First off, what an experience... Not only the race itself, but being surrounded by supporters, other runners, and your team is truly an experience within itself. If you want to do something like this, but are worried about the journey or the outcome, do it anyway. I feel like I've been able to meet so many new incredible people, learn more about the things that interest me, and just grow personally within the last year all becasue I decided to try something hard.
At the beginning of the year I had a conversation with my buddy Levi about full sending it in regards to fitness events - in particular, the events that the .01 percent of people actually try in their lifetime. These events are the ones you only see or read about online, the ones that would take your full commitment, and the ones that seem crazy to everyone around you. For me, my .01 percent fitness event for 2024 was the Leadville100.
MY RACE RECAP/RESULTS
My personal goal for the race was to finish at 26:30:00. At 42 miles in (Twin Lakes Outbound), I was about an hour ahead of my expected arrival time at that aid station, which was more than perfect. After Twin Lakes, you go up the front side of Hope Pass, down the backside, and run 3 miles into the Winfield aid station (the halfway point). Once you get to Winfield, you turnaround and do the course in reverse. For me, I felt pretty excited to get to Hope Pass. I felt very excited to speed hike up the mountain and fly down the declines to gain some time back. During my race prep, these sections of training felt my my strongpoints. Unfortunately, once I began my descent on the backside of Hope Pass the inside of my left knee just suddenly gave out and had a super sharp pain. I tried Biofreeze, compression, and Tylenol but nothing gave any relief. I could not put any weight on my left knee going downhill, so I hobbled all the way to the halfway point using my trekking poles as crutches and falling at least 5 times. Once I got to the 50 mile marker I sorta knew my race was over because I falling way behind schedule and had wiped out the buffer I had created for myself. I had still made it to that aid station 30 minutes before the cut off time, and decided to send it back up the mountain and down into twin lakes (13 miles and incline and decline). The decline down the mountain was probably the worst spot my legs have ever been in. My left leg didn't work at all and my right leg was completely trashed for carrying all the load for the entirety of that section of the race. The descent back down to Twin Lakes ideally would have taken me 1 hour to complete... it took over 3 hours. My legs were beyond trashed due to all the compensation. I finally got back to Twin Lakes, met up with my team and called it at 63 miles in. That 3 hour sorta-hobble back down to Twin Lakes was FILLED with thoughts. I was angry with myself and my soon-to-be result, trying to figure out why my knee was not working, and trying to convince myself that I had done everything I could. At the top I was so angry with pretty much everything, but by the time I got to the bottom I just felt bummed and like I had let my whole team down. Everyone tells you that you've done so well, and 63 miles is still crazy, and you didn't let anyone down, and, and, and.... it's just a hard headspace to be in. Looking back on it now I would call it a successful failure. I failed in regards to the end result, but everything else was a personal success.
Two years ago BPN released a campaign called "More Than the Miles" to emphasize the journey. I want to talk a bit about my journey and what I have learned. Everyone always sees the end result or the outcome of your journey. Rarely do they see or understand what it took to get there, becasue for me it was anything but easy.
1 - YOU KNOW THE CHANGES YOU NEED TO MAKE, MAKE THEM
In 2023 I was running maybe 20-25 miles a week, had multiple injuries trying to figure out how to run long distance, and just could not get into a rhythm with distance trail running. My problem was not being fully commited to what I was trying to do. I knew I wanted to run the LT100 in 2024, so in December I decided it was time to cut out all the fluff. After Christmas I cut out alcohol, switched up my lifting routine to support my running, made sure I got 8 hours of sleep every single night (no partying), and adjusted my diet to support distance running. I literally took out all the stops and made every adjustment I could to give myself the best chance during race prep and on race day. Bottom line - break the bad habits you know don't help you, but you choose to do anyway. For me they were the hardest ones to break, but made the biggest differences in working towards my goal.
2 - SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE & ASK QUESTIONS
It was pretty easy to figure out the people who really supported my goal and the people who didn't. The people who support you are there with you, want you to achieve that goal, and want to help you along the way. I realized the more time I spent with these people the more confident I felt in my journey. These are the people who respect and understand your journey (and don't give you a hard time for being unavailable when you need to stick to your training program). There are always a few people who will tear you down because "it's too big of a goal", "you're not a runner", or something else along those lines. Don't let other peoples' lack of drive or vision change your plans. Their lack of self-belief has nothing to do with you.
"If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together" - African Proverb
3 - ITS ONE DECISION, NOT MULTIPLE
When you go through the journey leading up to the race, there are going to be many many times when you'll be in your own head. It could come in the form of stopping the run a few miles short, not waking up on time, skipping a training session, or even eating something you shouldn't. These are not decisions that you need to make. You only need to make one decision. My decision was signing up for the race. Everything after that was not a choice, but part of the plan. Stick to the plan. If you need to wake up at 6, wake up at 6. If you planned to run 30 miles, run 30 miles. Just commit.
In the end, I did not get the result I wanted. I did however prepare the best I possibly could. I would like to think if i didn't have my knee problem I would have completed the race within my time goals. So... we are going to do it again in 2026. I will most likely have one or two 50 milers and 100ks until then. BUT WE WILL BE BACK FOR THE BUCKLE.
More. Than. The. Miles.
See you next post!
Andrew