The Leadville 100
Timmy Parr takes the dance at 17:27! A fast start weeded out the field, but a few guys hung tough to the end. Nick Lewis from Memphis, TN placed a strong second in his first 100 mile adventure and paid 13-1. He plans on spending his winnings on prep for next year. I had the pleasure of running the last 13 miles with this year’s bride’s maid, running the fastest split of the day for the last 13 miles. Tony K had issues at roughly mile 70 and had to bail after the Fish Hatchery. Never underestimate the distance.
Darcy Africa was leading early with all smiles thru Twin Lakes. I’ll do my best to report the women’s winner….if I can stay awake. Watch the race live at: www.leadvilletrail100.com
It’s about that time again to see if I can pick’em at the Leadville 100. The guys and gals I have listed here are straight off of the current runners list. One guy who we all know may or may not be running. Tony K is not on the list right now, so I won’t put him on top where he belongs. If he is running, it’s his to lose. I’ll be in Leadville for the race watching, spectating and enjoying this great 100 mile race from the sidelines. I’m waiting for Wasatch in a few weeks.
The Men:
Tony Krupicka 1-2. Not a good bet if you are trying to make money….he’ll be gone once he gets down the road! Great to see he is in. I bet Mr. Carpenter is watching!
Duncan Callahan 4-1. Duncan ran a great race last year winning around 18 hours. A great time. No doubt he’ll be thinking about breaking that 18 hour barrier and even pushing 17. He gets the nod as the favorite for now.
Andy Jones-Wilkins 5-1. This year’s field is really tight. Andy probably is the best in the field at keeping it together for long distances. He’s proven that with the great run at Hardrock around 28 hours only two weeks after Western. He’s been rested now and should be in the thing to win it if noone really steps up and runs sub 17.
Nick Pedatella 6-1. Nick ran great in the early season at Antelope Island. He had a rough run at Massannutten, but probably has a little redemption on his mind, not to mention he’s back on some familiar turf in Leadville.
Ryan Burch 7-1. Ryan has all the tools necessary but lacks a little 100 mile experience. He also ran fast early season and a good run at the San Juan Solstice 50 in June. If he nails the day, look for him to be near the front at the end.
Harry Harcrow 8-1. Harry kind of flys under the radar, is not really fast enough to win it, but is strong and should crack top 5 on his home turf. He’s got good experience here, he knows the track.
Dink Taylor 10-1. He would love to do well here. He lacks some altitude experience, but still has speed. Leadville is a speedsters course at altitude, so he’ll need to find some extra oxygen somewhere to be near the front. He might, he’s quite talented.
Nick Lewis 13-1. He’s the sleeper from Memphis. He’s super fast, but lacks a little 100 mile experience. He’ll have good advice and help from Billy Simpson…he’s the mystery man in the field.
Aaron Schwartzbard 16-1. Another east coaster hoping to crack top 10. If he runs smart he could crack top 5.
Garrett Graubins 20-1. I’d love to see Garrett kill it here. Another sleeper to crack top 10.
Other fast guys to watch: Ryan Cooper, Jeff Beuche, Timmy Parr, Zack Tiernan, Bryon Powell, Jason Koop, Todd Gangelhoff. ( Thanks Garrett! )
The women:
Jamie Donaldson 3-1. Jamie proved last year that she’s for real. If she runs textbook style it should be a good race with the smiley girl below.
Darcy Africa 4-1. Darcy is always the cheeriest runner in the field. If she stays happy, she can certainly outrun Jamie. She always runs pretty well, it’s just a matter if being a mom has taken over some of her training time. She also knows Leadville as well as anyone in the field.
Julie Fingar 6-1. Somewhat of a mystery for me to predict, but she should make top 3, probably in 3rd behind the two above. She’s just a little slower…she’ll run 3rd.
Susan Brozik, Jen Foster and Michelle Barton should duke it for the top 5 positions.
The Wind River expedition this past week was simply epic. 5 days backpacking in the Bridger Wilderness is simply the best around. One comment from Mr. Belzz was simply…”No place can possibly be better than this”. Classic quote!
I caught a total of 14 trout, the largest being about 14″. We only ate a few as we decided to eat that wonderful dry food to take off some weight in our packs. We got snowed on Friday night with 2″ on our tents in the early AM. It killed off the mosquitos. The first two days, 20,000 mosquitos carried me out of my tent. We had a taste of it all! I was only heckled a few times on day one as the distance creeped up to 12 miles of essentially all uphill miles. Sometimes I get a little out of hand and forget about distance 🙂 !
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