Ultra Tales
THE DOUBLE - Leadville and Leanhorse
by Jim Newton

Running and plans do not seem to go together. The military spends millions on war plans, but as they say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. You do need the plan, but also the flexibility to react to changing conditions.

The Plan
The plan is to start in January with steadily increasing mileage and intensity to culminate with a Boston qualifying marathon in May. This would be a jumping off point for a full summer of training and two back-to-back 100 milers in August.

The Reality
During the recovery week after my Boston qualifying effort in the Colorado Marathon, I felt strong and ready step the training up another notch. Then came the contact with the first enemy?inertia. The recovery just felt so good that I had a hard time breaking away from it. As always though, the pressure of the upcoming races and the fear of not being able to perform at my best FINALLY kicked in and I reluctantly started doing some runs. I had a respectable 1:52 half-marathon (first in the 60-64 age group) the end of June and moved into July with some credible training efforts. The taper has never been my strong suit (fear again), but this time I had a plan, a week?s vacation in Colorado in the middle of July with some long hikes and a couple of long runs above 10,000 feet. This would be followed by a long, slow 50K at Tahoe Rim Trail the end of that week, maybe one more good long run and then begin to taper in earnest.

All went well in Colorado for one day until the first hike when I felt like a rookie on the trail. I could not breathe and felt like I had not trained in years. Then came the chills and after the 10 hours on the trail I could not get warm. The next day came the really chilling news of a fever of 102.7?. For the next three days aspirin kept the fever at about 100?, but the minute the drugs wore off it shot back to 103?. Nix the hikes, the runs and the 50K as I was flat on my back for most of the next 4 days. West Nile has just been ruled out, but it was a diabolical little bug and now after 2 weeks I am just feeling like I am getting back to normal, but it is only 17 days until race day number one and 24 days until race number two.

The Prognosis
A week ago I was firmly convinced to drop the first race (Leadville 100) and just concentrate on one quality effort (Leanhorse 100). This week I am moving away from that idea a little. I guess getting well is just like finishing a marathon or an ultra or having a baby (hearsay only) where you forget the pain, exhaustion and all the bad stuff and just remember the good. So at this point I am undecided, but both races are calling me. It is too late for a good taper as I now feel like I have nothing to taper from which causes this nagging feeling that you actually have to be training in order to taper.

I think some of the tiredness is a remnant of the fever and I am not sure what issues this will cause in a race. I
did get in a 25-mile run and that seemed to go well in spite of the fatigue (but now I seem to have added a cold and a tight Achilles to the mix). I have just enough time for a little rest and recuperation, one or two more quality workouts and then an 8-day taper, or I can add one more long training run, skip Leadville and have a 12-day taper. The jury is still out, but I keep hearing this echo in my mind, ?You are stronger than you think you are and can do more than you think you can?

The Double August 21st 2007 - Leadville Trail 100
The mind is a funny thing. Like I said you tend to forget the bad and remember only the good. The start of Leadville was exciting and I settled into a good, but very conservative pace. Rain was an issue for me between Halfmoon and Twin Lakes, but I was still feeling strong as I left Twin Lakes, although with only 20 minutes to the good of the cutoff I was not expecting miracles at 12,600 feet.

After a long climb I was on top of Hope Pass and the scenery was breathtaking or would have been if there had been enough oxygen for a breath. I pulled out my camera and started snapping pictures when a voice behind me said, ?What a nice shot.? I replied that I would never again be back on Hope Pass and after four finishes out of 11 starts; I just wanted something to remind me of its beauty. The warm afternoon sun was glistening on the wet rocks, the sky was a brilliant blue with fluffy white clouds, I could see Twin Lakes behind me, and then all way back to Leadville, the
whole panorama bathed in bright sunshine.

As I finally topped the pass and started the waltz down to Winfield (the 50 mile turnaround) I knew the cutoff was out of reach and thought I would just enjoy my final headlong drop off of the infamous Hope Pass. I walked by the prayer flags to where the trail begins the almost vertical half-mile drop on winding, muddy and rocky trails and was immediately hit in the face by a frigid 40 mph gust and could see the boiling black clouds to the south. It began to rain and then hail. My cap blew off, my jacket would not zip and I was soaked to the skin. My feet, still damp from the tromp through the mud and the river crossing at Twin Lakes, were soon numb again. This year there were 210 finishers out of 592 entrants and I must have stepped off the narrow trail 200 times to let the hardier runners pass on their way back to Leadville. I would hold on to rocks or later as I got back to the tree line, I would grab trees to break my stride and let them pass. Then I could first hear and finally see the medivac helicopter as it dropped into the void to land at Winfield and whisk someone to emergency medical treatment, but after taking off, it too had problems with the pass and it took 3 attempts sustain enough altitude to make it over.

The rain and hail finally stopped, but not the wind. Many of those coming up the trail were still in short sleeves with no gloves or jackets. Thank goodness the main brunt of the wind was behind them. Next, I came upon the paramedics with someone on a stretcher. They still had a 1500-foot drop to navigate over rockslides and muddy narrow trails before getting to the ambulance waiting at the trail head.
When I finally made it down I was greeted by worried crewmembers asking about the injured person. ?Was it a man or woman?? ?A man.? ?What color shorts did they have on??
?I couldn?t tell.? ?How badly were they hurt?? ?Not sure, but they were stopping to let runners pass so it?s probably not too serious.? 20/20 hindsight now tells me that I should have gotten this information as I passed them.

As you can see, this year?s race had it all. WHAT FUN!
As predicted, I missed the cutoff at 50 miles by 71 minutes and you might well ask how long lasting was my resolve of never again being back on Hope Pass? Well, it lasted about
16 hours. It lasted until I got to the finish line Sunday morning (after a good and guilty night?s sleep) as I stood in the bright sunshine and saw the courage and steely resolve of runner after runner charging and limping and dragging and sprinting to the finish, as I saw people hugging and crying and laughing, as I saw one a man with a medal around his neck sitting in a folding chair in the grass while a lady sat across from him held a garbage bag as he repeatedly tried to empty his stomach and another who had finished minutes earlier lying asleep in the sun as someone?s dog licked him. I hadn?t quit, but strange as it may seem, I knew I had missed something important by not finishing and I spent much of the drive home formulating a plan for next year.

Fortunately, with my planned double event, I have a chance to redeem myself in a few days as I will line up again and hopefully the full 100 miles will not elude me this time.

August 28th, 2007 - Leanhorse 100

Last year?s Leanhorse 100 was billed as the ?easiest? 100 miler in the country or at least an easy 100 with no oxygen sucking passes, death defying climbs or river crossings.
None of those were present this year, but in my mind the race certainly lost its easy label, not that you can really label any 100 mile run as easy.

The previous two years the runners were bussed to the start and the entire race was on the Mickelson trail that has only long easy, runable grades. This year the race start was at race headquarters in Hot Springs SD requiring the participants to run 16 miles to the trail. The first relatively flat mile or so through town is quickly forgotten during the next 15 miles of continuously rolling hills before you get to the Mickelson trail. I heard several complaints during the run about the hills, but to me it was much better to have the start and finish in Hot Springs. It gives more continuity to the race, is much easier logistically for both runner and organizer, will generate more community interest and support and most importantly, adds character to the race. I hope Jerry decided to stay with the new course.

Other than trying to recover from Leadville the week before, my plan this year was similar to last year, run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute for the entire race. As you might guess, this worked great for the first mile, but then came the hills. I knew any attempt to run these would have a negative effect later in the day, so I settled into the typical mid-pack ultra strategy of walking the ups and running the downs and after what seemed like a long time I finally arrived at the Argyle Road aid station and the Mickelson trail.

Starting on the trail I settled into the 3/1 run walk ratio and for the most part would continue this until I returned to the hills early tomorrow morning, but that was hours away. Another difference from last year was the weather, which in 2006 was cold and rainy and both the cold and the rain seemed to suck away my resolve. This year the day before the race was identical to last year with periods of heavy rain and a high in the 50?s, but the ultra gods were smiling on race day as it dawned with clear skies and pleasant temperatures. At the start it was in the mid 40?s and the afternoon high topped out in the low 80?s with a brilliant blue sky, wispy high clouds and a slight cooling breeze.

After last year?s race, I was again flirting with the idea of a sub 24-hour finish and as I settled into a nice run/walk routine the miles began to slowly click off. I spent hours trying to keep my mind focused in the present moment and just revel in the glorious weather, beauty of the trail, and the satisfaction of feeling of my body doing what it was made to do.

The run was going well as I neared the 50-mile turn around but it was time to re-evaluate the sub 24-hour idea. I hit 50 miles at 11 hours and 37 minutes and while not excessively tired, 50 miles is 50 miles and I only had a 46 minute cushion to do 24 hours and was now was faced with another 50 miles, darkness, and the navigation of the final
15 miles of hills in the dark after having run 84 miles. My thought was to still give it a shot, but to be very satisfied with a sub 25-hour finish and a new PR.

For the first time in a 100 miler I am able to eat consistently and it seems to be paying off. While I am tired after 60 miles, overall I am in good shape and still staying with the 3/1?s although on the up hill?s I seem to be slowing. The sunset was awesome and the night perfect.
An almost full moon has risen in a completely clear sky and I don?t need a light at all.

For about 45 minutes I have seen a headlamp behind me and have tried to keep it behind me, but as I get close to the aid station at Custer I seem to be slowing. At Custer I will ditch my sunglasses and get a jacket. I sit for a minute to dig the gear out of my drop bag, but don?t want to get too comfortable, as I have long ago learned that AID STATIONS ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND. Just as I am tying my bag shut the nameless headlamp walks by on the trail and just shouts his number to the aid station. Number 164 he says.
Hmmm, that is my new friend Ladislav from packet pickup yesterday who was also at Leadville the previous week. I shout and run to catch him. He is doing well and we both settle into his very strong power walk to take us out of Custer and up the short hill at the edge of town.

Actually the short hill turns into a very long hill and we
walk and talk for over an hour. His daughter is crewing
for him and he is not even entering the aid stations as she is meeting him on the trail with what he needs. We find that we had opposite strategies at Leadville with him attacking the course and going through MayQueen at 2:10 while I went through at 3:00. We both should have been in the middle at 2:35-2:40 and both of us were stopped at 50 miles after missing the cutoff at Winfield, but that was another week and another race. Ladislav seems very strong and at the top of the hill I know I will have a hard time staying with him so when the trail starts one of its long slow downhill sections, I let him go and settle back into the 3/1?s.

I have been consistently passing runners since getting on the trail at mile 16. While I take no completive pleasure in passing anyone and I always remember they got to that point before I did, it is a trick to keep you moving at a constant speed. You see someone in the distance and see yourself slowly gaining on them. As I approached Pringle on the miles of almost flat trail I had gone by a couple of runners who were also not using lights as the moon was bright and the trail clear and you can actually hear them before you see them.

I had skipped filling my bottles at the last aid station and was out of water. Not a critical mistake on this course in the cool of the night, but I was a little worried. I thought the aid station at Pringle couldn?t be too much further and I was getting ready to pass another runner, but as I went by I saw it was Ladislav again and he was walking.
I got in step with him and found that he had developed a nasty blister on the ball of his toes and was trying to limp into the aid station so his daughter could lance and tape it. He was actually not limping but still in his power walk and I settled in beside him. When I told him I was out of water, he gave me half of his Gatorade and we set our sights on Pringle whose lights we could see in the distance.
At the aid station I filled my bottles and left Ladislav to work on his blister. I needed to keep moving and had no doubt that he would catch me again soon, but we didn?t meet again until the awards ceremony.

Music always gives me a lift while running and I had started my MP3 player at about mile 40. I was now in a very good rhythm and ready to get to the hills to see what they would bring. The miles were marked in 5-mile increments and I was still keeping an eye on the 24 or 25-hour goal although I was getting pretty flexible about goals by this point.

Finally there was the aid station and I was back to the wide dirt Argyle Road and the ?hills?. It is now early AM, 0300 or so. The moon has set and I got my flashlight out just to use so the occasional crew car that might be on the road could see me. The stars are incredibly brilliant and I am back into running the downs and walking the ups. After a while on the hills I have become slightly disoriented with regard to time and distance. My watch says 22 hours, then
23 hours. I think I must be getting close to the trail that leads back into town. Where was the 95-mile marker? I must have missed it in the dark. So now there is nothing more than to keep moving. We have dropped a couple of thousand feet in elevation and although still dark it has become warm and I take off my jacket. Have I missed the trail? It is getting light in the east now and then there it is, 95 miles. I thought I had passed 95 a while ago so that is a little discouraging, but a check of my watch shows almost 24 hours and while it will be close, I realize I can still go under 25 hours.

At last there is the trail that leads back into town and it is MUCH more than the one-mile I had remembered and also more hills. As I finally move into the town I am checking my watch every minute or so and can?t judge how far I am from the finish. Probably still at least a mile and a half.
It is mostly downhill and I am trying to run all of it, but have to take small walk breaks. Now 24:45 and where is the finish. I am back in the downtown area and know it is close
, but just how far; I am not sure. 24:50, 24:52, 24:54.
It is about a half a mile now and I am on the river trail that leads to the finish. I know the only way to make it is to run as fast as I can muster for the last half mile.

The last check of my watch shows 24:59 and the end is not far and I sprint (sprint is a relative term after 99 miles) and while not checking my watch again I hit the stop button as I cross the finish line. 24:59:53. Yea!! Just under the wire for my first ever finish under 25 hours and
obviously my fastest ever 100 miler. I grabbed a couple of
cookies that I found I could not finish and walked next door to my motel where I took off my shoes and crawled in bed for a 4 hour nap before the awards dinner and the drive back home.

Leadville and Leanhorse on consecutive weekends? Both are wonderful races and each has its own special character. As I settle in my car for the 11-hour drive home I am already thinking about 2008 and not at all sure that a late summer tradition hasn?t been started.

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