My Leadville Leadman competition started by an exciting phone call back in the end of 2016 when Vetbikes.org contacted me and offered to update my tribike that was donated to me earlier that year. I had a wild notion to ask for an upgrade to a mountain bike because I was considering to sign up for the Leadman competition. They agreed to upgrade me and bless me with the cost of the competition. I was gifted a Raleigh Skarn Sport to ride in the mountain bike races also paid for my registration fees in the Leadman competition at the Leadville 100 Lottery where we saved 15% off the registration fees.

This is a dream come true because the last 2 years I was a pacer for the Leadville 100 Trail Run. 2015 I paced Amy Rusiecki from Outward bound aide station to the finish line for 25 miles. In 2016 it was an interesting year in which I paced Eric Fortner and Clay Shapiro from Winfield to the finish for a total of 50 miles. After these two years I knew that 2017 was my year to do this.

My Leadman Journey consisted of these events:

Leadville Marathon – June 17, 2017
Silver Rush 50 mile MTB – July 8, 2017**
Silver Rush 50 mile Run – July 9, 2017**
Leadville 100 mile MTB – August 12, 2017
Leadville 10k Run – August 13, 2017
Leadville 100 mile Run – August 19, 2017

** Choice of 50 mile run or MTB in the Leadman Challenge

In the Leadman series you are required to do 5 events with the choice of the 50 run or bike. I decided that since I was riding for Vetbikes.org, I would sign up for both the 50 mile bike and run. I also didn’t want to have my first ever mountain bike race be the Leadville 100 MTB. By doing both the Silver Rush 50 MTB and Run you get the title of “Silver King/ Queen”. So It was set, I would do all 6 events of the Leadville Race Series and go after the title of Silver King and Leadman.

My training began and my 2 biggest supporters were David Clark and Chavet Breslin. David would help with many questions about how much to run and went on many runs up Bear Peak. I loved running with David because our runs many times would be philosophical conversations about how to love others and let go of the control of things uncontrollable . Chavet also went on several runs with me and taught me so many lessons on how to pace myself and eat better. Chavet seen how I went out way to fast at Rocky Raccoon 100 mile earlier this year and knew that I had talent but needed to dial it in. I asked Chavet to be my crew chief for my Leadman series and she agreed.

Leadville Marathon

The Leadville Marathon began with a good start to the day and the sun was shining bright. The night before Chavet introduced me to Rich Price and he was so gracious to offer to share his room for the night so I got a great night sleep. I met several friends at the start line and when the Star Spangled Banner sounded, like always, I get tears in my eyes and fire in my heart. The gun went off and I went out feeling great, my plan was to try to keep my heart rate low and save some for the second half. It was going great and the climb over ball mountain was done and then the climb up Mosquito pass began. This day was super windy but the farther up the pass, the winds got stronger and much colder. I noticed many hats flying off other runners ahead and I began to get really cold. I found out after the race that the winds were 50-70 MPH throughout the race. By the time I was up top, my fingers and toes felt frozen and I wanted off that mountain as soon as possible.I began my descent down from mosquito pass and was beginning to feel my toes and fingers again. I was moving well and fast and all the sudden, I rolled my ankle pretty hard core and it hurt. I began to continue my descent and the ankle slowed me down. Luckily I was able to move and saw Melissa, Chavet and Lisa just before I headed to Ball mountain climb. Seeing friends helped get my mind off my ankle and I continued to run. I made it to the climb of Ball mountain which is a very long uphill climb and at the top is the 20 mile mark of the marathon. I made it up grabbed some food and water and began running hard and fast down to the finish line. All was well until around mile 22 or 23 where I tripped and fell really hard and scrapped the palm of my hands up. This really took the wind out of me and I knew it was just one of those days. I kept moving and little leary of falling but made it to the finish line in the time of 5:26:05. Race one complete of Leadman.

Silver Rush 50 MTB and Run

Silver Rush 50 MTB

Training began right after the marathon was complete for the weekend of Silver Rush. I was able to link up with Teammate Anthony Kunkle on the Colorado Trail expedition and the training around Boulder/Denver area. I focussed mostly on running but did get the mountain bike out about 4 times before the Silver Rush weekend. Speaking with David Clark which gave me the advise that “Running translates to biking, but biking does not translate to running.” This both calmed my nerves and made me nervous.

The weekend of the Silver Rush came and it was time to head to Leadville. I spoke with Josh Sprague, the owner or Orange Mud, and asked if he would be willing to help make sure I had all i needed to race the bike portion. I met him the night before the MTB race and he showed me several tips for my bike and offered me to stay in the Roadway inn hotel with the guys. We all went to bed on Friday night and got ready for the race on Saturday morning

We woke up got ready and began making our way over to the start line and I was pretty nervous about the MTB. At the start line I met another Leadman contestant, One Arm Willie and I was really glad I did. He helped calm my nerves and get my mind off the start.

The race was about to start, National anthem went off and then the sound of the gun firing. An entire hill explodes with Mountain Bikers up the ski hill and soon became a bottleneck of hundreds of bikers now on single track course. Eventually we were all on the move and the first 10 miles are a climb to just over 12,000′ in elevation and then a nice descent to and small climb on jeep roads to Printer boy aide station. then back to some single track trails. I would do my best to ride all the time but at many climbs I would hike a bike up and even at times pass people on the bike. It was a very difficult course and you have to go over 12,000′ 3 times before the 25 mile mark. I got to the halfway point aid station where I was blessed to see Jared Conlin and David Clark and these 2 friends have always made me laugh and smile in some of the hardest physical situation in life. So blessed to see them and got a second wind to head back to start, about 60% of the climbs are in the first half and then at mile 40, it’s mostly down hill. I didn’t get caught up in how people passed me or how I fell 5 times because when I came to a stop i couldn’t get out of my clip ins. I just kept peddling and after the longest road climb and the last 12,000 spot in the course, I was at mile 40. I began down hill and went fast and had a death grip on the handlebars (Death grip is not the proper way). I made it to the finish and was so relieved. I finished with a little over an hour left before cut off and my finish time was 6:56:12. I was so glad to finish this race because this was the toughest race I had to date. I know this was due to minimal training and if I were to ever do this again, I would have to spend more time in the saddle. It was good to see the Orange Mud guys and Anthony Kunkle at the finish line to celebrate with. That night I went to dinner with Todd Borth and he introduced me to the Delaney family, Erez and a few others, which blessed me with a nice meal at Tennessee Pass.

The Silver Rush 50 Run

After a nights sleep, I got up and ready for the Silver Rush 50 Run. I was a little sore from the 50 Mile bike the day before but I had a plan that Chavet and I had come up with, I finished the 50 Bike so I was qualified in Leadman standings for the Silver Rush and had nothing to loose today. I love running and I the nerves were much less than the day before. I met Anthony Kunkel and gave him my bag of stuff, He was my crew for the day because Chavet was out getting ready to do the Badwater 135 race in California. It was awesome to know that this weekend I was going to going after Silver King and was in very good hands with a great runner Anthony and a great friend that I was training with over the summer after our colorado trail expedition to Leadville.

The plan that I discussed with Chavet, was take it easy, have fun and don’t push too hard until the amazing mile 40 where the last 10 miles were mostly downhill and went from 12,000′ to 10,000′. I didn’t get caught in all the noise of rushing up the ski hill at the beginning and I had known the course really well from the riding the course the day before. I just wanted to have fun and enjoy the sites I missed yesterday by moving too fast on the bike. I got to meet several people and talk to many of the Leadman competitors on the course that day. I saw good friends Matt and Char Ozanic, David Clark, Courtney Hepner, Christy Burns (which saw me take my only fall all day), Jared Conlin, Jen Byrne, Lisa Hayden and many others. It was what I love, sharing the trails with others that do to and those that support us. I went up and down all those hills saw Anthony at the halfway mark where sunblock, E2 energy drink, Squirrels Nut Butter, Vespa and all came at a great timing. I got some great words of encouragement and took off. I did pretty well and kept running and eventually saw the 1st and 2nd place guys, which were not far apart, and cheered them on, they finished around 7 hours. Eventually I got to the 40 mile mark, I was stoked. I put the hammer down and ran with all I could. I began passing people one by one and got to the last aide station where the Delaney’s where manning the aide station 7 miles from the finish. They stated that if I kept pushing I could finish top 100 which is in the top 30% of the racers. I loved the support and hammered hard to the finish. I ended up passing around 35 total people in the last 10 miles and was so stoked because many of those that had passed me earlier were now walking and in disbelief that I was running hard. I did it, completed Silver Rush 50 Run finish time of 10:34:36 and was now officially a Silver King. I was so stoked and so excited that I did it. I have never done back to back races in a weekend before, never raced a mountain bike before and finished in 79th place in the Run. The best stat though was that I was 6th out of 18 that did Silve King, that made me feel amazing. I knew now that if I stayed focused I could do the Leadville 100 MTB and Leadville 100 Run after this amazing training weekend.

I want to thank Josh Sprague because while I raced he helped get my car up and running. Somehow the battery was completly dead and while I was running the Silver Rush 50, he took my battery to the auto store in Leadville and got it charged.

Leadville 100 MTB

Wow, I tell myself, I am about to take on several new feats in my life, the longest I have ever road a bike and longest time in saddle. I made several adjustments to my bike after the Silver Rush 50 MTB and was able to get in and out of my cleats much easier. This also was the most people that I have ever raced with around 1,400 riders and it was very crazy to see that many mountain bikes. I was warned that it would be a crazy bottleneck until we got to the road after the first climb over mountain, and the advise was correct. I was in 1100 place at the 11 mile mark and because of the 1100 bikes in front of me, I couldn’t go any faster than I was because we were lined up back to back. Eventually I got off of the single track and onto the Turquoise lake road and it was such a nice relief to just fly down the road. I began the climb up sugar loaf and it wasn’t that bad of a climb, the best and one of my favorite parts in The Leadville Race series in both the Bike and the Run was next, “Power Line” I had run this many times over the summer and knew it pretty well. I began passing people and taking lines that most were not seeing. I was caught in a few bottleneck but quickly got out of those and down power line quickly. I was given some other advice that told me that once I got to the road after power line to get in a group and draft on the road. I hit the road and was not in a group and was like oh crap, I kept pedaling and a rider passed me and said follow him. I was so relieved and felt what it was like to draft, I liked that I could peddle less aggressively and get the same outcome. It was mostly rolling and flat for the next several miles to Half Pipe aide station and i refueled and biked on. I was so looking forward to seeing my Crew in Twin Lakes so I got out as soon as possible. I made it to Twin Lakes and crossed the dam and saw David Clark and Chavet Breslin there to help me refuel and apply sunblock. Seeing them make me really happy because it took my mind off the race just momentarily. I said my good byes and headed up towards Columbine Peak which is a nice huge climb to over 12,600′ It was a long grind to the top and I saw many riders coming down very fast. I am sure I saw the top men and women as I began my ascent they were almost all the way down to Twin Lakes. I just kept focus and knew that mountain biking is not my strength but I would use the mental skills of knowing that I had to just keep moving forward and stopping is not an option. I made it to the top and got refueled at the aide station, the views up here are spectacular but I wasn’t here for the views and knew I had to get heading down. I began my descent and a bottleneck of 5+ riders were in front of me with 2 way traffic on a single track trail. I knew I had to get around these riders, and eventually had a chance. I began bombing the downhill and my hands again must have been in a death grip and I would have to shake them out as often as I could. I made it back to Twin Lakes and David and Chavet were there again to brighten my day.

I said my goodbyes and left Twin Lakes and had 40 miles to go. I was told by my crew to stop at Half pipe at the Carmichael Tent. I made it and stopped refilled my bladder and grabbed food and took off. Next up Power Line, I hiked and road to the top of Power Line and it started to rain and got chilly. I began to ride down sugar loaf and was flying but the rain made it cold. I was wishing I had grabbed my rain jacket from my crew but I didn’t and so I just kept riding. I then got to the road and began to climb. At this point I had 20 miles and 2 hours to go.. I was beginning to get very scared and nervous that I would not make it to the finish line in time. I just kept climbing and even though inside I was somewhat freaking out, I began to talk with other riders to get a grip on my mental state. The riders I was with had finished this before and new more about where we were on the course and so they filled me in. They said I should finish with a time of 11:35 and so I kept pedaling. Got to the top of the last climb of Turquoise lake Rd and turned to the single track. From this mostly downhill and few ups. Began moving at a speed that gave me some releif to how slow the climb was and miles began moving by one by one. Got to the road before turning on the the last 4 miles on the gravel road which is also the last section of the run and now, Knew I would make it after asking a few riders. I came into the finish line and was so happy to see Chavet and the she grabbed my hand and we came into the finish line with a time of 11:41:49. Was not any thing to brag about and had just over 18 minutes to spare. I was so relived and happy to be done. Chavet mentioned how she was begining to worry and also glad to know I made it.

Leadville 10k

The 10k was already decided that Chavet and I would run together to make sure that I ran this at an easy pace. Training for the Leadville 100 in 6 day was complete and it was time to make sure that recovery from the Leadville 100 MTB the day before, happened as soon as possible. I needed to just run easy and get through this race without adding more recovery time to my week. We came to the starting line and I was so happy to see so many friendly faces that I met in Leadville over the summer, the Delaney family, several of the Leadman competitors and it was a start time of 12:00 which was the latest start of any of the Leadman series. It was the first 3.1 miles of the Leadville 100 run and was an out and back for the 10k distance. Chavet and I were together and when the gun went off we ran. it was mostly downhill for the first half and so the first half was pretty easy, because what I have learned in the Leadman comp is that mountain biking doesn’t effect my downhill running muscles. On the other hand, I was sore and felt it when it came to uphill running. Chavet and I took it easy and chatted together and cheered on other runners. We made it down to turn around and I was begining to loosen up all the sore muscles from the day before. We still took it easy and ran back to the start. We made it back to the hard top and had one last hill to climb as we turned onto 6th street. I asked others around what this hill was called and they had no idea, I told them it was called “victory” because once over this climb, the finish line was in site. We made it over that hill and Chavet and I, hand in hand, ran across the line with a finish time of 58:11. Our goal was 1 hour and we were pretty close.

Recovery Week

Key now, Recover, Recover Recover and get ready for the race that has been on my mind for 2 years, The Leadville 100 mile run. This week Chavet gave me great instructions on how to make sure that I was doing the proper rest and recovery to get ready for the race.

It started by going to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) dinner at the Delaney’s after the 10k. I was able to see many of the amazing athletes and meet several of the supporters. Matt Delaney asked me to speak in front of the group and without any planning to speak about The Herren Project. The Herren Project is what brought the relationship between the Delaney family and me, Chris Herren had spoke in front of them back in Philadelphia and really touched their lives. So I spoke in front of the crowd and explained how I got involved and how The Herren Project can help so many others. This was a great night and I was glad that Anthony Kunkel joined me for this night and 4 Leadman competetors, including me, were there and we took a picture.

Now back in Denver I came up with a plan to see Dr. Ben Cowin and Kyle Harpster at Action Sport and Spine. I got messages and checked out a few times that week to make sure all was good for the Leadville 100 Run. Dr. Ben Cowin also introduced me to Qoleum this week and sent me home with Qrub and Qgel. I was so thankful to be in good hands and have the support of these guys the entire Leadman competition.

Leadville 100 Mile Run

The time was now here, the dream of doing the Leadville 100 mile run and completing the Leadman competition. I had established a great crew with Chavet and locked down a house to rent in Leadville for myself and the crew. Chavet was my crew chief and paced from Outward bound to the finish, Matt paced me over the most amazing Hope pass to Twin Lakes, Malachi was in charge of Woody and paced me from Twin Lakes to Outward Bound, Kyle was there for support and help with any muscular issues while running, Lisa helped with many things and took charge while Chavet paced me, My Mom came and just was there to be support and helped with renting a car that our crew could use.

The entire team assembled at different times and arrived in Leadville on Friday the day before the race. I went to get checked in and attended the pre race brief that is held at the high school. I was able to see many friends that were racing like Kyle Swetlishnoff, Josh Sprague, and many other Leadman competitors. It’s always a great meeting when you hear Ken Chlouber and Merilee Maupin as they motivate the crowd. Ken is a great jokester and motivator and Merilee is such a sweetheart that cares about all competitors. My favorite statement from Ken is that he gets the entire crowd to say, “I commit, I won’t quit” and they all say that, the funny thing is less than 50% actually finished the race this year. Leadville is known to have a low finish rate because of it’s old school requirement thats states, If you’re dumb enough to sign up for the Leadville 100, you can. So to be a finisher in this race is a great accomplishment of beating the odds. I knew in my heart I would finish while attending the pre race meeting and I knew I wouldn’t quit, I would give it my all.

That night many went to dinner and then headed to the house for a chill evening. I went over with the crew what I was wanting and needing and they also let me know some things to be aware of as well. I loved how Chavet was very good at taking charge and making sure every detail was covered and so I could just relax. Like most nights before a race you want to sleep 8 hours but that barely happens, nerves and excitement are all racing through my mind.. With a 4 am start time.. I think I went to bed around 10…

Morning came very quick and getting up around 2:30 and everyone was so helpful. Got lubed up with Squirrels Nut Butter, got my gear from Orange Mud, my Altra King MT and my Herren Project clothes. I rubbed some of the Qoleum on my legs and a little food for my stomach I was getting more and more anxious to get the start down. We eventually got in the car and made our way towards the start line. It was dark and chilly at the start and I ran into several friends Like Kyle, Jared Conlin, Abby, and I am sure a few more but it was early and I think between the caffeine and nerves, I was just wanting to run. The National Anthem went off and the gun shot off and we are all off, the sound of cheers and cowbells were ringing all up and down 6th avenue in Leadville. We got off the pavement and hit the jeep road and I ran into a fellow teammate of the Herren Project, Josh Stevens we chatted a few and eventually I ran ahead. I felt really good all the way to Mayqueen the first aid station that is 13 miles into the race in 2:09:09.

My crew was there and they did an amazing job of switching my bladder giving me electrolyte capsules and refilling my snacks in my Orange Mud pack. The sun was up by now and I was able to give my headlamp back to my crew. I left that aide station filling good and headed into the short section of the Colorado Trail that was only 1-2 miles and pretty technical. I was going well and all the sudden I tripped and fell and hit my left knee and scrapped up my right ankle and it hurt, I was at my first low of the race. I was in a little pain and i got up quick and accessed the damage, my left knee hurt and my right ankle was bleeding, I rapidly determined that this was painful but not enough to end the day, so I went on. I got to sugarloaf and began to climb to the top of Power line. In about 15 minutes after I fell I began to feel the pain subside and that was a true answer to prayer because I really wanted to run down power line. I got to the top of Sugarloaf and the view of the mountains and Turquoise lake is so amazing from this spot. The best part of Trail Running is the views are so worth the effort it takes to get there. I didn’t stay long and began heading to the downhill of Power Line… so this year I ran, hiked and Biked power line in both directions and I love this section of the course. it comes at 17 miles when you get to run down which is so fast and like 20 minutes of a 3 mile downhill run with a few little climbs up on the way down. I was moving well and got down quickly and to the road, not the biggest fan but knew that I was on my way to Outward Bound aide station. I was excited to get the aide station because about a mile out I had ran out of water in my bladder so it was nice to run light for a little over a mile. I got to Outward Bound and was happy to see Clay and Eric who I had paced last year and they gave me high fives and cheers. I ran a little further in and saw my crew.

I got some real food at this aide station and also covered in sunblock and reapplied SNB. I was feeling great and so happy to know I was ahead of schedule at a time 4:18:51. I continued on through the field which Chavet warned me that I needed watch for the potholes and slow down on the way to Twin Lakes. I told her that I would, and took off… somewhere in this section between Outward Bound and Twin Lakes, Josh Stevens passed me and It was great to see him we chatted for a bit and he took off. it was a nice steady climb until you get to the nice little down hill into Twin Lakes. I got to let loose on the downhill and passed Josh again he was looking strong and so was I. I love that we both were running for The Herren Project and passing each other was more motivating to me that anything, we gave each other great words of encouragement and regardless of him passing me or I passing him, I was happy for both of us. Made it to Twin lakes and the crew was happy to see me and I see them.

I left Twin lakes feeling great and began my journey towards Hope Pass. The Marshes came first and the cold water made my feet go numb and it felt amazing on my legs and feet. I then began the climb up hope pass. It is quite the climb from 9500 to the top at 12,500 and I was set on finding a pace that I just locked in, could breath and power hiked up this mountain pass. I began passing many and felt good and then I realized someone was right on my heals and breathing very hard. I began to talk to this man and asked if he needed to pass, with a broken accent he said no and just stayed on my heals for the climb. I was concerned for him because I felt great and he was breathing very hard. I asked finally where he was from and he said Slovakia and that explained the broken accent. We eventually made it to the Hopeless aid station and I was very happy to see the llamas and the aid station. I was also very happy to see Jen Byrne as a volunteer and she helped get me refueled and on my way. I began my decent down the backside of hope pass and saw Ian Sharman as he was almost to the top of hope pass inbound, a few minutes later I ran into my good friend Anthony Kunkel and he was in good spirits. I kept moving down and then got to the new added section of course that I have never seen before. This year they reverted back to the course of 2012 which add a 1 mile section just before Winfield. This new section was kinda frustrating because it was technical and began to climb again. You also get to pass winfield on your left and see the aid station and realize you still had some ways to go before you get there. I chose to just keep driving forward and made it to Winfield. I was so happy to see my crew, know I could now have a pacer and drop my pack and run free. Chavet and Matt got me all fed and Lisa and Char helped with getting the gear all swapped out. All feed and good to go, Matt and I got ready to head back to Twin Lakes.

We began to climb the backside of Hope pass and Matt was carrying my gear. I was feeling great and was moving really well up the backside. I saw many friends as I climbed, Josh Sprague, Jared Conlin, Scott Waldrop, Quinn Cooper, Morgan Tilton, John Becker and many other runners as they were coming down the backside of Hope Pass and many looked like they were struggling. I tried to give each of them some hope and encourage them to smile, some were receptive and some not. I was very glad that we made it back to the hopeless aid station and knew that running down the front side was a fun and great runnable section and after all the climbing, i was ready for some running. Matt and I ran down and made it through the marshes and back to Twin Lakes with several hours of daylight left. I did a clothing change and got ready to make sure that I was ready for the night hours run. I also switched my pacer from Matt to Malachi for the section between Twin Lakes and Outward Bound.

Malachi and I left Twin Lakes and began a 3 mile climb out of the town and at the base of Mt Elbert. It was nice to have Malachi with me which was asked to be on my crew because he is an excellent dog trainer and a fast runner, but he has never been part of an expedition like this. I wanted him to experience this and let him see what this is all about. We began our climb and all was good and we eventually got to the runnable section and began running. Sometime in this section my stomach started turning south. I wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t sure what was causing this. I thought it might be the tail wind or the food I ate at the earlier aid station. I had trained always with tums in my pack but never had actually needed them before and so I didn’t pack them in my pack for this race. I really wish I would have had them on hand at this point but didn’t and so I just dealt with it. The stomach issues didn’t get better before we finally made it to outward bound. By this time is was getting cold and I wasn’t feeling good. I knew that no matter what I was a head of schedule early in the race and I was glad I had some time banked because the stomach issues were slowing me down. I did my change over at Outward bound and got ready to head out with Chavet which would pace me from Outward Bound to the finish.

Chavet and I left Outward bound and headed toward my favorite section of the course, Pipeline. I knew that Pipeline is a very frustrating part of the course, it has 3 false summits and its a 3 mile climb with at least 2,000′ of vert. It’s not bad on fresh legs but at 77 or 78 miles into the race it can be a big pain in the butt. we began climbing and my stomach issues were getting worse and the time it took to get up was much longer than I hoped. I also noticed that there was not the line of headlamps up and down the course and Chavet reminded me that I was way ahead of the pack that finishes within the last 2 hours of Leadville, which in most 100 mile races like 60% or more finishes then. We made it to the top of Pipeline and I was so glad to see Space camp aid station with glow sticks everywhere and some awesome local Leadville people that set up an unofficial aid station with the most unusual aid station food. The best thing they had was pepto bismol and this immediately made my stomach feel better. I was so happy to not have knots in my gut and was able to start running again and begin eating and drinking. I was getting a second wind and headed down towards Mayqueen. We ran down sugarloaff and then hit the section of the Colorado trail and this section is very technical and you can see and hear mayqueen but keep running wondering when you were actually going to hit mayqueen. Eventually you do and that section on the Colorado trail is only like 2 miles but feel like a eternity sometimes. I was stoked to be at this section and know that I was only 13 miles from the finish. I would see my crew and head for the section around Turquoise lake and then into the town.

Chavet and I got refueled and ready to go, I knew I was on track for sub 25 miles and my dream of being Leadman was so close. The running around Turquoise lake has just enough hills and technical obstacles and it made it hard to get in a rhythm. Chavet kept me motivated and gave me words of encouragement that once we made it around the lake and to the road that we would make up time. This kept me moving and not getting discouraged and eventually we made it around the lake. I was so relieved to know that only one small technical section of the mini powerline stood between me and the finish. Once we got to the dirt road, Chavet came up with a great plan of run walk to the finish would actually get us there faster than trying to run all the way in. She was right we would run for 90 seconds and walk for 30 and this worked well. We did make up time and next thing you know we were in the town, 1 mile from the finish. We got off the dirt and onto the pavement with one last hill to climb once on 6th avenue. I call this climb Victory hill because once you get over that hill the finish line is in site and you can see victory which now was in view. We began to run down the hill and up the small incline where my crew was waiting for me. I had asked them all to run across the finish line with me and they did that we all ran across the finish line with a time of 24:45:01. I finished under 25 hours and was officially a Leadman. This was such a amazing feeling of accomplishment and I was so happy to have got my finish medal from Marilee and Ken at the finish line. We all went got a breakfast burrito and then headed to the house. I had several hours before awards and I just wanted sleep.

I got a few hours of sleep and then went to the awards. I was so stoked to find out that 100 Leadman competitors started the competition and only 34 finished. 32 Men and 2 women were officially Leadman/Leadwomen and we were all called one by one to the state to recieve our pick axe. I finish the Leadman Competition in 11th place overall and I was so happy with this finish.

I now can call myself, Silver King for finishing the Silver Rush 50 Mountain Bike and run the same weekend and Leadman.

I want to thank God for my chance at a new life sober, My family that has never given up on me, My crew of Chavet, Lisa, Matt, Malachi, Kyle, Char, Woody and my Mom, each of you has supported me in such a way that without you, I am not sure I would have finished this epic journey.