Troupe Racing Co.

report by : Laura Knight

The idea of doing the Leadville 100 started last January. My friend Mary Dannelley called me on a Tuesday morning and asked if I would do it if I had the chance. I had two hours to think about it. After consulting fellow team mates Tim, Monica and a couple of other friends, I decided to give it a go. Mainly because no one said I could never do it. As a matter of fact, I received a lot of encouragement. So, two hours later, I was in.

I also had the BC bike race scheduled this summer (with the Dannelleys no less). It’s been a big summer for me. I was not too successful there, so the thought of another failure this summer was nauseating.

I jumped in to training for this race right after I got back. Six to seven hours on the bike on Saturdays was standard operating procedure. I missed my teammates and racing XC this summer. By the time I arrived in Leadville, I was ready to get the party started and over with.

We arrived on a Thursday; Monica came with us for support/Dannelley child care. Leadville is a small mining town, a little on the depressed side, but charming just the same.

Friday was medical check in and race check in. It was a very organized procedure. I went for a short ride up Power Line with a friend of mine afterwards just to spin.

Saturday, we woke up at 3:45 am to check our bikes in and get a good coral spot. I was a little nervous as most of the guys around me were aiming for 8 to 9 hours. The nice thing was that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky – no rain today! I knew then I had to take my second opportunity. Finish or die.

The first climb as a little congested. It thinned toward the top, and then we had a long paved downhill. We then began our climb up to Power Line, the Leadville version of technical downhill, NOT! I was hoping to make up time here but there was a lot of traffic. There was a crash at this point that Mary stopped for, but she still caught me back on the road.

The rest of the first part of the race consisted mainly of paved roads and slow rollers. The first checkpoint was at 40 miles, which had to be done in 4 hours. I rolled up to Monica and I told her I hadn’t felt like I had done anything yet. Good thing because next was the infamous Columbine climb.

The climb was nice and smooth fire road for the first 2000 feet. Then the loose rock and shale started. Then it became hike a bike. The top was 12,600 feet. Now I was feeling a little worked. I stayed at the top for about 10 minutes and then began my descent. It felt fabulous. It took my about 2 and one half hours to ascend, but only 45 minutes to come down!

I spent the next 2 hours basically retracing my steps through the rollers, no big deal! Then I had to go back up Power Line. Not fun at mile 80. Next I had the asphalt climb to go back up. It was like doing Newport Coast (for those of you in Orange County) 3 times at mile 90 and 10,000 feet. I blew the last aid station and headed in. I knew I was cutting it close, I road hard the last few miles. I came in to all my friends, including the Dannelleys and Monica, waiting for me. Mary finished in 10:54 even after helping with the Power Line crash. I was just glad I set out to do what I wanted and my mission was accomplished.

Thanks for all of you who believed in me. I heard a lot of “you will be just fine” the week before I left. I really had a hard time believing you. Thanks for all the support. I had a great time and I owe it to the Dannelleys for getting me in.

Would I do it again?
Probably…