The Leadville Trail 10K race – the highest 10K race in the nation.  When I saw this advertised while visiting Leadville, I was intrigued. Then yesterday afternoon, I could no longer resist the thought, I signed up to do the race today.

After my tempo run yesterday, I knew the race was going to be extremely tough, but how could I resist participating in such a cool event. Well I can tell you, it was a great decision.

The Leadville Trail 10K is part of a series of events that take place in Leadville, Colorado, each year. The series culminates in the famous Leadville Trail 100 Run, a 100 mile ultramarathon in the Rocky Mountains.  That race is next weekend.  This weekend, the town hosted a 100 mile mountain bike race yesterday and the Trail 10K today.

The course is actually the first and last 3.1 miles of the 100 mile race. It started in the middle of town, followed a nice road downhill, and then went onto a gravel road.  It was all downhill for the first half of the race, before we turned around and retraced our route back into town.  That’s right… uphill for 3.1 miles, all at 10,000 feet elevation.  

Knowing the elevation and the altitude, my goal was to finish the race in under an hour.  I was able to do this, finishing in just over 55 minutes.  

The whole event was superb.  Great atmosphere and high quality race give aways; I love the medal.  Post race food was simple but good and it seemed like the whole town fully embraced the race.  I would highly recommend doing this race; just be prepared for your lungs to explode as they fight for oxygen while you run.