Leadville 100 run and bike races forced to chart new courses to avoid wildfire
For the first time ever, the iconic Leadville 100 races that push endurance runners and mountain bikers to lung-searing heights will follow new courses next month.
As the Willow fire consumes mountain forest west of Leadville, LifeTime race organizers are scrambling to come up with new routes that will skirt the fire zone, marking the first time the races will not run on the peaks west of Leadville.
Working with local firefighters and local leaders, the organizers last week decided they can safely host the high-altitude endurance races that started in 1983 as an economic spark for a community left gasping with the closure of the local mine.
Lake County Sheriff Heath Speckman sees similarities between 1983 and his community’s struggle this summer. Back then, the shutdown of the Climax Molybdenum Mine left more than 3,200 local miners without work, suddenly ranking the 5,000-resident Leadville as the top city in the nation for unemployment. That was the year that Ken Chlouber and Merilee Maupin launched the Leadville Trail 100 Run as a way to float the local economy.
Today, the running race and the 100-mile mountain bike race draw some of the world’s top long-haul athletes from every state and three dozen countries. The Willow fire has savaged peak-season visitation for Lake County and threatened the foundational events that anchor the summer season and draw athletes from all corners.
“This is not just a big deal for the people of Leadville and Colorado, but it has aspirations for a lot of people around the globe,” Speckman said. “This resembles the race when it started in the 1980s when the mine shut down. We worked hard to bring it back. Safety, of course, is our number one priority but a close second is the livelihood of our community and our businesses.”
In early July, as the Willow fire grew six miles west of Leadville, Life Time race organizers cancelled the Silver Rush 50 MTB, striking a blow to Leadville in its busiest month. Tourism traffic and spending in Leadville is down more than 30% in July.
Race organizers worked with the Forest Service, the fire incident management team, the sheriff and local leaders to find a way to keep the Leadville 100 races on schedule for August. The Leadville Trail 100 Run hosts as many as 800 runners while the 100-mile mountain bike race can see as many as 2,000 cyclists.
A 2012 study by Colorado Mountain College estimated the Leadville 100 race series — including stage races and training camps as well as the high-profile 100-mile endurance contests — delivered more than $15 million a year to the community of 2,600 residents. And perhaps more importantly, 60% of the racers told the college’s survey takers that they returned to Lake County for a holiday after the race, with some even buying homes.
Tamira Jenlink, the race director for the Life Time Leadville Race Series, said that all the race partners — from federal and local government officials to local business owners — started collaborating on a new plan for the 100-mile races “with the economy of Lake County at the forefront of their mind, with, of course, safety as a top priority.”
“We had a tough winter and definitely having to cancel Silver Rush was impactful and to be able to get back out there and move as quickly as we can was very important,” she said.
With containment lines growing and consistent rain falling in the last week, Jenlink is working with the Forest Service, local community and private landowners to hammer out a new course. With so much changing, it’s hard to offer a concrete plan for the Aug. 15 mountain bike race and Aug. 22 running race. That is challenging for athletes who tend to meticulously plan their day based on specific terrain.
The fire has burned near the Powerline section of the Leadville 100 course, a steep pitch that delivers thrilling downhills for the pedalers and runners at mile 20, shortly after the first major climb called St. Kevin. On the way back, Powerline is a brutal climb around mile 80, marking the last serious uphill of the races.
The 100-mile running and mountain bike courses will not traverse burn zones, even if the fire is fully contained.
Jenlink said everyone is “really appreciative and really understanding” of the challenges involved in rerouting the race in a few weeks.
“As we look at a number of different options for the 100s, it’s a moving target,” said Jenlink, praising her team and community for the unified scramble to safely host thousands of athletes a few miles from a fire. “Nobody is going to forget this epic fire year, that’s for sure.”