Leadville 100 Entry for Attending CTS Camp

March 8th, 2011

Leadville 100 Start

Same as the last couple years, Carmichael Training Systems is putting on training camps for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. Also those that didn’t get chosen in the Leadville 100 entry lottery will get into the race because of doing the training camp. If you did get into Leadville through the lottery, call them if you want to attend a training camp instead of entering the training camp lottery.

Since the training camps sold out in minutes last year, this year getting into a CTS training camp is also a lottery. They have already been taking sign ups for a week. The deadline to enter for a CTS Leadville camp is March 10th at 5 PM MST. You find the details on the training camps here.

I know some of the CTS coaches and they know endurance racing. Everything I’ve seen CTS do has been top quality so I’m sure the camps will be a big help especially for 1st timers. I’ve also heard good things about the camps from racers that have attending in the past.

In addition they give all camp participants CTS jerseys. If you wear it on race day, they’ll make sure you are well taken care of at the Pipeline and Twin Lake aid stations. If you don’t have your own crew, that can be really helpful.

It seems like $1224 ($1499 with entry fee) is a lot to pay for a 2 day camp especially since it doesn’t include lodging. If you don’t have that kind of money, you can still try to get in through the new Leadville 100 qualifying races. There are also plenty of other 100 mile mountain bike races so there’s no reason to be too bummed if you wanted to do Leadville but didn’t get in.

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2011 100 Mile Mountain Bike Races

March 2nd, 2011

Leadville 100 Pipeline Aid Stations 2010

Endurance mountain biking racing has become very popular the last several years. 100 mile races are particularly popular. A 100 mile mountain bike race is also known as a dirty hundy. The terrain for the races vary a lot and also the amount of support varies from well stocked aid stations to races that are self-supported.

The Leadville 100 is the oldest and most popular and has had an entry lottery for several years. Monday night most that entered the Leadville 100 lottery found out whether they’re in or out although a few have reported they haven’t heard either way. I was one of the lucky ones to get picked. In addition to the 100 mile Leadville race they also have the Silver Rush 50 and 24 hours of Leadville. You can keep up with all of the Leadville races on their new Facebook page.

There are plenty of other quality 100 mountain bike races besides the Leadville 100 plus there are 100k, 12 hour, 24 hour and longer mountain bike races. The National Ultra Endurance Race Series (NUE) is a national series of 11 endurance mountain bike races and 9 of them are 100 miles.

Here are the 2010 100 mile mountain bike races I know about. Let me know in the comments about ones I’ve missed and I’ll add them to the list.

UltraRob

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Leadville 100 Adds Qualifiers as Lottery Entry Deadline Looms

January 29th, 2011

Leadville 100 Start

The Deadline to enter the entry lottery for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race is Monday January 31st at 8pm (MST). If you plan on entering and haven’t yet, I’d enter right away. I ended up needing to email them since I had issues logging into my account from last year.

Being able to enter as a team returned this year after that option was removed last year. Teams of up to 4 can enter and then either all or none will get into the lottery.

Lifetime Fitness announced this week that they will be adding qualifier races as another way to get into the race this year. There will be 3 qualifiers this year and will expand to eight races by 2013. This year’s three races will be held in June and July in California, Colorado and the Northeast. Peter Spencer of Lifetime Fitness told me through email that the races will be around 100k in length.

Each of the races will have 100 Leadville 100 race spots up for grabs. 50 spots will be weighted per age group for the top age group finishers. Peter said that the other “50 spots will be a drawing at the race event for all other finishers under a designated cutoff time (which will be lenient) to allow everyone a chance at the other 50 spots.”

When I asked Peter about whether the field limit would be staying the same he said, “It will increase to 1700 – Last year they actually had 1600 entered into the race. I think 1400 or a little over showed up. Our goal is to not take away from anyone’s chances of getting in via the lottery – just increasing their chances with adding the qualifying series.”

The reaction was mixed on the announcement of qualifiers on the Yahoo Leadville 100 list. Riders that have finished near the cut-off feared their days of doing the race were over. Others were concerned that the race was just being used for profit by big corporations.

I’m no longer fast (I finished 17th overall in 8:18 in 2003) but want to add to my 5 belt buckles and get to the 1,000 mile buckle. The race has grown bigger than I’d like; however, part of the fun of doing the race after the start congestion is there are so many racers and spectators on the course.

With the addition of qualifiers, I think they can add racers that likely will be toward the front of the race where it tends to get more spread out and not cause problems. The 50 that get in by drawing that aren’t the fastest at the qualifiers will at least have demonstrated they should be able to finish and most likely have decent handling skills.

One of the problems since Lance Armstrong raced and the Race Across the Sky movies were made, people have signed up and gotten in that had no fitness or skills for being in the race. The qualifiers will give a chance to those that think they’re good enough that they should be allowed to race to prove it and get to race.

Although I liked the race better when there were half as many racers, the fact is it’s become much bigger and popular. I’m happy that Lifetime Fitness is trying different things to make the race better. Yes, some of it may be so they’ll get more exposure and profit but I rode with Bahram, Lifetime Fitness founder, while training on the Columbine Climb and feel that he really does care about the experience of the race.

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10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2010

January 7th, 2011

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. I don’t make New Year resolutions but I’m looking forward to new adventures and goals in 2011.

As we move into the new year, let’s take a look back at the top 10 most viewed posts on UltraRob’s Adventures in 2010. Interestingly the top 3 spots were the same as in 2009.

10. Jure Robic Dies in Accident

Jure Robic, an amazing ultra endurance cyclist, was killed during a training accident on September 24th. Reportedly he was training for the Crocodile Trophy and hit a car head on while descending a narrow road through the forest near his home in Slovenia. He won the Race Across America 5 times, more than any other male.

9. Wyss Wins RAAM, Robic Drops Out!

This post is from 2009 when Jure Robic dropped out of RAAM with 54 miles to go because he and his crew felt that he was given penalties unfairly while Wyss wasn’t given penalties when they felt he should have.

8. Felony Charge for Racing Leadville 100 Without Entry

Wendy Lyall used Katie Brazelton’s entry in the 2009 Leadville 100. It may have gone unnoticed but Wendy finished 2nd in the 40-49 age group although she was 36. They were both charged with felonies although they plead guilty to lesser charges. At least one and maybe both of them lost their jobs because of it.

7. Leadville 100 Race Across the Sky Movie on DVD

The movie made of the 2009 Leadville 100 when Lance Armstrong won was released on DVD in the spring of 2010.

6. 100 Mile Mountain Bike Races 2010

A list of 100 mile mountain bike races for 2010. I plan on posting a list of 2011 dirty centuries soon.

5. What are Tree Wells and How Do They Kill Skiers?

Last winter within a couple weeks in 2 different cases a skier was found dead in tree wells. This post explains what tree wells are and how they can kill skiers.

4. Livestrong Tattoo

When I broke my derailleur cable in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the summer of 2009, I visited Rabbit Bike in Hill City to get a new one. The owner had a Livestrong tattoo on his calf.

3. Leadville 100 Mountain Bike FAQ

Since Lance Armstrong raced the Leadville 100 in 2008 and 2009 and the Race Across the Sky movie, there’s been a lot of interest in the race. The main Leadville 100 mountain bike FAQ page was the most popular but a couple of the sub posts also made it into the top 10. How to train for the Leadville 100 and the best bike for the Leadville 100 were in the top 10 but I grouped them with this post.

2. Garmin Edge 705 Review – First Impressions

After not having a GPS on my bike or a computer at all on my mountain bike, I upgraded to the cool Garmin Edge 705 a couple years ago. This post has my initial thoughts on it.

1. Top 5 Reasons Cyclists Shave Their Legs

The question I’m asked most about cycling is why do cyclists shave their legs. The 5 reasons I posted continue to be very popular. I also answer some questions in the Cyclist Leg Shaving Questions and Answers post.

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Leadville 100 Registration Open

November 18th, 2010

Lifetime Fitness Founder and Others at Top of Columbine Climb

Registration for the Leadville Trail races is open including for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. In the past registration didn’t open until late December or early January. The deadline for getting into the mountain bike lottery hasn’t changed though and is still January 31st.

I’m planning on entering again for my 8th time although I haven’t finished the last 2 years. This year I had an asthma attack just before the Columbine climb and last year I got a stomach bug the night before and bailed after 20 miles. Even without the asthma and stomach bug, I was barely in shape the last 2 years but so far I’ve done better at staying active and maintaining my weight this off season.

From everything I’ve heard, it doesn’t increase your changes of getting in the lottery if you enter early so I plan to wait just in case something comes up that would keep me from doing the race. Last year I waited until a few days before the deadline.

The entry lottery isn’t completely random and I have some information on how the lottery has worked in the past. I don’t know how it will change now that Lifetime fitness owns the race. For more information on registering go to the Leadville Trail 100 website.

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Race Across the Sky 2010 Tomorrow

November 3rd, 2010

Here’s a reminder that Race Across the Sky, which covers the 2010 Leadville 100 is in movie theaters tomorrow evening, November 4th. It includes a live panel discussion with participating athletes Levi Leipheimer, Rebecca Rusch, Erik Weihenmayer and others. Although there will be an encore presentation on November 9th, it isn’t showing at any Colorado Springs theaters on that date.

Last year the movie sold out in many locations. I’m guessing that was a least partly because Lance Armstrong was in it but I’d get my tickets in advance. From the trailer, it looks like they got some great shots of the race again.

You can get last year’s Race Across the sky on DVD here or at Amazon.

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Leadville 100 Movie Tickets on Sale Now

October 1st, 2010

Tickets are now on sale for the Race Across the Sky 2010 on November 4th. It includes a live panel discussion with participating athletes Levi Leipheimer, Rebecca Rusch, Erik Weihenmayer and others. There will be an encore presentation on November 9th.

Last year the movie sold out in many locations. I don’t know if that was because Lance Armstrong was in it but I’d get my tickets in advance. From the trailer, it look like they got some great shots of the race again.

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2010 Leadville 100 Race Across the Sky Movie

September 14th, 2010

Citizen pictures is making a movie about the Leadville 100 again this year. The plan is for it to be in theatres November 4th, 2010.

I enjoyed the Leadville 100 movie they made last year. You can read my 2009 Race Across the Sky review here. I expect this year’s movie will be another good one to watch with so many big name racers even though Lance Armstrong wasn’t there.

Here’s a quick reminder for those in the Colorado Springs area. The Ride the Divide movie is showing tomorrow night at Stargazers Theater. Details here. For other locations, check the list of screenings.

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Dave Wiens’ Leadville 100 Bagel

August 21st, 2010

Dave Wiens Leadville 100 Bagel

Earlier this week a bagel was listed on eBay as being Dave Wiens’ bagel from the Leadville 100. He dropped it on the course and a fan picked it up. It’s a simple mini-bagel with PB&J made by his Olympic bronze medalist wife, Susan DeMattei.

It seemed like someone just being goofy but all the money from the auction is to go to the non-profit Gunnison Trails. As the week has gone on, it’s turned into something much bigger. Now Dave Wiens is giving the winner of the auction one of his big Leadville 100 belt buckles. Oakley has also stepped up and is throwing in a pair of Livestrong Radar Path Glasses.

Dave Wiens has confirmed all of this on his twitter account. There isn’t much time left on the eBay auction and it ends tomorrow morning, Sunday August 22nd, at 08:03 AM PDT.

UltraRob

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Leadville 100 Crash Update

August 20th, 2010

Last Saturday at the Leadville 100 just after the top of Sugarloaf at the top of the descent down Powerline, there was a bad crash. By the time I got there about a dozen riders were standing around a rider laying on the ground so I didn’t stop. I had the feeling the rider was seriously injured and later heard that a rider had been airlifted from there.

Someone posted an update from his wife on the Leadville 100 Yahoo group.

Gary was competing in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. He was on the top of a mountain and hit a rock. He was thrown over the front of his bike. Another biker behind Gary crashed into him who was also injured.

Gary had amazing medical people helping him on the mountain to keep him safe. He was flown to St Anthony Central Hospital. He has a brain injury and 4 broken ribs and bruised lung. Gary is in the ICU unit. He is progressing fast. He can move his limbs, responds to voice commands. He knows his name, me and the girls. He sat up today and walked. Spoke a few sentences. He is fiesty which the nurses say is great. I am not sure how long we will be in the hospital. The goal is to get Gary back 100%.

Thank you for all your prayers and support! Please keep them coming. This will be a journey we need your help with. God has already put amazing people in place to help Gary. I will try to update the site daily.

If you’re interested in sending him some encouragement or continuing to get updates, he has a care page at the hospital. Click the become a member link and once you enter the information, you’ll be taken to Gary’s page.

UltraRob

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