It’s not everyday a major Detroit newspaper covers ultra-running.  With this past weekend’s Dances with Dirt race on tap, the Detroit Free Press ran a nice introductory piece.

A special kudos for covering Bill Moyer.  Bill and Jan are a huge part of the Leadville 100 family.  I met Bill at the medical checkin for my first race at Leadville.  Bill started some small talk asking where I was from.

“I’m from Michigan.”

“Where in Michigan?”

“The Detroit area.”

“Where in the Detroit area?”

“Royal Oak.”

As it turned out, Bill was from Berkley and lived just a couple miles from me.

You’ve probably met or at least seen Bill.  He’s one of the areas more prolific volunteers for running events, and for that we owe him some great appreciation.

Looking thrilled just minutes before the start

You know you’re going to be in a death march when bad weather prevents you from driving the posted speed limit on the way to a race start.

Running 100 miles at high elevation in the Rockies is tough as it is. Driving through freezing rain with the occasional lightning hitting the nearby mountaintops makes it surreal.

Fortunately there was only an occasional drizzle in Downtown Leadville prior to the 4 AM start. And unlike the Leadville bike race, there was no jockeying for a good starting position among the 466 runners. Everyone basically stands around nervously making small talk and waiting for Race Promoter Ken Chlouber to fire the shotgun. (more…)

It’s official. Snow is now in the forecast for tomorrow’s Leadville Trail 100 running race.

Snow showers likely and slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning…then rain showers likely and slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Snow accumulation around 1 inch. Highs 45 to 53. Southwest winds up to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Because there will be a mix of snow and rain, it’s going to be very tough keeping my clothing dry, especially critical items like gloves.

Also, racing in cold weather makes me want food with higher fat content. Typically I would do this race with just Hammer Gel and a protein-supplement. Now I plan on having raw cookie dough on hand.

The Race Medical check in is underway now. The race starts with an early morning shotgun blast at 4 AM.

Leadville's weekend weather forecast

It’s just a couple days away from the start of the Leadville Trail 100 running race.  Running 100 miles at altitude in the mountains is epic in its own right.  The race doesn’t need to be made tougher with lousy weather.

It appears Mother Nature wasn’t made aware of that.

This weekend’s weather looks wet and cold.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw snow.  I’m glad I packed some winter running gear.  It’s going to be interesting!

My watch alarm beeps at 2:30 AM on race morning. It’s time to wake up and get to the starting line for my first 100-mile running race.

Leadville, Colorado is still sleeping except for the 465 runners, their support crews, and spectators milling about the dimly lit downtown area. It’s a rather balmy 43F and runners are getting in their last minute stretches.

At 3:59AM the announcer excitedly states “The shotgun is cocked.” (more…)