video footage of Lance from Leadville 100

Lance Armstrong on his way to winning 2009 Leadville 100

A few of us drove the hour over to Leadville to see Lance in his quest to win Leadville 100. We rolled in and heard he was within an hour of finishing. We hung out for a bit, checked out the scene, walked around some and let the kids play at the playground. Soon the crowds gathered and sure enough Lance came up the "Boulevard" (home stretch) into town for the victory. Record-breaking time of 6hr28min for a 100mi mtb race! Apparently he flatted (more so developed a slow leak) within the last few miles. The Velonews article said he stopped once to inflate his tire with a CO2, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the risk of stopping to fix it, with Dave Wiens only 20min back or so.

With all the hoopla and kids around, I did manage to get one good shot of LA-

props to Helen

an article below from the Leadville Chronicle appeared in our local paper today.

Leadville 100 update

skies dried up some, sporadic rain and hail, but not as wet as this morning. but temps only in the high 40s. feels like October. nonetheless, Helen was into Winfield aid station, mile 50, in 8th place overall (out of over 550 racers), and 1st woman. We dropped off Kate Lapides there and they ran over Hope Pass for the 2nd time, down into Twin Lakes and then over to Halfmoon and Treeline. Diana's taking a nap now, Alina's watching an Elmo movie. we had a quick lunch in town and now we're soon off to Treeline to let Diana pace Helen over to Mayqueen where Katie will run with Helen to the end. Hopefully Helen hasn't gone out too fast. She looked awesome at Winfield, but she usually has trouble at the 63-75mi mark. Not physical trouble, but mental trouble. We'll see.

 
 
 

Helen's big one - Leadville 100

Here we are again in Leadville for Helen's big race. Start time is only about 7hrs away. Pretty violent storms over Breck and the mountains today, including large hail and lightning. The mountains west and south of Leadville, including the course's highpoint, intimidating Hope Pass at 12,600', all were cloaked in thick dark clouds as we drove through town earlier during a light rain. Hopefully the worst of it was today and tomorrow brings better weather. If not, no worries. Helen is proven in bad weather, and she logs more miles in blizzard conditions than anyone else I know in the entire ultrarunning community. Rain and/or snow will just make it worse for those who aren't prepared, but that certainly won't be Helen.

Anyone reading this over the weekend, wish Helen lots of great thoughts and positive energy. She is aiming for 22hr30min time, about an hour off of last year's 4th place time of 23hr35min. Diana, Kate & Katie are all coming up to help pace Helen during the last 50 miles. Pretty much from 3p onward, leaving from Winfield up and over Hope Pass for the 2nd time of the day.

brawl, show

the Breck Brawl didn't go so well. I nearly imploded at the top of the first climb, only about 5min into the race. I settled in some the last couple of laps, but it was too little too late. Glad the mtb race season is over, getting ready for cross is exciting.

The Beastie Boys put on a great show last night at Red Rocks. Those guys rock it good, esp. for being 40+. A pretty mellow crowd, and a beautiful summer night at Red Rocks for a show. Before the show we rode Apex and Enchanted Forest. Awesome high-speed singletrack, and some good techy sections to keep you on your toes.

Leadville 100 is tomorrow at 4a for Helen. 100mi of trail running. Wish her well and send some happy thoughts/vibes/prayers up her way in the Collegiate Peaks range of Colorado this weekend. Alina and I will have lots of quality time to hang out together. Hopefully I can post some pics soon after, or during, if the Delaware Hotel has wireless. I expect Helen to finish sometime around 2-2:30a on Sunday. Maybe Alina and I will see a ghost there at the old historic Delaware Hotel, the place easily seems like it has a colorful past full of characters.