Well, I'll be heading up to Leadville shortly to help out a good friend, Ron Wright, get his tenth Leadville finish this weekend. I've known Ron for a good number of years, and have paced/crewed him there off and on the last 7 years. This year will be his third time at getting that elusive tenth finish. I feel confident, as does my other running buddy Vince Gerber (who also is on Ron's crew this year), that he will "get 'er done" this year. He's been training like a madman all year. The last few years his training suffered and consequently his attempts to finish came up short. But this year Ron is focused and determined to finish it this year. Barring any unforeseen calamity, I feel pretty good that he can get it this year.
As for the weekend's weather, well, so much for summer in the high country. A very potent system from Canada looks to rush south into our area by the end of today (Thursday) and bring with it a nice taste of Fall to the Rockies.
This last comment brings a chuckle, as it reminds me of the days long ago when I was a lowly 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force doing weather briefings at NORAD HQ in Colorado Springs. I was told by my bosses that we can't refer to systems coming down from Canada as "Canadian Lows" or "Cold Canadian Air". We had to refer to them as "Arctic systems" or "Arctic cold air" as to not offend the Canadian senior staff, who were many at NORAD. But since I don't work there anymore, I can call it what it is, "Cold Canadian air". Yeah baby! Reprimand me!
It is very likely that there may be snow falling up in Leadville for the start of the race (it starts at 4 AM Saturday). It won't be massive amounts, but it could very well be snowing. It won't be warm up there this weekend, and Ron says the cold doesn't bother him much more than crappy footing on trails. It looks to be a rainy/snowy mix on Saturday morning turning more rainy as the day wears on. It will be cold at night, dipping into the low-30's. If it clears out, it could get even colder. I'm glad I'm running it this year, as the cold really does a number on my breathing and would seriously impact a finish there for me (sorta like last year).
My pacing duties originally include me taking Ron from Mayqueen (mile 87) to the finish. Vince's plan is to take Ron from Winfield (50 miles) to Mayqueen. However, Vince's knee may play a factor in how much he might be able to pace. I may have to take Ron from Twin Lakes (mile 60) to Treeline or Fish Hatchery (mile 77), but it depends on how Ron's progress is and how Vince feels. Ron likes to have a pacer over the Fish Hatchery to Mayqueen segment, as that involves a rather nasty climb up to Sugarloaf Pass at 11K elevation that really takes it out on a lot of runners in the race as it is a big climb so late in the run. I also have Lean Horse the following weekend so I am not wanting to do a whole hell of a lot of running, but am willing to break up portions to get Ron motivated through his low spots in the race. I may have to forego Mayqueen and pick him up the last 5 miles at the Dam at Turquoise Lake. I can see me doing the Twin Lakes to Treeline segment if Ron is getting close to the tight cutoff at Halfmoon Aid (mile 69), then picking him back up at Fish Hatchery to Mayqueen and the last 5 miles. If Vince's knee is okay, then this is all a moot point. I would like to pace Ron on the Treeline to Fish Hatchery segment as this is all road and similar to what I'll be experiencing at Lean Horse the following weekend.
All in all, a pretty fluid schedule. I'm looking to have a ton of fun (it's always a blast crewing and pacing versus running the race anyway) and help a good friend in the process. Vince and I (and Ron's wife and crew) will do everything it takes to get Ron his number "10".
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