Last week, I piled into a car with 3 friends for a whirlwind road trip to Leadville, CO. Each of us would be crewing and pacing at the Leadville Trail 100 Run. I proudly buckled at Leadville in 2017 finishing in 29:40. This year, I was more than happy to make my return to pace #teamninja athlete, Brent Heady, for his first 100 mile race. Yes, he picked a very difficult place to make his debut. Unfortunately, Brent would end up missing the cutoff at mile 62 Twin Lakes due to trashed quads. But he left everything out there and completed the toughest part of the course. 48% of those who toed the start line would not finish the race this year.
Leadville will always get criticized for be too commercial, too crowded or too big. But conquering Hope Pass is a crowning achievement for any runner and the finish line atmosphere surpasses the Auburn HS track of Western States. That’s two main reasons why the race and the weekend will forever be special for me.
© 2026 Greg Sisengrath
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