The question regarding aid stations brings up anothe question: Is there a “strategy” that is best for planning for these spots with limited family?
No first hand experience myself but it might be worth looking to the LT 100 Podcast as they have done a few shows over the past few years that address crewing and aid station. Probably worth a search and listen.
Ron
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There is usually a lot of traffic heading out of town to Twin Lakes, especially if she stays to watch the start. She’ll probably still make it if she stays for the start but if she wants to get there with plenty of time and less traffic, then best to skip the start line and head out early.
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This is true, but unless you’re setting out some ludicrously large encampment, there’s not much to worry about. My wife left with the mass of vehicles after the start and she was there for ages before I got there (~9 hour run).
Thats awesome, ty. Now instead of of a ‘ludicrously large encamptment’ I will give her ludcrous amounts of steps to follow for my success.
There is zero issues getting to twin lakes in time after watching the start. Even folks going to pipeline have time. The biggest challenge with twin lakes is she might be in for a long hike since parking is limited. If she’s bringing a bunch of gear (backup wheels, chair, cooler, etc.), make sure she has a wagon or something to haul it with. You can be walking a long way and part of it is a decent hill.
We tried to set up a pop up canopy at twin lakes the night before to stake out a spot and the forrest service and race folks were saying you can no longer set up night prior. They were actually taking stuff down that people had set up earlier.
I’ve had family/friends crewing once, and used the neutral aid once. The biggest difference is in the moral support from family/friends. The neutral aid stations are great. 3 people swarming you when you pull in. Water. Hold bike. Get gear bag. You could totally just rely on neutral aid.
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This! I did it last time just using neutral aid and those volunteers were awesome but I’m looking forward to having my people out there this year for moral support.
I will have someone at Twin Lakes and just use neutral support elsewhere.
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This is incredible. I have only ever done one other big event, the Lutsen99er. I highly recommend it. The people were amazing. Most of them admitted to not riding much but loved helping us.
Thank you all for the notes. this is incredibly calming.
Anyone else get in via Wilmington Whiteface? Still waiting to hear from Leadville to register so I’m wondering if other people have heard from them yet
I also got a spot at WW100 last weekend and I haven’t heard anything yet.
I was surprised bc I did Austin Rattler last year and those qualifiers paid for the spot immediately.
At WW100 they just collected name, email, phone on a notepad and said they would submit to Lifetime.
I am hoping the race organizers are just taking their time with submitting information to Lifetime?
Not a racer, but coming to support my friends who are!
I know where is quite a shortage of massage therapists in that neck of the woods, so I wanted to make myself available for anyone who needed an extra pair of hands!
You can book through:
www.thaiyogamassagetherapy.com
Or call/text at 321.544.4137
So excited for all the festivities this coming month!
I’ve been listening to the Leadville podcast where they break down each part of the course. I’ve done Leadville before but have selectively forgotten a lot of it. Each episode starts out talking about a sector of the course then they go on to discuss a training or equipment aspect, often with a guest. It’s a good listen and valuable info esp for first timers.
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How did Unbound go?
If didn’t. I thought I high probably of getting a spot through a team sponsor, but it didn’t pan out. I did make the trip to Emporia this year though for race week and had a great time. I got a bunch of riding in, including doing the 100m course solo one day. I definitely learned a bit about the the gravel/terrain, so I think it will help me next year. I did my volunteer work this year to guarantee my spot. It was a good time, especially working the final checkpoint in madison.
Anyway, since I didn’t get the unbound spot and I didn’t find that out for sure until I was already in my build phase, I reset my plan and I’m focused on leadville again this year as my A race. I don’t quite have the fitness I had last year, but I’m still hoping I can squeak in under 9 again. I did a 7.5h endurance/tempo ride today, was pretty brutal with 100F heat by the end. I felt strong for the first 7 hours and then the wheels came off. I thought I was going to pass out and/or throw up for the last 20-30 minutes. I’m super heat acclimated right now, but at some point the body shuts down. I’m looking forward to getting back up to the cool mountain air, it’s going to be 105F here tomorrow. I’m going up 2 weeks early this year and I’m gonna ride sweeper at the stage race on the last 2 stages.
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OK this will be 6th leadville, so know the course, know the gear, know the eating game, Starting a conversation around points on course to give it the beans and locations on the course to conserve ….Breaking 9 is the goal and have the fitness and experience so really question in mind is where do you get the best bang for your buck on power effort on flatter sections or on climbs or certain sections? Love to hear others strategy…
I lost the lions share of my time by being isolated on the flats. But I weigh next to nothing, so climbing is always a strength… flats, not so much.
how did Lutsen go for you? I had a less than ideal day and ended up crashing out. The mud sure made it fun though!
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I’ve only done the 100mile race once, but I’ve also done the stage race and have ridden the course several times. For what it’s worth, my advice is to be “deliberate” all day. I guess that might translate to conservative to some, but I find that most folks go into the red a bit on the climbs and then go to easy on the flatter sections. I’m not saying that strategy doesn’t work great for some, but it’s just not my approach. In order to be fast, you don’t need to go fast, you just can’t go slow… While I don’t target steady pacing all day, I’ll set a max power target for climbing and a min target for flatter terrain. Staying above the minimum is my primary focus. There are times where the terrain (or drafting) cause me to surge above or below those targets, but I’m a pretty obsessive number watcher. The top of columbine and and some of powerline inbound are just survival mode where I don’t beat myself up if I’m not executing well, but I still try to stay on target where I can. I walked the top of columbine and the start of powerline inbound, but I walked deliberately.
If I was planning to push it on specific areas of the course, powerline inbound is the first place I’d consider it. There is still the risk of blowing up and it’s 2+ hours to the finish, but you can definitely pass some folks if you have the legs to push it at that point. Push all the way to finish from there if you can.
The only place I’d take it “easy” on the course is if you end up in a group heading out to twin lakes that isn’t pushing the pace too much. That’s not the group I want to be in, but it’s probably better than going solo or being the hero trying to pull the group faster (more work and probably not much faster).
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Did last year, first time and got 8:45 which was goal. I’d say flats are under rated, and I picked a fast group (and maybe stretched my limits) last year. I’d do it again over riding solo or going slow. We had a group of 12 that went down to 2 of us that really helped each other to base of columbine. made a massive difference covering ground, and I just don’t think that I could have made up that time on back of race through saving energy. I’ve put some work in on group rides this year, so I’ll look to be more smooth on my pulls.
I’ll also go against the grain and maybe burn a match getting up Kevens to be with faster people on the flats. On the way back, I didn’t have many people to ride with but held on to some wheels at times. I’m hoping to have better fitness to be stronger on climbs this year and break 8. Big stretch goal.
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