this point is new socks and shoes. Mile 60 and I am still in the same socks and shoes and I have a few hot spots that I was hoping weren't too bad.

We made this cut off by about 25 minutes. I saw my mom in the dark she had on a bright yellow jacket and was super excited to see us. She ran up to where my dad Henry and wife Brittany were. They had everything I needed ready to go.

New shoes, new socks and a warmer jacket and I took off like a heard of turtles. Pacer Joe was going to be with me for another 16 steep miles. We climbed out of Twin Lakes well, but were headed nowhere fast. 

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!?!?!?!?!

We were around 65 miles in now and the temp has dropped into the 30's and my pace dropped with it. There are some nice sections here where you can run, but my legs were done for now. My left leg felt like I had been doing single leg squats all day long from over compensating and my right knee was even more sore now. It was here where I started sleep walking for real. Like when you are on a road trip driving and cannot keep your eyes open. My eyes weighed 50lbs a piece. I would wake up quickly and swerve all over the trail like I was drunk or something. Joe knew I was slow here so he was trying to get me to push the pace and walked up about 30ft ahead of me. My eyes could not focus on him and they would close and close and close and I would wake up swerving all over the trail again and again. I yelled up to him Stop!!! Joe!!! I need help I am falling asleep on my feet!!! I had caffeine via Tailwind nutrition and I was chugging it down even though my stomach didn't feel too great. I finally snapped out of the sleepy stage and woke up and finally picked the pace up. We made it to Halfpipe aid station around 12:30am and knew I would meet my parents and Brittany at the next aid station and checkpoint Outwardbound mile 76.5 I am in pain and I can remember feeling so much better back in 2014 when I did the race last. It is amazing the thoughts that go through your head. My mind began the games and tricks. 

Deep down I am strong and I pride myself on being able to "stick it out." Right now I was in a bad place. I started saying to myself.."Just miss the next cut off time...go slower so you just miss it!!!" These thoughts sickened me. At this point I picked up my Beautiful wife Brittany Rivera

The above picture is what I envisioned when I would close my eyes. I said my goodbyes to Pacer Joe and took off with Britt. She was pumped up and oh my goodness so Positive. Talked about how the boys look up to me and want to be just like me. Told me about all the facebook posts and support from friends and family. She was like a buzzing bee of energy. My mind was still very week and I can remember closing my eyes with tears filling inside. Miss the next cut off checkpoint! and this will be done. The legs will no longer be in pain. My mind rambled this crap on and on. I would look over at Britt with tears in my eyes....she wouldn't see them because my headlamp was off trying to save battery. We were on an actual asphalt road for a few miles and the moon was very bright. I was ashamed at the thoughts that had creeped into my mind. My brain wanted me to be done. Body wanted me done hours and hours ago. Britt was on her game and kept saying you are finishing this!!! We will meet your dad and he will take you home to the Finish. 

I can do this. We can do this. 

Powerline aka the last big climb

We started climbing and my legs let me know how terribly weak they are. Its a fatigue you can only experience doing one of these races. Legs don't really burn anymore they just tingle and throb with pain. Every now and again I would trip on a rock or lose my balance because my legs were so shot. Before I knew it I heard cheers and the thumping of a sub-woofer. I heard screams and I knew we were close to the makeshift "unofficial" aid station. I call it the GLOW station. They party hard here and camp out the whole night.

Glow Sticks/ black lights and Aliens is what you see at this point in the race and at this aid station you are welcomed with a massive sign that read "GREAT FUCKING WORK!!!!" 

So close I am thinking!!!! We are now headed down around 4-5 miles of steep downhill and as much pain as I was win it was comical because I went at a reasonable pace now....Brittany being awesome we made our way down and down and down passing a few people as we went. At this point on the course its obvious who is going to make that next cut off time. I passed a man that was walking so crooked leaning so far to the left it looked like he may fall down. I was walking very slowly and right when I saw him I knew he wouldn't make it to May-queen...the next aid-station and cutoff. I was surprised at this point to see anyone on the course worse off than me. My mind had it made up that I was dead so to actually pass a few people the reality became clear. I was still in this. We are now around 15 miles away from the finish line. The next 2 ish miles felt like they took forever. You can hear the traffic now and see lights letting you know how close you are to the next aid station. 

We made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mayqueen mile 86.5 and My dad was there in his trademark cowboy hat. I could see the excitement light up his face and my mom was basically floating she was so happy to see us. Brittany traded off gear to my dad and I ran ahead knowing we were only 20 or so minutes ahead of the cutoff I had a sense of urgency now thinking to myself if I made it this far and didn't finish I would be so devastated. This part of the course is a nice rolling hill section right next to beautiful Turquoise lake. My dad caught up and took charge. We needed to move at a good clip to make the finish in under 30 hours. My dad is and always has been a great leader. I felt comfortable with him charging the pace. I followed as close as I could I tried to match his stride and exact pace. I could do so for a few minutes....then it was back to my best Olympic speed walk impression lol. Mist and fog is hovering right off the lake. It was beautiful, but it also gave me a horror movie type feel. Like where is the monster/ hockey mask!?!? to put me out of my misery. It burned off and you could see the lake and its beauty. My dad carried my water and Tailwind. He made me catch him to earn a drink...that was mean haha, but I needed the push because we were so close and that time cutoff at 30 hours wont wait on me. Time slows up and speeds down if that makes sense. It feels like you are trapped in a movie and the speed feels off...slow...fast....slow...fast. And then we see them. Our gold Explorer and I can see Brittany and Joey smiling which was contagious because I smiled huge. Joe yelled off this is exactly 3.1 from the finish we had made it to the 10k turn around which is also part of the Leadville Race Series. a 5k and we will be there!!! run....walk...walk....run over and over again.

It was around 9:42am and my heart beat jumped knowing I was running out of time. The thought of not finishing made my face turn red so I ran and ran and ran and ran for at least 100 yards lol. I tried to keep repeating this and we made it to the 1 mile mark. There were about 30 volunteers cheering us on. Such a great feeling!!!!! My dad looked fresh; 61 years young and just crushed 12.5 miles. He smiled and I smiled back. We were closing in on the finish as we climbed the last hill that overlooks the finish. I could see a massive crowd and that red carpet finish-line. We made are way down the road and to the last 1/4 mile. I started running again and fast we past a few people. My dad taught me when I was little to always finish fast and strong...so we did. We were cruising and there were bleachers where spectators could sit and cheer on the finishers. I felt like I was running effortlessly. Tears flowing strong now down my salty cheeks.....I had so many doubts with my knee and the finish felt like I cheated death. Grateful with a smile and tears and my family there to catch me at the Finish Line. Ken Chlouber the race founder was there too and he gave me a great big hug. "You're the best! You dug Deep!!!!"

FINISH.......Click here for Video

Thank You so much Brittany, Joey, Jan, and Henry you guys were amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That sub 25 hour finish will be mine. I wont Stop.