The Leadville 100 MTB is as much an eating contest as it is a race. But did you know the eating contest starts before the race itself?

Carbohydrate loading is one of the most effective ways to improve performance in long endurance events like Leadville. Carb loading increases your muscle glycogen stores, providing more available energy, delaying fatigue, and helping prevent the dreaded bonk.

Many athletes think carb loading simply means eating a huge pasta dinner the night before the race. In reality, it starts 2–3 days before race day. If you've never carb loaded before, keep it simple by increasing the carbohydrate portions of the meals and snacks you already eat by about 50% for a few days leading into the event.

If you're more experienced with carb loading, here is a general guide for moderate carb loading. Remember to adjust these recommendations based on your body weight, training load, and usual carbohydrate intake. Everyone is different!

Simple Carbohydrate Loading Guide

Focus on high carbs, low fat (be careful, a lot of tasty carbs are actually primarily fat such as chips, pastries, cookies etc.) low fiber, familiar foods

The race day mantra: It’s what we pull from in our lowest low. It’s what helps us remember to keep going and why we signed up for this. It’s incredibly powerful to remember our “why” when we’re on the verge of quitting. In fact, when our heads aren’t “all there” in the middle of a long day (or night) a mantra can keep us leveled.

As an ultrarunning coach, I’ve noticed that each of my athletes gravitates towards different types of mantras. Some prefer a deeply emotional mantra, some prefer thinking of their loved ones to keep them going, and some simply prefer “one foot in front of the other.”

It’s race season for a lot of athletes right now, and many of our Boundless athletes are getting ready for the Leadville 100 races. While your race may be approaching, it’s okay to not have a mantra prepared, too. I’m training for my seventh 100-mile race, and at this point, I don’t always have a big “why.” That’s why I’ve put together a little list of some mantras that should always work, or at least help a bit if you need something to pull from in your “low”.

1. “What Story Am I Writing Today? Will I Be Proud of My Story Tomorrow?”

“Just three minutes until you reach your crew. You got this. Two more minutes. Look! You can see the crew vehicles lining the road up ahead. Just keep moving forward. Final minute. Breathe. Relax. Great job. You’re almost there.”

These are just a few of the encouraging words I say to myself during the final minutes of a sauna session.

Obviously, sitting there in a 190 degree Finnish-style dry sauna, there is no crew vehicle just ahead. But I’m struggling to get through my second set in the sweltering heat and I need to practice my self-talk. Envisioning my upcoming race in this way gets me out of my head. And I need to practice because the mental test I’m signed up for is the “World’s Toughest Footrace”: the fabled Badwater 135.

There exists a wealth of solidly researched and well-written articles on the subject of heat training for endurance events. Jason Koop’s article on the 90% finisher rate among Badwater 135 participants is excellent and presents compelling data on optimizing heat adaptations. The National Library of Medicine has a very well-researched and extensive study for those who enjoy digging into the science

You already know the situation: the Willow Fire has burned thousands of acres west of Leadville, and while the Leadville race series has announced the go ahead for the remainder of the season, race organizers have been clear that a reroute is in the works and details are still being finalized. And as of this writing (9:45am on Monday July 20), we still don’t know course details, including the route for the Stage race set to start later this week.

I know how much of your season has been built around this one day. The alarm clock before dawn, the back-to-back long training sessions, the indoor miles when you'd rather be anywhere else, all of it aimed at a specific course you've studied, ridden, and rehearsed in your mind a hundred times. So if the idea of a reroute has you frustrated, or even a little grief-stricken, that's a completely normal response. It would be strange if it didn't sting.

But here's the thing about training for months on end: it's rarely just the body we're training. The athletes who show up strongest on race day, especially in a year like this one, are the ones who've also trained their capacity to pivot. That's not a consolation prize. It's arguably the skill that separates a good performance from a great one, particularly on a day when conditions refuse to cooperate with the plan.

In the U.S. military, as in many other warfighting cultures, there is a particular regard for those who came before us. Their knowledge can keep you alive, and you show them a certain level of respect in the hope that they might share some of it with you.

The Spartans placed their elders in the Gerousia. The Romans followed the mos maiorum, the way of the ancestors. The Lakota call wisdom and understanding Wóksape.

SEALs sometimes refer to it as the “wisdom of the bullfrog.”

This year, I am coaching a Navy veteran I’ll call Mike, which is not his real name...

Mike is older than I am. I have not asked him much about his years of service, and he has never asked me much about mine. The first time we spoke was in the spring of 2025.

“I want to do Leadville,” he told me. “In 2026. Fifteen months from now.”

At the beginning of this year, Mike put in some hard hours. Intervals. Long days. He invested himself personally and financially in the goal. By April, he was struggling to find enough time to train. Austin was getting hot. He changed jobs, traveled frequently for work, and went overseas several times.

Ultrarunning places enormous demands on the body. From long training blocks to race-day fueling, nutrition plays a critical role in performance, recovery, and overall health. Yet despite its importance, many ultrarunners still struggle with fueling strategies, hydration, and gastrointestinal (GI) distress during races.

The good news? Nutrition is one of the most trainable aspects of endurance performance. Dialing in your fueling strategy can often lead to some of the biggest and most immediate performance gains.

Why Nutrition Matters in Ultrarunning

Most ultrarunners will experience GI distress at some point during training or racing, and many report that these symptoms negatively impact their performance. GI issues and failure to fuel properly are among the leading causes of DNFs.

At the same time, ultramarathon training is extremely demanding on the body.

High training loads can:

• Increase stress hormones

• Disrupt sleep

• Suppress immune function

• Impact nervous system recovery

• Increase overall fatigue

Proper nutrition helps mitigate these stressors while supporting training adaptations, performance, and recovery.

The adventure you’ll find at Unbound XL isn’t something you stumble across on the gravel circuit every weekend. This is different. This is the kind of race that cracks the door open to multi-day, soul-testing rides around the world- the kind that scratch that deep, restless itch for adventure on two wheels.

The XL is a 350+ mile journey through the relentless, rolling hills of Kansas- a race that will tear you down, break you apart, and rebuild you into something stronger. Riders roll out of Emporia first, chasing the horizon, and return the next day looking like they’ve battled every mud puddle, cow pie, and pothole the Flint Hills can throw at them.

This isn’t just nearly double the distance of the 200-mile race. This is a different beast entirely. It’s about preparation and trust. Knowing your gear, your bike, and yourself when things get hard- because they will. It’s about stepping into the unknown and being ready for whatever the course, and the night, throws your way.

Out there, it’s just you, gas stations, and the unspoken bond between riders grinding through the same miles. No aid stations. No cheering crowds. No mechanics waiting in the wings. If something goes wrong, you fix it. If you’re struggling, you dig deeper.

Your bike computer is only as useful as the data you choose to show on it. The options and customization on modern head units are great but setting them up can be overwhelming. Too many fields and you're squinting at a spreadsheet while trying to hold a wheel. Too few and you're riding blind. The four screens on my Hammerhead Karoo represent years of adapting and updating, and this is where I have settled. Each field earns its place, and none of it is there by accident (ok maybe I have a couple odd ones). Let's walk through them.

What a 15-Hour Finish Taught Me About Pacing, Fueling, and Letting Go of Fear

The Race, The Goal, The Reality

I went into the Desert Rats 100K with one goal: finish under 18 hours. What I didn't plan on was finishing in 15. On paper, that sounds like a success story. And it is. But as with every race, and every athlete I coach, the real education happened in the miles where things didn't go according to plan.

The Desert Rats 100K is held every April in Fruita, Colorado, a high desert landscape of slickrock buttes, rolling singletrack, and canyon rim trails overlooking the Colorado River. The course covers 62 miles with roughly 6,200 feet of elevation gain - not a mountain race by any stretch, but a deceivingly demanding one. The terrain is technical in places, punishing in others, and relentlessly runnable in a way that tempts you to go out too fast. I speak from experience.

This article is my honest breakdown, not a highlight reel. I'm sharing it as a coach and as an athlete, because I think the most useful thing I can offer other runners and coaches isn't a perfect race report. It's a real one.

The Leadville Trail 100 Run is a legendary race that demands respect – not just for its distance and altitude, but for its incredibly varied and punishing terrain.

I’ve run the Leadville Trail 100 on five occasions over the past fourteen years. I’ve paced, crewed, or coached athletes for the race nearly every year since my first finish in 2012. Every finish has been its own immense challenge. And every Leadville 100 finish is an accomplishment of which I am immensely proud.

Picking the right shoe is one of the most critical decisions you'll make. You need stability, protection, and performance over 100 grueling miles of Colorado mountains.

The Leadville Landscape: What You Need to Know

The course throws everything at you, often within a single stretch. You'll encounter:

• Smooth Dirt Roads (Crucial for Speed): The initial and final miles, plus long stretches of low-grade climbs, are on packed dirt. Here, you need a shoe that feels fast and efficient, minimizing energy loss.

• Rocky, Technical Singletrack: Sections like Hope Pass and Powerline are steep, rugged, and littered with sharp, unpredictable rocks. Protection underfoot and aggressive traction are non-negotiable.

  more

This article, written by Boundless Coach Colleen Miracle, was originally published in May 2025 by UltraSignUp News.

As ultras continue to increase in popularity, especially multi-day ultras, runners are spending more time in the sun during the hours where ultraviolet (UV) rays are most dangerous. Not just on race day, but in the many hours spent training. Without proper skin protection, this population is significantly more at-risk for damage than others.

UV rays damage exposed, unprotected skin. Damage not only increases risk for skin cancer and ages the skin faster, but your body starts working harder to heal it within a couple hours of getting damage. Additionally, if you’re running during the day for many hours with no sun protection, your skin will be constantly working to cool down the skin’s surface, taking energy from the body.

This article, written by Boundless Coach Colleen Miracle, was originally published to Outside RUN in April 2024.

Ultrarunning is a way of life, and perhaps a bit more of an expensive one than its granola-crunching vibe might lead one to think. Here’s a breakdown of why this fast-growing sport can cost thousands of dollars per race, and how you can cut costs without cutting corners.

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Race entry fee: $350. Cost of two pairs of trail running trainers: $320. OK, now to just calculate flights and a hotel. Do I need to rent a car, too? How will I get transportation to the race? Oh shoot, I forgot about paying for a dog sitter. Is my grocery bill usually this high?

Those are some of the thoughts that ran through my head when I calculated the cost of running my first 100-mile trail race. After completing more than 16 ultras, I’ve discovered the costs of these ultra-long-distance races extends far beyond just the race entry fee. Extra groceries to meet caloric needs, physical therapy, gas driving to trailheads…the list adds up quickly.

If this is your first Leadville 100, hitting the 100-day mark can feel like a mix of excitement and low-grade panic. That’s normal. I’ve been through this race nine times and was fortunate enough to win it twice, but I’ve also spent close to 20 years coaching athletes to success at Leadville — and what matters most right now is getting specific.

Long runs need a purpose now

This is the point where long runs stop being about just going long. They should start to look and feel like the race.

A good benchmark: aim for around 150 feet of gain per mile on your longer efforts when you can. Not every run has to hit that, but your training should regularly include real climbing and descending. Leadville is steady, rolling, and sneaky hard — not flat, not overly technical, but it adds up.

Use these runs to practice how you’ll actually move on race day. Hike the climbs with intent. Don’t rush the flats. Stay controlled on the descents. You’re not trying to prove fitness — you’re building efficiency.

If you finish a long run wrecked every time, you’re probably missing the point.

Most people come to cycling through an event. A friend talks them into it, they find a race that looks doable, or they set their sights on something bigger – Leadville, Unbound, a century they've been sitting on for years. The event becomes the goal, they survive it, and then they quietly stop riding.

That cycle is more common than people admit. And it's one of the least efficient ways to build a life around sport.

The athletes who improve every year aren't the ones who train hardest in the weeks before a race. They're the ones who stopped thinking of races as the destination and started thinking of athletic development as the lifestyle. The race is just proof of work.

For most people, figuring out how to balance that with the rest of their lives - a job, a family, real responsibilities – is the hard part. That's exactly where having a coach helps. Not just to write intervals, but to help you understand when to push, when to back off, and how to build something sustainable over time. That's what lets ordinary people do extraordinary things.

The label "athlete" doesn't need to be reserved for the elite. If you're pursuing athletic goals, you're an athlete. And if you do it consistently, year after year, even just a little, you'll be genuinely surprised at the person you become.

First, this is an incredible event from start to finish. The community here is amazingly supportive and encouraging of the riders, and the athletes here are supportive of one another, regardless of distance. This year's event had representation from all 50 states and 47 countries, so it certainly does appear to live up to the hype as the "Super Bowl of Gravel." Many of you have already mentioned looking forward to next year's events. For you gravel enthusiasts, I would put this at the top of the list.

I didn't know what to expect heading into this one. Other than back-to-back long days riding the Kokopelli trail in April, my longest training rides were in the 2.5 - 3 hour range. So I went in leaning on historical fitness and hoping I'd find some groups to ride with. I had no idea what to expect for a time goal given the nuances of Unbound, so I wasn't really focused on anything specific. My main race day goals were to find groups to ride with, stay on top of nutrition, enjoy the experience, and see how it played out.

The first 20 miles of this were proper hot. We lined up near the front and took off in a group of around 200 people, with an average pace of 22mph through 20 miles and 20mph through 38 miles. A pack this big is always dangerous, and we had to focus on communicating effectively and holding lines. Unfortunately, there was a whole mess of crashes in the first 15 miles, and a lot of carnage in general for the first 90 minutes or so.