Sorry for the delay - he made it!

Will recap the race later, but wanted to update with the final results - Alex and his whole crew crossed the finish line with a time of 29:42, making the 30-hr cutoff and deserving of a Leadville 100 finisher's buckle. Everyone is in good spirits and Alex is resting up after an amazing dig-deep finish. More to come...

This shirt says it all!

Midnight hour

Alex and Celeste made it through Twin Lakes for the 2nd time around, getting Hope Pass out of the way with a renewed sense of purpose alongside some singing thanks to Celeste. She reported some light wind and impending clouds, but the weather held and they rolled in around 7:45pm. Cat took over pacing duties and we are back at Fish Hatchery waiting for them to come through - it's a mild and beautiful night with a smattering of bright stars above, appropriate for the "Race Across the Sky." Looking for "our" bobbing headlamps to come ambling into the aid station amidst the faint sound of cow bells and encouraging voices...

Made it to the 50 mile mark @ Winfield

After a long bumpy car ride in on a rutted dirt road, we set up a comfy camp in the shade of the Winfield aid station, a perfect place to eat, nap, play Skip-Bo, and relax among the aspens with Hope Pass looming in the distance and surrounded by mountains. Alex came into the madhouse of arriving and departing crew cars - think stop-and-go rush hour, but on a mountainous backroad! - around 3:20, looking tired from the infamous Hope Pass climb and descent, but was in good spirits and broke into a huge grin when he saw his crew of angels ready to jump in where needed. After some refueling, a quad rubdown, a new shirt, and cold-weather gear and a headlamp, he took off to tackle Hope from the other direction, with Celeste by his side, full of encouragement and a shot of exuberant energy and tough love. The matching neon green pair disappeared into the aspens and will will pick up Cat as the second pacer at Twin Lakes. I brought the kids back to town so we can all rest up and I'll see him next at Mayqueen to run him into the finish at mile 87. I will try to update news from the crew remotely (it's hard to skip seeing Alex at aid stations!) if I can. Here's to a strong and steady second half of the race...

Twin Lakes check-in

Didn't have reception at Winfield, so this is a bit outdated, but here it is:

All is well @ Mile 40 and Alex is on his 25-hour predicted pace, coming through the Twin Lakes aid station in 7 hrs, 17 min. Grabbed cold-weather supplies and headed up towards Hope Pass. So far, weather is holding and the intensity of high altitude sun is upon us. off to Winfield to pass off Celeste to accompany Alex back over the pass.

4am start & he's off...

I was introduced to the guest blogger role for Mike H.'s Western States race a couple of months ago and happily volunteered to take on that role again for Alex over the next +/-25 hours, so please bear with me and I hope you enjoy following race progress throughout the day. ~Nora

The whole crew was up and going by 2:30am - hanging out in the kitchen with Alex, who sat down to a pre-race meal of oatmeal & blueberries, homemade banana bread and strong French press coffee, serenaded by Danielle Ate the Sandwich's melodious voice and surrounded by a surprisingly boisterous crew after only a few hours' sleep. It was confirmed that Micah never even went to bed at all! Alex was relaxed and well-rested (as much as you can be with 3 hours of sleep) as we all trooped the 2 blocks towards the starting line on 6th Street in the still and clear 37-degree morning. The buzz of excitement was palpable in the growing crowd of ~800 runners and their friends and families. After a few pictures, last-minute wardrobe changes, and hugs and well wishes, Alex disappeared in the sea of headlamps, hydration packs, compression socks, water bottles, brightly-colored running shoes, and GPS watches, and was off at 4am...

We (Maddie, Micah, Cat, Mindy & Celeste - aka "Alex's Angels") are back at the house resting up and will meet him next at the Fish Hatchery aid station at Mile 23.5. Stay tuned for updates along the way and keep Alex in your thoughts as he tackles the good ol' Leadville Trail 100 surrounded by all of his Angels.

Alex's Angels

Crew and pacers in Leadville and ready to go. Race starts at 4:00 am. I'm feeling great and looking forward to the fun, adventure, and challenges that lay ahead. Should be a good day and night on the trails. Check back for updates tomorrow.

Mountain Avenue Mile 2012

5:15 - fastest mile time since high school.