4 time Leadville finisher wrote:
18 minute miles look slow on paper. But even walking 100 miles at sea level in 30 hours is not easy.
Agreed. I was living at 6000' in Colorado Springs when I did the Ascent and had run a recent 2:59 marathon. On the way to No-Name, my pace dropped to around 20:00/mile. I've never done Leadville (or any ultra for that matter) so I can only imagine what running an entire 100 miles at 9000+ feet and having to climb Hope Pass to 12,000+. Doing Pikes Peak is NOTHING compared to Leadville.