2012 Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run Report

Francisco, Scot, Ray and Tim all entered the SR 50 Trail Run as a day of training and preparation for the UTMB 7 weeks from now.  Daley was able to make it in from SF via London for the race as well along with one of Scot’s friends, Greg.  We all met for dinner at Zichetalla’s on Saturday evening.  The food was really good…the Italian Bake.  We talked a little bit about UTMB but kept the conversation light.

Tim, Ray, Scot and Greg were staying up on Leadville while Daley, Francisco and I stayed in Frisco, which was kind of a pain in the ass. 

On Sunday at 4:30AM we rolled out of bed into our race gear and made the 30- minute trek up the mountain to Leadville. We arrived at 5:45, fifteen minutes before race start.  The temperature was a chilly 40F, but the skies were clear and calling for late afternoon thunderstorms.  We made our way over to starting line at about 5:55AM as the sun was making it’s way over Mosquito Pass.  A 50-mile trail run is equivalent to a full distance ironman, so I knew that were going to be in for a long day.  For some of group the day would be longer than others.

Pre-race Looking Good

My previous finishes were 10:04 and 12:38 in 2010 and 2011, respectively.  Last years race was a disaster for me.  Bad nutrition, the heat and altitude created several bonks.  After the finished I ran a 101F temp and had an elevated HR of over 100BPM through out the night.  Simply put I screwed up my nutrition as well as my hydration.  I was determined not to have this happen again in 2012.

In preparation for the race I packed my own nutrition and decided not to rely on anything at the aid stations but water.  In my camelback I had 3 delicious slices of pizza, 2 PB sandwiches, BBQ chips and Reese’s PB cups along with 6 Hammer Gels and 4 shot blocks.  For hydration I had water in my bladder and packed 3 bottles of Gatorade.  This was a test for UTMB, relying on “real food” as Tim calls it instead of water supplements, electrolytes, etc.  The pizza has a ton of sodium as do the BBQ chips and the PB cups and gels have the Glycogen.  The water is easy on the stomach and the Gatorade has electrolytes, but is used sparingly as it can be tough on the stomach.

The 50-mile course is spread out over the eastern mountain chain of Leadville with about 8,000 feet of climb.  The trails are a mixture of dirt road, dirt trail and a good bit is littered with lots of rocks, which really beats you up and leaves your feet bruised.  It is nothing compared to the 62,000 feet of elevation change at the UTMB, which is concerning and is going to require a very measured approach in order to complete it in under 46 hours.

I decided to take the start of the SR50 slow, walking every up hill, no matter how slight and jog the flats and run with care the downhill’s.  That strategy worked fine till the first 3-mile flat road, where Scot and I averaged about a 7:30/mile pace.  We were able to catch up with Daley just before the 15-mile aid station.  Daley was pushing hard early.  At this aid station we all refueled.  Scot and Daley were in and out pretty quickly while I refilled my camelback.  I was feeling pretty good at mile 15.  By mile 20 Daley’s IT band was giving him problems and he was forced to drop from the race, a big bummer.  Scot and I plowed forward and I eventually lost Scot as well as Ray. 

As I approached the 25-mile turnaround I passed Ray on his return and shortly thereafter Scot passed by as well.  They had about a 25-minute lead on me.  At the turnaround I sucked down a slice of pizza and a ham n cheese wrap while a volunteer attempted to refill my camelback, unsuccessfully.  At this point the weather was still nice, with lots of cloud cover, with temps probably in the high 60’s.  The next 5-6 miles were going to be difficult as I was going to have to go back up the side of the mountain that I had just come down.  This section of the course, between mile 25-32 it is mostly uphill, steep and rocky.  I felt bad for the people that were just beginning their descent, as I was about 20 miles from the finish of which most of it is downhill.  It was during this stretch of the course that I stopped to take a 5-minute break to rest my legs, choke down some Reese PB Cups and hydrate.  So far, so good on nutrition and hydration.  It would actually be good the entire race.

As I came through the 15/35-mile aid station I made certain that I had plenty of water and passed on through to face the 3-mile slow climb up the dirt road from hell.  At this point in the race the sun came back out, I popped in my earphones and jammed to the Who and some other music that Jack had given me.  I was feeling great.  It was this section of the course that took a toll on me in the previous two SR50’s.  Not this year.  At about mile 37 I actually was able to catch Hawaiian Ray, as he was having some issues with his shin.  I hung with him for a while, took a short nutrition break and then caught back up with him at mile 42-aid station.  It was at this point that I realized with a little bit of effort (actually A LOT) I could finished in under 11 hours.  The last 6 miles I pushed it hard, as did the weather.   It was at this point that the storm clouds rolled in and dumped all over us, it got windy and cold so I had to stop and put on my rain gear for fear of getting hypothermic.

Francisco Sporting his Swiftwicks
as he crosses the finish line in 14:16

With about 2 miles to go and driving hard to get in under 11 hours I caught up with Scot, walking.  I decided that it look like a much better idea to walk it in to the finish with Scot.  We had a nice chat and managed to get across the finish line in 11 hours and 16 minutes.  For the very first time I actually felt pretty good after running 50 miles.  I attributed that to my nutrition, hydration, training and overall approach to the course.  Ray came in about 15 minutes after Scot and I, while Tim made it across the finish line in 11:59 and change.  None of us knew the whereabouts of Francisco.  He decided to play “good Samaritan” and help a few young ladies that we having a tough day across the finish line in 14 hours and 16 minutes….a very long day fro him.

Overall the race was a success as I was able to test out my nutrition and race strategy and it actually worked well.  I plan on taking the same approach in Chamonix which will undoubtedly be a much more challenging course, but fortunately at lower altitude.  Scot, Ray, Tim and Francisco all made it through the day but with some minor aches and pains.  Rest between now and UTMB will be important for us all.   We need to be healthy and injury free when we get to UTMB.  We are 4 weeks out now and the excitement is beginning to build.  For now, it’s another Leadville Ultra in the history books.  It’s tough running at 10,000 feet and above, but feels good when you finish.

Cheers!