Dead Horse Ultra

Leadville Trail 100

Slow 5 going up, fast five back

Camp Dick - Peaceful Valley round 2

Camp Dick - Peaceful Valley & back

Wow, what an experience. Barely made it to the starting line after discouraging medical advice and literally one hour of sleep. At 1am, alone at my campsite in Leadville, dealing with crippling anxiety (race, my father, family) I toed the line and told myself I could stop when I ran by my campsite, 12 miles in...
I didn’t…The first 88 miles went exactly as planned - hit my splits, hydration/nutrition, aid station & crew logistics exactly. Then my lower back gave out. Something was guaranteed to go wrong, and this was a weird one - never heard of this issue. I became reliant on my poles - which I didn’t have for either ascent/descent of Hope Pass because of their drop bag issues. And then poles were not enough. By then I was on to pacer #3, Elizabeth (wife), and had an arm around her whenever the trail allowed. With six miles left we picked up Crusoe (son) and the three of us finished the damn thing.
This was an important race for and the way it played out, with my family and Eric & Charles (pacers) and emotional finish, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life
Edit- not sure why the time on strava is off - finished in 29:36. I was on pace for sub-27 hours… until I wasn’t!

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Jonathan Geilhufe

Leadville Trail 100

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Dead Horse Ultra

Leadville Trail 100

Slow 5 going up, fast five back

Camp Dick - Peaceful Valley round 2

Camp Dick - Peaceful Valley & back

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