TR - Day 3 through Day 5

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the break in communications the last few days but we haven't been able to get cell or wireless signals. So I'll cover the last 3 days with the remaining battery in my laptop.

So Day 3 - the first 20+ miler of the event. 24 miles to be exact! We started in Leadville which is where we were bused after Day 2. This day had 2900 ft of climbing and 3800 ft of decending! The up after Day 2 nightmare, seemed doable at first but got tougher and tougher. The grade had to be 20% or more in most spots and got worse the higher we got. Needless to say I was having a tough time. My legs were sooo tired that they just couldn't bend which made it tricky. However we kept going and made it to the top and some spectacular views. Now we just had to make it all the way down to Nova Guides, our rest stop for the night. There were a couple of water crossings one that was at mid thigh height!! Felt really good!! The finish seemed like it would never get here but we finally made in just under 6 hours which was pretty good we thought. It moved us into 10th place which was a surprise.

The next day we woke to freezing temps and shivered our way to the start. This route was up and over to Red Cliff. This was a day of more horrendous climbing and even more downhill. The only good news was it was only 14 miles... the day went well for us and we make it back to Red CLiff in 3:36 and change. We promptly headed to the nearest watering hole and celebrated with some other runners from Victoria and Auburn. I love recovery food!!!

After another cold night at Red Cliff we headed to Vail today. This was another really long one - 23 miles. By now we're old hat at this and in a routine....get up, eat, shiver at the start and then head out for more punishment and abuse on the trails of Colorado :- ) Just kidding about the abuse part.

For this route we had 8 miles of fire road that averaged about 6% and then after the first check point, we headed up another 6 miles on 3 different trails until we were "at the top of the world". It was just amazing the scenery and definitely worth the work to get there. So now after 4400 ft of climbing we got to decend (again!!) for 4800 ft over 10 miles...ouch!!! Need less to say again we made it but this time it took us 6:22 and change to get to the bottom!! Still we're happy to be here and have just one more day to go to the finish. It will feel so good to finally be done but we were remarking at dinner that the days have flown and we can't believe we're already at our last evening. Tomorrow we head from Vail to Beaver Creek, another 21 miles and we'll be done!!
I'll update again tomorrow after we finish.
Thans for listening.

C'ya

TR - Day 2 Vicksburg to Twin Lakes

Hi all,

Well Stu and I have made it through Day 2. We now have only 4 days to go!
This one was tough. We were bused to the start from Arrowhead Camp ground to Vicksburg. The start was at 9600 ft. We had a couple of miles to warm up to get to 10000ft and then we really went up!!! The next 2.5 miles were really tough. No real switch backs just straight into thin air at 12500 ft at the top (Hope Pass).

What wonderful scenery! We have photos that we'll download later. Tonight we have only battery power.

From there we had 3.5 miles straight downhill. We relished that as we now could use some differnt muscles! Once at the bottom we had a river crossing to navigate which at one point was mid thigh depth. Let me tell you, that cold water on the legs felt awesome. From there it was only a couple of miles to the finish at Twin Lakes. From there we were shuttled to Leadville where race village is set up. Dinner was at a local high school - pretty good but the Klondike bar back at the RV was the real treat. It's been quiet weatherwise today. No storms. And yes we SAW the thunder and HEARD the lightening Jeff : )

Once again Art did a terrific job of support. He had the RV waiting for us and had sandwiches in the fridge - what a guy! He got in a 4 hr mountain bike ride as well, exploring the local trails around Leadville.

Tomorrow is the first really long day - 24 miles. We have a couple of peaks that top out again at 12500 ft ish but much less severe gradients. Stu is feelling the better of the two of us at the moment and he's been doing a good job of keeping me going. Today I felt a little altitude sickness fo the first time ever. Dizziness and nausea which has improved as the day wore on but had me worried for a time while we were out there. Today I bought a pair of trekking poles. Can't think why I didn't think of it before but there you go. I'll let you know how they work out.
Not sure if I'll be updating tomorrow as we are back at a camp ground and may have limited access.

That's it for today. We're in 11th place overall for our category (out of 19 teams).
C'ya

TR - Day 1 Buena Vista to Numbers

Hi all,

Wendy again. One down and five to go!! Today Stu and I completed the first stage from Buena Vista to Numbers. It was a beautiful run of about 13 miles along the Arkansas river. With the majestic Colegiate Peaks of the Rocky mountains all around it was quite scenic. The altitude was a little tough for me and the last 3 miles were a struggle. However as soon as I finished I ate and drank and felt a lot better. Art did a terrific job of support. When we returned to the RV he had sandwiches and drinks ready for us, along with smoked salmon! Today's start was at 10am and it was quite warm, certainly more than I expected. No rain though until this evening when we had a few showers.



We've met a few of the other runners at dinner. Everyone seems pretty relaxed. Some teams finished incredibly fast.....we made it in 2:32:27. Not bad for a couple of flatlanders :- )

Art rode his mountain bike back and forth along the course and took some photos.



Tomorrow looks like a tough stage. Only 10 miles but very steep and rocky. Starting at just under 9600 ft, we have 2 miles of semi flat then we climb 3000 ft in 2 miles....needless to say we'll be walking that!! The good news is that we then get to go down hill for another 3500 ft in 4 miles and then 2 more flat to the finish. We end at Twin Lakes at 9200 ft elevation. We go over Hope Pass at 12500 ft so not much oxygen anywhere tomorrow!

That's about it from me for today. I'll check in again tomorrow assuming I can get a signal.

C'ya.