Races
Leadville 100
Out and back from Cloud City. Hope Pass twice. Thirty hours. The sky is the work.
The mountain
Four a.m. on Sixth and Harrison. Out and back from ten thousand two hundred feet. Turquoise Lake. Twin Lakes. Hope Pass at about twelve thousand five hundred, twice. Winfield is the turn. Forest trail, dirt road, thin air. 2026 skipped Sugarloaf and Powerline after the Willow Fire. Read the year you entered.
The work
Live high or get honest about the first climb. Fifteen thousand feet of gain is the usual number. The race is the second trip over Hope. Night lows in the twenties. Afternoon storms. Lightning above treeline.
Race morning
Lottery in December. Drop bags in clear plastic to Mayqueen or Turquoise, Outward Bound, Half Pipe, Twin Lakes, Winfield. Crew only at published spots. Twin Lakes is shuttle-only. Pacers inbound from Twin Lakes. Big buckle under twenty-five. Official finish under thirty.
Watch outs
Going out with sea-level lungs. Skipping a layer for Hope. Crewing off-course. Treating Powerline, when it is on, like a joke on the way home.