The hardest fought finish of my life! Got knocked down again and again, got back up each time. All thanks to countless people who selflessly showed up at just right the time… my pacers and crew, my family, my friends, my coach, race volunteers, and complete strangers. I’m humbled and in awe from the experience. I will cherish it for a lifetime. Here’s what happened…

After finishing this race in 2021, I said that I was never running a 100 miler again. Well, never say never. I got a coin in the drawing at 2022 Silver Rush 50 miler, and registered to run the LT100 again in 2023. Training would start in January.

Well, January came and I caught a bad case of the flu. For two weeks, almost every minute that I wasn’t working was spent resting & sleeping. It was miserable. Not the start to training that I had envisioned. Thankfully, later that month, my health came around. I started training with ultra running coach Kathy Pidcock from Boundless Endurance Coaching. Coach Kathy listened to my goals & desires, and developed a plan in Training Peaks to set me up for success. Here’s a snapshot of what it looked like:

Compliance colors are used to indicate how close a completed workout was to the planned workout. The color green means I completed the workout as planned, yellow means “not quite”, and red indicates a skipped workout. I was motivated to keep and maintain a “green streak”. Coach Kathy provided feedback on my workouts along the way. Her accountability and encouragement really helped me to give 100% to my training. She ended up nicknaming me the “Green Machine”, as I completed every single workout as planned from January up until race day in August. I’m a fairly disciplined person, but the level of discipline it took to do every single workout for 7 months straight goes above & beyond any effort I’ve put into training for a race before. My motivation was this: In 2021, I pretty much walked the final 30 miles of the Leadville 100. I didn’t want to do that again. I wanted to FINISH STRONG! To do that, I knew that I would need to be physically, emotionally, and mentally stronger than before. That meant putting in the work, and getting the workouts done, even when I didn’t feel like it.

Some highlights from my training:

By the time August came, I was feeling strong and ready to race! Tapering the final two weeks before race day can be the hardest part. The “hay is in the barn” as far as physical training. Now, the challenge is to stay mentally and emotionally strong as anticipation builds for race day. During the taper, I posted this bible verse on my bathroom mirror and anytime I caught myself getting anxious or worried, I meditated on these words.

Three (of many) things I struggle with in life are anxiety, a fear of failure, and self-doubt. A 100-mile race requires facing all three head-on. It forces me to be courageous, surrender any fear of failure, and erase self-doubt. It’s a lesson in faith and surrender.

With just four days to go before the race, I fell while trail running. When it happened, I stayed there on the ground for a couple minutes, trying to process the situation. I hadn’t fallen all year. Why did this have to happen just four days before the race? The Leadville 100 is hard enough without injury. The fall left my elbows banged up, but it was my right knee that took the blunt of the fall. Over the next few days, it became swollen and bending my knee was quite painful. I wondered how this knee would hold up over 100 miles. Little did I know at the time… this would be just one of many things I would have to overcome to reach the finish line.

The day before the race is the mandatory athlete briefing. Extra special this year, as it was the 40th Anniversary of the race. Race founders Ken & Merilee shared words of inspiration & encouragement. They reminded us that there will be a lot of pain out there, but inside us all is an inexhaustible well of grit, guts, and determination. And you have to DIG DEEP into that well to keep going. You keep putting one foot in front of the other and you commit that you won’t quit. At the Leadville 100, fewer than half of the starters reach the finish line. I’ve been on both sides of that statistic. In 2019, my race ended at 62 miles. In 2021, I crossed that finish line. This year, I was determined to not only finish, but to finish strong.

After the Athlete Briefing, we headed to the Race Expo.

That afternoon, I posted tracking info on Facebook and soaked up all the encouraging words from family and friends. My love language is “words of affirmation”. Words speak volumes to me. One text from a friend said, “You got this, the road rash just shows everyone you got a head start on toughness in an ever tough type of crowd. Have a great run!” Another text from a friend said, “I wish you the best in tomorrow’s adventure. Your dedication is inspiring and I think you may be one of the most prepared athletes at the start line. Now you just have to run and enjoy your fitness.” It meant a lot to hear from so many different people. I would carry all the words of encouragement and support in my heart on race day.

For pre-race dinner, we enjoyed spaghetti at John & Shana’s house in Leadville. So fun and encouraging to be surrounded by friends racing, pacing, and crewing this race!

That night, I was in bed by 7:30p. My alarm was set for 2:30a. The race starts at 4:00a and I did not want to feel rushed getting ready for the start. I ended up waking up just before my alarm. Race day was finally here!

After months of training and anticipation, I was thrilled to finally be just moments away from running this race. Normally, coming off tapering, I’d be feeling fresh at the start. This year, my body felt all stiff & achy from my fall. It was a daunting feeling, knowing what lie ahead. I was so grateful to have Jay at the start line with me for some much needed morale support and final words of encouragement.

There were 826 runners at the start line, with 179 of them female (~22%). After the national anthem, we set off in the darkness. My mantra in the early part of the race was Psalm 16:7 “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” I repeated this over and over in my head. Eight miles into the race, I was in the middle of reciting this verse when I face-planted into a tree that was hanging over the trail. It was still dark out, and I was so focused on looking down at my feet to avoid tripping over rocks and tree stumps, that I didn’t even see the tree coming. At first, I thought I might have knocked out a front tooth. Fortunately, all my teeth were still intact. But, my front teeth had cut the inside of my mouth, which was now bleeding. The runners around me asked if I was OK. I said yes and continued on. I was thankful it wasn’t any worse, but concerned about how an injured mouth would handle all the eating and drinking for the rest of the race. I was relieved when I made it through the rest of this singletrack section without incident. I made it to MayQueen (mile 12.6) just before 6:25a, right on schedule. Leaving MayQueen, I saw my good friend Grace Sims – brightened my day to see her smiling face.

The sun was now up and gave me a new boost of confidence for the next technical section on the Colorado Trail. The following 10 miles went by quickly. Next thing I knew, I was approaching Outward Bound (mile 23.5). It was such a fun surprise to see my friends Josh & Kristin here! Crowds of people were at Outward Bound cheering. It temporarily took my mind off the pain I was feeling in my right leg.

Now, I only had a few more miles before I would see Jay at Treeline. Knowing I would see him soon helped me push through the pain. I made it to Treeline at 9:25a, right on schedule. Jay had everything I needed ready to go – including a cooling towel for my neck, which felt amazing as it was getting hot outside. Josh & Kristin came to this spot too, and it was fun to see them again. And, Kristin gave me some good advice when I started talking about all the pain in my right leg. She basically said, “Don’t worry about it. Pretty soon, something else will probably be hurting and it will get your mind off that leg.” Spoken like a true ultrarunner.

I left Treeline in good spirits. The sun was out in full force and I focused on keeping up with my hydration. When I reached the Mt Elbert fluids aid station (mile 35.3), there were no fluids. It was a sad surprise. Unfortunately, I was out of water and felt dehydrated by the time I reached Twin Lakes.

I was so happy to make it to Twin Lakes where I could get some much needed water. I wasn’t planning on having any crew at this point, so it was a great surprise to arrive at Twin Lakes and see Kristin there. She was holding my drop bag, all ready to help. Kristin got me taken care of, and even tracked down a popsicle for me. Hands down, the BEST popsicle of my life! Really hit the spot on this hot day with a parched mouth.

Jay also surprised me and was there at Twin Lakes! I was feeling all the love.

The next surprise was seeing Coach Kathy. She had 7 athletes racing the Leadville 100 and had planned to be there, but unexpectedly needed emergency treatment for a severe tooth abscess. She had texted us before the race to let us all know she was heartbroken that she wouldn’t be able to make it. Well, turns out she felt well enough after the treatment to make it to Leadville!

Also in Twin Lakes, I got high-fives and encouragement from Don Sims, Jared Conlin, and Jenny Primm. I left feeling re-energized and ready to tackle Hope Pass. It was now noon. I was hoping to make it all the way to Winfield (50 miles) & back to Twin Lakes (62 miles) by dark. Hope Pass is the crux of this course. It’s a 3,400′ climb to the top of Hope Pass (at 12,600′ elevation). You then run out to Winfield, turn around, and climb over Hope Pass again from the backside. This is where my race fell apart in 2019. This is where the race falls apart for a lot of runners.

All day, I had stayed mentally positive despite the challenges and I was determined to keep a positive mindset on Hope. Before starting the climb, there’s a river crossing with a rope to hold as you go across. That cold water felt so refreshing after 40 miles of running.

As I started the climb up Hope, I went to eat a SpringEnergy gel and discovered I had cottonmouth. My mouth was so dry, I didn’t have enough saliva to swallow. I was more dehydrated than I realized. From this point on, eating was a challenge. To eat a gel, I had to squeeze a blob on my tongue and swallow it down with water. I’d never experienced that before. I reminded myself that at least I was still able to eat and I was keeping food down.

Going up Hope, I was moving slower than I had hoped. I got passed by 29 runners on the climb up. It was a little discouraging. I’d never used poles before, but was wishing I had them now so I could take some of the workload off my legs.

After several miles of relentless climbing, I was grateful to see the Hope Pass aid station ahead. This aid station is only accessible by foot and is only possible thanks to Colorado rancher & aid station captain Gary Carlson whose herd of llamas carry up more than 3,000 pounds of gear and food. Nothing quite like turning the corner toward the top of this grueling climb and seeing those sweet llamas and smiling volunteers waiting for you!

After the aid station, I picked up the pace and got back into a groove heading into Winfield. I passed 21 runners on this stretch. But the highlight was seeing my friend Mercedes and getting to share a hug and some words of encouragement.

Approaching Winfield, my stomach started to turn. I had GI distress from that point on. TMI… in Winfield, I started throwing up and swallowed it back down. There was no way I was going to let the ramen noodles that I had taken the time to eat go to waste. And more TMI…I had 10 bouts of diarrhea from Winfield on. I think it goes without saying that running becomes significantly less enjoyable with GI distress. All you really want to do is walk. Honestly, laying down in the fetal position would be even better, but that’s not an option if you want to finish a 100-mile race.

Winfield is a remote location and crew is not allowed. My friend Michelle gave me a “love note” to place in my Winfield drop bag. It was a card with some words of encouragement that would be waiting for me at the halfway point in the race. It couldn’t have come at a better time, as I really needed some encouragement at this point. The card reminded me to “Look up and see the wonderful place God created”. It included the verse Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you with my victorious right hand.” These words were just what I needed at that moment. I recited that verse over and over as I made my way back over Hope Pass, and it really helped keep me in a positive frame of mind.

Heading back over Hope, I reconnected with two guys from New York that I’d run with earlier in the day – Cameron and Teddy. I was an encouragement to them, and they were an encouragement to me, as we made our way up the grueling back side of Hope.

Going back through the Hope Pass aid station, I stopped only long enough to refill my water bottles. I was on a mission to get back to Twin Lakes before dark. I put my headphones on to listen to some music. “Eye of the Tiger” came on, which always reminds me of my family (if you’ve seen the video from my 40th birthday, you know why). That gave me an extra boost to keep moving.

As I reached the bottom of Hope, my friend Shana flew by me. It was inspiring to see her crushing it!

I made it back to Twin Lakes (mile 62) shortly after dark. Starting at Twin Lakes, you can have a pacer the rest of the way. Josh would pace me from mile 62 to almost mile 88, and then Caroline would pace me from there to the finish.

At Twin Lakes, I was expecting to see Josh (pacer) and Jeana (crew). To my surprise, Jay, Caroline, and Coach Kathy were also there. It was pretty amazing to have my entire team there! I was getting far more support than I expected during this race and I was incredibly grateful.

I did a full change of clothes at Twin Lakes, including changing my socks & shoes. I also thoroughly wiped myself down with baby wipes. I felt renewed. I left Twin Lakes at 9:01p, ready to take on the rest of this race. At this point, I was confident I would reach the finish line. There was no doubt in my mind. What was still uncertain was how much more pain and suffering the final miles would bring.

Josh was a great pacer. He kept the energy up and provided a lot of positive encouragement. We kept a good pace going, despite my insufferable GI distress. From Twin Lakes to Half Pipe (~9 miles), we passed 28 runners. When we reached Treeline (mile 74), both Jeana & Jay were there. It meant a lot that they stayed up to be there at that spot. It was midnight when I came through Treeline and 66 degrees, an unusually warm night for Leadville.

After I came through Outward Bound (mile 77), the bottoms of my feet started burning. This burning sensation would continue until the end of the race. Seriously, what else could possibly go wrong in this race?!?

Despite all the physical challenges, I was still mentally strong. From Outward Bound to MayQueen (~11 miles), I ran 21 minutes faster than I did in 2021. That’s almost 2 minutes per mile faster! And, I ran all of Hagerman Pass Rd which was one of my goals.

When we got to the Colorado Trail, I started having trouble lifting my feet over rocks and tree stumps. For any obstacles more than a couple inches tall, I had to turn my leg sideways. Again, something I’d not experienced before. I think it was caused by “over-lifting” my legs all day, in an effort not to trip and fall. I was still a little shaken from falling earlier in the week. This made the singletrack section back around Turquoise Lake especially challenging. I was moving slow and got passed by a lot of runners on this stretch.

I was glad when we finally reached the end of that singletrack. Now, with less than 5 miles to go, we would be on road all the way to the finish line. Shortly after reaching the road, my friend Randy passed me. I’d asked about Randy when I was in Twin Lakes and found out he was cutting it close to making that cutoff (he ended up making it with only four minutes to spare!). It was so inspiring to see Randy pull it off and finish strong.

The plan was to start running again once we reached the road, and Caroline pushed me to do that. To keep me motivated, she gave me a walk break every time I ran for one minute. We kept repeating this run/walk cycle, inching closer to the finish line with each step.

The final mile to the finish, you can have all your family and friends run with you to the end. With one mile to go, Jay, Josh & Jeana met up with us. Shortly after, I could see the finish line at the end of the long road ahead. My team knew that aside from finishing, my main goal was to finish strong. That meant running in the final miles, especially that final mile to the finish. At the very moment I saw the finish line in the distance, we came upon a group of folks on the road cheering like crazy. They went even crazier when we started running. This group of strangers helped me to dig a little deeper.

At this point, we were on a downhill, so I had gravity on my side. But the final stretch to the finish is uphill. When we got to the uphill, my crew told me “It’s not uphill, we’re still going downhill.” (ha ha!). Jay put his hand on my back and told me, “Come on. You got this. If you don’t run it in, you’re not going to be happy, and you’re going to have to come back next year to run it in.” Those words hit home. I felt like I had nothing else to give. But, somehow, I kept running. And, I didn’t stop running until we crossed that finish line!!

And here’s my finish line video, proof that I finished strong!

I’ve done A LOT of races in my life, and this is the first time I felt like I truly gave it my all. My finish time (29:19) was 5 minutes slower than before, but that’s not what matters. I’m more proud of this finish because I truly gave it my all. I’ve never faced this much adversity in a race. It was the hardest fought finish of my life. I got knocked down again and again, got back up each time. All thanks to countless people who selflessly showed up at just the right time… my pacers and crew, my family, my friends, my coach, race volunteers, and complete strangers. I’m humbled and in awe from the experience. I will cherish it for a lifetime.