Paul DeWitt of Colorado Springs ran through darkness, and hail and lightning on Hope Pass. 17:16:19 later he collapsed into the arms of his wife at the finish line of the Leadville Trail 100. In the end, Dewitt had repeated as champion, set a new course record, and turned back one of the best fields ever assembled at Leadville.
“I’m just ecstatic!” he said Saturday evening as he headed to the medical tent.”At 50 miles (covered in an astounding 8:09), I wasn’t sure I was going to finish at all.”
DeWitt, broke Chad Ricklefs’ course record by 7 minutes.
More than 400 runners started at 4 a.m. Saturday, but fewer than half the field finished.
The others either fell victim to nausea, cramps, blisters or other physical breakdowns, or weren’t going to reach the finish line within the 30-hour time limit.
In second was Scott Jurek of Seattle, who padded his lead in the Grand Slam of 100-mile races (Vermont, Western States, Leadville, Wasatch Front) with a time of 18:01. Jurek is the 5 time defending champion and course record holder of the Western States 100.
Legendary mountain runner Matt Carpenter was in the lead for the first 60 miles (running the first 50 in 7:49), but then he suffered cramps in his quadriceps. His last 40 miles were probably the most painful running he has ever done.
At the mile 87 aid station, in the darkness, he said, “Sometimes, you just have to finish what you started. If you reach all your goals, you don’t set them high enough.”
He picked up his daughter, Kyla, who had fallen, comforted her, ate a slice of pizza, waddled off on sore quads and said, “I’ve walked the last 20-some miles but I’m still here. Let’s go finish this thing.” He finished 14th in 22:43:38
Joe Kulak of Lakewood, the current record holder of the Grand Slam, finished 4th in 19:47:47.
Aron Ralston, the Aspen resident who captivated the nation last year by cutting off his arm to save himself from being pinned by a boulder in a remote Utah canyon, finished in a little more than 29:43, fast enough to be an official finisher.
“This was my first competitive race more than a 5K (3.1 miles),” Ralston said. He said he got sick eating an onion sandwich and was nauseated for dozens of miles. But he wouldn’t quit. His amputated arm wasn’t a problem because friendly volunteers peeled bananas for him at the aid stations.
Anthea Schmid, from Crested Butte, was the first woman to cross, finishing seventh overall in 20:50:05. She was presented with a huge bouquet of flowers at the finish by race director Merilee O’Neal, who hugged every finisher.
Her left leg was bloody. “I fell. I do it every single race,” Schmid said. “I have almost a nervous breakdown every race. But the trails are so beautiful. It’s a roller coaster. You feel terrible one moment, then you feel fine.”
Susan Brozik (23:30:43), of Albuquerque, was the second-place woman, followed by Darcy Piceu (23:44:11) of Boulder and Helen Cospolich (23:51:44) of Breckenridge.
For full results, click here.