The thread from last year was a good repository of info:
Did you know there has already been a price increase to register for the Austin Rattler qualifier? I saw the email the day after the price went up from $110 to $125. I’m guessing this is probably the case with all qualifying events so if you are committed might be best to register now!
Anyone interested in putting a “team” together for registration purposes? Not sure if there would be an issue with this (via Lifetime) but I’m told if one gets in the whole team gets in so better to have 4 entries than 1.
Would be happy to set it up if anyone is interested.
Just registered for the Austin Rattler.
Congrats! Did you race it last year as well?
No - first time. Leadville is a bucket list event so I’m training and trying to get in via lottery.
That is correct…our local shop got 4 teams in that way in 2018 (of course I was on the one team that DIDN’T get in 
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Organizers don’t know if everyone knows each other or not…just make sure you all enter the lottery with the exact same team name (make sure spelling and capitalization matches, etc)
I live in Austin so ping me if you have any questions. The facebook group is the best place to stay abreast of race updates:
It’s a great track, you will enjoy it.
Anyone with Leadville 2020 as there “A” race used Plan Builder? I am interested in comparing inputs and results.
My A races this year are the Austin Rattler and Leadville (assuming I get in). If I don’t get into Leadville I will do another August event in CO (TBD) - maybe Leadville Stage Race or the Copper Triangle (road). I would also like to do XCM Championships in Sept. I have several gravel events planned as well that I will use to dial in nutrition over very long events. I entered these as “C” events which don’t seem to materially impact the plan. I entered Rattler as a XCM event and Leadville as a Gran Fondo.
On the calendar I had created I had just finished SSBLV2 and was beginning Sustained Power Build which I intended to follow with XCM or Century. The plan builder started me over in SSBLV1 which I think is probably wise. I think it makes sense to have a good base in with Leadville the long term goal. This means I don’t do specialty before Austin Rattler - only base and build but I think that is fine. I will get "specialty’ with my outdoor MTB rides which I am doing to build skills.
After Rattler the plan fills in 3 weeks of Base and the Sustained Power and Century which is what I had planned originally leading into Leadville. If I don’t get into Leadville I will delete the base weeks to move the schedule up for the alternate events.
Anybody get different results.
I’m in pretty much the same boat, but doing high volume. My A races are rattler and leadville. I’m wrapping up SSBHV2 next week and into sustained build (8 weeks) and then specialty (cut 1 week short before rattler).
Plan calls for an extra recovery week after rattler and then into SSBHV2, but cutting it really short (only 3 weeks total for base including a recovery week). Then into full build and specialty. I think I’m going to modify the suggested plan and add 2-3 weeks to SSBHV2 and cutting those same weeks from Specialty phase.
I think I put Rattler and Leadville both in as Marathon MTB events. I’m happy with the current plan up until Rattler and I’ll probably just revisit it as I can closer to that event and decide the best way to balance base vs. specialty leading up to leadville. If I can make it from October to August without a serious disruption to my plan (illness, injury, life, etc.), I’ll consider myself a very lucky man.
Good luck at both events. I’ll see you out there.
Me too. I think they are far enough apart to have two real peaks for each race. Should be fun 
I’m doing the same! Maybe we should create an Austin Rattler/Leadville thread? 
One idea is the Steamboat Stinger the week before Leadville. 52 miles. 48 miles singletrack. 6500ft elevation (or 7400 according to the event page). Whiskey, beer and bacon aid station to give you some extra gas when you need it.
You should be able to get in no problem.
Good luck y’all! I’ll be reading this and remembering my race this year at Leadville! Going to focus on XC for 2020 but I already miss the long training rides!
Just a reminder the lottery closes tomorrow!
I’ve decided to wait until Silver Rush and see if my fitness is good enough to qualify there. If I’m not meaningfully fitter vs this year, I don’t want to suffer for another almost 10hrs on the bike. I’m also signed up for SBT GRVL The next day, so another reason to do the LT100 only if I have the right fitness.
That definitely sounds like a good plan as doing those back to back would break any mortal!
Good luck
If I do end up doing the LT100, that’ll be my A race. And I’ll ride at survival pace in The steamboat race. Maybe even bring a light with me in case I need to roll in after dark 
Anyone on this thread doing leadman? I decided to give it a shot. I’m not much of a runner, but then again a year ago I wasn’t much of a cyclist either. I’m curious to hear how leadmen train, and how to train around 6 different races. Not all of them can be an A race.
Any tire recommendations for the Rattler? I am building a new bike so will just fit it with whatever tires I’m going to run for the race. I am brand-agnostic; just want the right blend of the usual characteristics for the track. Won’t be down there until race weekend…
Great question! Reveille Ranch is a rocky and sandy course. This makes it drain extremely well so even on a rainy day you can run tires made for loose over hard type conditions and be ok. Last year they cancelled the last lap because of the storms in the area but that was lightning related.
The first lap people were having trouble in the off camber corners because of the layer of sand over rock. A lot of really slow turns and one foot out unclipped folks in the early corners. Once the thin sandy top layer scattered cornering was much better.
So for tires I ran Maxxis Ikons and probably will run them again. Maxxis Aspens would probably be fine too. I think something like a Thunder Burt rear and something with some good corner knobs on the front would work well too, something like a Racing Ralph.
A friend of mine actually double flatted but honestly there weren’t many flats out there. It wasn’t clear how he ended up flatting and he ended up as a DNF. For the most part though I don’t think flatting is a major concern.
Let me know if that helps and if you have any additional questions.