Leadville Race Series and the Badwater Ultramarathon

Has anyone ever heard of the Leadville Race Series in Colorado?

There are seven races, some on foot and some on bike, that occur in the mountains of Colorado every summer. This town went from being one of the richest mining towns, to one of the poorest (the molybdenum they mined was no longer needed after WWII), but with the crazy idea of hardcore ultra-marathons through the mountains brought hundreds of adventure seekers, athletes, and even the Raramuri (see last post). The Leadville Trail 100 is a 100-mile ultra-marathon (a distance of 4 back to back marathons) with the lowest point being 9,200 miles above sea level, to the highest point being 12,600 feet. Runners suffer altitude sickness, lack of oxygen, and hallucinations. All are required to check in at each of the 11 aid stations to make sure they aren't getting dehydrated, and make sure they have enough water and nutrition. The race occurs on trails, rocky mountain roads, and even through streams, through daylight, and by flashlight at night. Food and water are given out at stations along the way, and you have a 30 hour time limit to complete it.

So how did I stumble across this amazing race? Through this book I'm reading about running. If this race isn't physically exhausting already, I can only imagine the mentality it takes to complete something like this. Training takes years, and 250 of the 850 people who sign up don't even make it to the starting line because they get injured in the training alone. The trick is to stay positive, but not naive...after all you're running 100 miles through the steepest hill climbs, the dark woods, water, and nightfall. It's so insane, you'd have to be crazy to do it...and many are, but they do have one hell of a time.

"His love of life shone through every moment". Joe Vigil, a running coach who has coached the finest Olympic runners to victory followed the Leadville races to see what the Tarahumara (Raramuri tribe) secrets were to running long distances. He didn't find any secret running techniques, or see them do anything different from other runners, but he noticed one thing: they were having a blast! "It wasn't just how to run; it was how to live, the essence of who we are as a species and what we're meant to be...What if you could run for decades and never get injured...and log hundreds of weekly miles and enjoy every one of them...and see your heart rate drop and your stress and anger fade while your energy soared? Imagine crime, cholesterol, and greed melting away as a nation of Running People finally rediscovered its stride". As the human race, we were all runners based on our need to survive, but we have stopped running with the development of civilization. The trick to running is to think...positive, and really enjoy yourself.

www.leadvilleraceseries.com

www.leadvilleraceseries.com

www.leadvilleraceseries.com

And if you don't think Leadville is tough, maybe the Badwater Ultramarathon will appeal to you. It's a 135 mile suicide marathon that goes from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney in California. Instead of sky high altitudes, you start at the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere...85 miles below sea level. Just compare the names of two landmarks in both races: Hope Pass in Leadville, and Furnace Creek in Badwater.

There are so many different reasons as to why people run, especially as to why people run through places like Death Valley. Here are some people who ran last year:

And then there's me, with my measly couple of miles I run every other day. I've been trying to enjoy it, but the last time I ran, it was drizzly and cold...the mist turned into a chilly rain and I got soaked, only to return home shivering, wet and feeling like a wimp. Then again, I'm comparing myself to these great athletes who have made running their art. There aren't a lot of comparisons I can make right now between super athletes and being a musician, but in a way, musicians are micro-athletes. We don't run hundreds of miles (although playing through entire symphonies can feel like we did), but we practice for hours a day, refining our technique, enjoying ourselves and life, and sharing what we accomplish and learn with others. The audiences are our finish line cheer leaders, as we jump through musical hoops doing amazing things with our breath and bodies.

Okay, that might be romanticizing things a little bit, but maybe you see my point.

Anyways, it's almost the end of the month, and I've got a great new idea for June...but in the meantime I'm going to keep up this running thing. Instead of forcing myself to like every stride I make, I'm just going to let it happen. I love being outside, and I love exploring new places, so maybe I'm on to my own personal running breakthrough.