May 5, 2024
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☰
Leadville Trail Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Leadville Trail Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.9 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 29 [displaying comments 21 to 29]
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L. D. from Los Alamos, NM, USA
(7/5/2005)
 "Epic adventure above 10,000 feet" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Leadville Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 In my meager marathon experience, I think the Leadville race was incredible. As a social event or personal challenge, I can think of few single-day races that could possibly compare. The course was brutal and breathtaking. Perhaps most impressive was the attitude of both the volunteers and the participants. Nearing the turnaround, I was amazed by how many of the fastest racers were willing to sacrifice their breaths to cheer the other racers on. We were very impressed by Leadville, too. The mountain biking alone is worth the trip. Best of all, the pretense that infects many of the spectacular cities in Colorado doesn't seem to exist in Leadville. We really enjoyed our stay there. | |
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D. C. from Provo, UT
(7/4/2005)
 "Fantastic trail marathon" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Leadville Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The Leadville Trail Marathon is a very challenging course. Due to the rugged terrain and high altitude it takes about one and a half times as long as a low altitude road marathon. That's okay with me because I love running on trails. The scenery is wonderful and makes the effort very worth your while to run this marathon. Although there wasn't a cloud in the sky at 8:00 am, it was overcast and windy by the time many of us reached Mosquito Pass. I suggest carrying appropriate gear to deal with cold or rain as the weather can change quickly in those mountains. The day after the marathon, my family and I went horseback riding which we arranged through a sporting good store located very close to where the Leadville 100 has its race pickup. That was fun too! If you like camping and hiking, the Leadville area is great. | |
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Thad Smith from Boulder, CO USA
(7/3/2005)
"Beautiful but tough Trail Marathon" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my first trail marathon. The wild flowers and vistas were beautiful. Since I am a better downhiller, I enjoyed the steep downhills, mostly on the return. It was well marked and had good aid stations. Course was mostly gravel roads (many rough spots) with a few miles single track. Windy at the top! | |
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C. M. from Pensacola, Florida
(7/18/2004)
"Top-notch" (about: 2004)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Leadville Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 For a Floridian living on the Gulf, the elevation alone was quite a challenge for me. (I even had altitude sickness the night before.) This was my first actual trail marathon or should I say hike, and yes it was tough; steep and rocky, but I would do it again! I always carry a camera during my marathons and just looking through my photos makes me want to sign up for next year. The views were spectacular and believe me, I had plenty of time to look around as I caught my breath! Although this marathon will surely be my slowest, I missed winning a trophy by one place... they gave a trophy called 'last ass through the pass' to the last finisher. I was second to last. During the awards ceremony, the names of all the finishers were called starting with the last person. Just to finish this one no matter your time was an accomplishment. As has been said the aid stations were the best and volunteers always cheerful. Thanks to all of them who stayed out there for us slowpokes! | |
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J. P. from Magnolia Texas
(7/6/2004)
"Beautiful course and challenging" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Leadville Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 This was my fourth marathon and first off road. I came in from out of town with only one and a half days to feel the lack of air, coming from Houston. The course is very rocky with lots of loose rocks pretty much the entire course with steep climbs. Snow is still present on some of the course and very windy. It was the most challenging thing I have ever done and was such a huge accomplishment to finish. | |
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s. c. from lawrence, ks
(7/5/2004)
 "No PR's to be set at this one" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Leadville Trail Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Excellent all around marathon. Unless this is the only marathon you run, forget about doing this one quickly. Most of the uphill portions are so steep that you will walk about a third of the distance (8 plus miles). The aid stations were so well stocked that I was tempted to return to the course upon my finish. A great social race as well, as I spoke with many of my fellow runners. The finisher medal is unique and top-notch too. Be prepared for steep descents or you'll be very sore. No need to carry a water bottle as the temp and humidity generally are such that you won't sweat too much, just drink up at the aid station. | |
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Pamela Penfield from Denver, Colorado
(7/4/2004)
"Beautiful scenery; great views" (about: 2004)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Leadville Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 This had to be the toughest marathon I have ever done, and I have run the Pikes Peak Marathon 11 times. I think it was so hard because on the way down we keep going up and down. Eek!! It was very pretty though and the aid stations were the best. | |
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A Runner from Florida
(12/23/2002)
 "The Old Course Was More Exciting" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I ran Leadville in 1999 on the old course. Spectacular scenery. The race has since been re-invented and changed to an out-and-back course. The old course was more challenging as you got to climb Mosquito Pass twice. I understand that the course re-route also unfortunately avoids the fixed rope descent over a near vertical snowfield at the 15 mile mark. That was a highlight! I'm guessing the new course probably improved average times by at least an hour. Hopefully the new RD has things better organized than what used to be. I never did see any results from the 1999 race. No spectators, but what do you expect from a trail run? Leadville is a neat area to explore! | |
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A Runner from Atlanta
(9/4/2002)
"Difficult Marathon but worth the effort" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Very well run marathon. Aid stations were excellent. Very challenging high-altitude race. Lots of rubble. |
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