Last weekend I ran the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon. It was great! Let me start by saying I am from the flat plains of West Texas. I signed up for this race because my wife and I love to travel, and I wanted a challenge. It was great seeing this part of Colorado, and it was a challenge!

We drove to Leadville on Friday and checked into the very old but nice Delaware Hotel. We walked around town and hit a few shops and local hangouts before going to the expo, which was held from 4:00-8:00 pm. We went early, but a line had already formed. However, it went very quick and they had friendly volunteers. Besides the vendors at the expo, they also have a Leadville Race Series Store if you are interested in merch. After grabbing my packet, we headed back to the room to rest up.

The race starts in Leadville at 8:00 AM on Saturday for both the full marathon and heavy half. Our hotel was very handy, as it was only one street over from the start. The race begins in town and goes East into the mountains. The course had to be changed a couple of weeks before the race this year because of the excessive amounts of snow that was still on the course. However, the race did a great job of communicating the changes and having a new course map available. I was disappointed that I did not get to see Mosquito Pass, as that was the part of the course that was changed, but this gives me a reason to come back and run the race again.

I am far from an elite runner, but run a lot of races. However, with the altitude and elevation gain, this race was tough. According to my Strava data, the race was just at 15 miles and I gained 2,603 feet of elevation and we topped out just below 13,000 feet on the revised course.

I was initially worried about how I would do compared to the other runners, but once again I was pretty much middle of the pack, which is fine by me. It was an out-and-back course with the first 8 miles mostly going up with a few downhills. There were many of us run/walking the uphill portions and running the downhill the parts of the course. The last 7 miles were much easier going back downhill towards Leadville. There were two aid stations on the course that you visit twice for a total of four. It was well stocked with drinks, fuel, and water. I enjoyed a small cut of a PB Sandwich that gave me some much needed energy towards the end.

Overall, the race was so much fun with the great views. It was tough but a rewarding challenge. I took the course slow and ran by feel, and had no time goal other than enjoying the race and feeling healthy afterwards.

You finish back where you started in downtown Leadville. This race has a great finish line. After receiving your medal and coffee cup for finishing, they had chicken fajita tacos and two free beers from the local brewery. Since I stayed so close to the start/finish, I went and showered and changed clothes and then went back to the finish line to cheer on all the other finishers and enjoy the atmosphere, food, and drinks. After spending some time at the finish line, my wife and I went for dinner at a really cool place called the Treeline Kitchen. A lot of runners were there celebrating and they had great food and drinks.

I would highly recommend this race if you want a challenge or want some nice views from the top of Colorado.