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Run Photos: click here for run photos LEADVILLE TRAIL 100 MTB: click here In town to volunteer for the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race on Saturday, I hadn't even been aware that a Leadville run was taking place on Sunday. With my flight out of Denver not until 11:00p, I had plenty of time. And as mandated by Pedar, the path to a better 5k goes through 10k. My housemates Tom and Red (Tom's uncle) were planning to run. The start time wasn't until 12:00n, so I couldn't plead sleep as an out. Unlike the MTB race, which requires a lottery to gain entry, run registration would be open until 11:30a, so no relief there either. My plan had been to wake Sunday morning, grab breakfast, and go in search of a hike. The gravitational pull of the run began to pull on me, though, and ultimately I succumbed. How often do you get to run the country's highest 10k? With the possible exception of a concierge-promised 3 mile run in Miami in early 2012 that may actually have turned out to be 5-6 miles, this would be my longest run. Why not. Because Pedar. The 10:30a registration took until 11:15a. Then, some stretching and final preparation, mostly consisting of getting my playlist right. We gathered in the start corral at ten minutes to noon, listened to a few announcements and the national anthem, then were off. The course uses the first and last 5k of the LT100 run and MTB races. No St. Kevins. No Powerline. No Columbine. But certainly no flats. The run heads downhill west on 6th, climbs a bit, then drops again to the Middle School and pool. A left and a quick right puts the runners on dirt, mostly downhill to the turnaround/water station. After a quick drink, I set off back up the gravel road. I made it most of the way before walking the last stretch before hitting pavement with a mile or so to go. My cycling maxim is that if at the end of a long ride, you can coast faster than your average speed for the ride, coast. And in cyclocross, it's well understood that if you can clear an element faster by running than riding, run. Well, in running, if on a climb you can walk faster than you can run, walk. I put that to the test a bit, and to my favor, I think. I ran the last patch of gravel and the first stretch of pavement, then walked the hill at the Middle School. Toward the top of that hill, I shifted back to running, ran the last descent, then powered up to the red carpet and the finish. Sub 1:10, not entirely horrible for an undertrained sea-level flatlander. I can only imagine (a) how hard the Middle School climb would be on a mountain bike with 100 miles already under the tires and (b) how welcome the finish wuold be. The Route: click here for RideWithGPS  
The Results: click here for Results
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