When I turned 40 I wrote down a few goals for the next decade. One of the crazier goals was a big belt buckle (under 9 hours) at Leadville.

Crazy because I had (at that time) very little mountain bike experience and no experience racing at altitude. Needless to say, I had a lot to learn.

The first year I did Leadville in 2019 my time was 10:18:42 and I was 13th in my AG. Respectable but pretty far off that big buckle. Then a pandemic happened...

I raced Leadville again last year putting pretty much everything I had into the training. The result was a big improvement but still not enough: 9:05:29 and 6th in my AG. I was thrilled in many senses but also disappointed because I wasn’t sure what more I could do to improve. And, I was only getting older.

I am so lucky to be surrounded by great people though and many encouraged me that age wasn’t the factor that would hold me back. So in 2024 I threw my hat into the ring again.

At the start of the year I started working with Boundless Coach Jeff Winkler. Speaking of surrounding yourself with good people! I had found an incredibly knowledgeable coach with a ton of Leadville experience & expertise. We went about the process of finding me another 5+ minutes.

I enjoyed the process. I always have. And I felt very well prepared, both by Jeff & by Boundless Coaching as they provided tons of support re: fueling, psychology, & racing at altitude.

As prepared as you are though, you still have to go do the thing on race day. And boy was that thing hard.

In training I envisioned coming down that final stretch into town with an 8:xx still on my Garmin. I got through many a 4:xx AM ride that way. And it felt better than I ever had imagined it. The result: 8:50:31 & 1st in my AG.

I have so many people to thank but most of all, to John Peterson: your support means the world to me. This was a very long way of saying, don’t let age deter you from pursuing a goal. Surround yourself with good people. And then put your head down and work hard. Very good things will happen, even if it takes years.