Dear Leadville,
As I sit in my patio chair in the deck after a long day of riding bikes, working, running kids to hockey and picking up dog poop in the yard, I begin to reflect on my life and how it aligns to the Spirit of Leadville.
Oh my sweet Leadville, we have danced 12 successful times together. Each dance was a different song, but the heart and soul that we have put out there leaves us both yearning for more!
This year marks my 13th Leadville 100 MTB race. It’s going to be awesome! This one is different. Very different! Some people opt for a single speed….. well, I decided I should do this thing one-legged or as I term it, “Half Horse Power!”
You see, I lost my leg just over 2 years ago in a hunting accident where my dog shot me! You read that right, my dog shot me.
After shooting some geese, I sent Lulu (my black lab) out on a retrieve. When she charged out of the blind, Lulu stepped on my gun discharging it into my ankle that stood 2ft away. There wasn’t much left, and as I was raced to the hospital, I basically bled to death, but nope, it didn’t happen. Doctors in Greeley, CO pumped me with 11 units of blood and worked on saving me and what was left of my foot for 8hrs. I was then put in a coma to allow the team to rest and decide what my fate was the next day.
As they revived me, I was given a couple options. One involved lots of surgeries with little functionality, and the other was cut the sucker off and walk in two months! I went with option 2 and amputated.
Best decision of my life and biggest life changing moment I have ever experienced. The choice was clear, I was only going to have one leg, my soul changed forever, I quit worrying about the little shit that eats you up, and I knew in my heart that I would be a better version of myself. I launched what I call, “SammyBev2.0”.
I spent a week in the hospital. 2 days after amputation, I walked the entire hospital floor. Every staff member in that hospital was now family. Covid rules were excused so people could come see me! I was scared shitless, but also knew that life was freakin good!!
Anyways, I was sent home 2 days later. 2 weeks later I was doing CrossFit and competed in para-games as a 1-point of contact athlete (I didn’t have a prosthetic), I walked at 2.5 months, I rode a bike at 3 months, then at 6 months they found infection and bad sutures in my leg, so we amputated off another 1/2 - and hit repeat to the cycle above.
What a ride! What an experience to live through! What a love I have for people and this stupid thing we call racing! Love big and love hard!
How can this dude be so positive after being dealt a bad card? Well, I know we don’t know each other, but you know the race. As Ken Chlouber tells you, “You’re better than you think you are, You can do more than you think you can!” or “Don't avoid pain - embrace it and grow from it." A little twisted, but true. Embrace it! The mountain doesn’t care about you, it will chew you up and spit you out. You can train day and night, only to fail.
Leadville gives you a belt buckle. Cowboys and cowgirls ride this race for that plate, just the way I did growing up in rodeo and ranching in western Nebraska. It’s funny, my biggest buckle in all my years has been my 1000 mile Leadville buckle!
Anyways, the race is a lot like life. Those that grasp the concept of the challenge and can be brutally truthful with themselves in their preparation and desire, will walk away from Leadville 100 better than when they came in. My leg loss is no different. I fight everyday! I don’t win everyday, but I make the effort to show up.
If you have never done the race, train harder now. Every interval needs to be pushed to the second… why…. Well this guy finished at 9:01 his second year. Every second counts, so suck it up and look inside. When I sat in that hospital on morphine for a night, I watched every second on the clock to know when I got to relieve the pain…. It’s the same at Leadville and you have people there cheering you on. Go one more!
This race is a community. Some of my closest friends were created around the energy of Leadville. Kimo Seymour, Bahram, Kimberly Moritz, Ryan Krol, Ken, Julie, Trapper and so many more great friends - and who called me when I was injured? These people! They care! They know grit! They know the power of family! They were all there!
Leadville is waiting for me and it’s been hard taking a back seat trying to recover, but this year, I’m all in! Strava tells me 4,400ish miles all focused on Leadville. My magic number for Leadville sub-9 is 3,000 miles. Fun fact, remember the Leadville challenge during Covid to climb 100k ft? Yea, that was 87hrs. Pay attention to the details!
Anyways, I’m pumped up. I could talk about so many things and I want to share with you all my great stories, but I also want YOU to get focused on Leadville. Less than 2 months, so cut some pounds, ride your bike, write someone a card, and enjoy this moment in your life. I know I will and those are some of the exact things I am doing right now. Besides poop duty in the yard!
I will be there going for sub-9 Half Horse power! I can’t wait to see my Boundless Family do the same!!
Sammy Beveridge
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Good luck on your 13th Leadville 100 MTB Sammy! Thankful to have you on our Team!!
Instagram: @sammybev2.0
