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6 locals finish Leadville Trail 100 race

Luke Graham

— Tammy Jacques started the beginning of the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race Saturday unsure whether she would make it through the first 15 miles.

She’d spent the previous night taking care of a sick child, woke up to a pounding headache and couldn’t consume any liquids or foods.

A mere 8 hours, 2 minutes and 25 seconds later, Jacques was the fifth overall female finisher, turning in the seventh-fastest female time ever in the iconic 100-mile race.



“I survived Leadville,” Jacques said Tuesday. “Considering I wasn’t feeling well, I realized I can do this, and it’s really fun. It changed my whole perspective on endurance races.”

Jacques was one of six Steamboat riders to finish the event dubbed the “Race Across the Sky.”



Jeremy MacGray finished in 9:18:37, Robin Craigen in 9:34:28, Dan Smilkstein in 10:05:25, J. Brian Heit in 10:11:23 and Rose Alford in 11:21:06.

It was the largest field in the history of the event, with 2,000 riders registered. Sixty-three percent of them made the 13-hour cutoff time and finished.

The number of riders created a massive bottleneck at the beginning of the race, and a fair share of chaos.

Consider Smilkstein’s ride. The veteran rider who had raced Leadville eight times prior, started near the back of the pack. When he came in as the 512th finisher, Smilkstein had passed more than 1,000 riders.

“Now I have to go back,” Smilkstein said about trying for his 10th finish next year, which would mark 1,000 miles. “During the event I didn’t care which one it was, I said I’m not going back. But then you finish. I’m sure I’ll go back and do my 10th.”

The massive numbers at the start did little to hinder Jacques, who was in the front corral and lined up in the third row.

From there, it was a five-mile race on the pavement to get to the dirt. Jacques said she started to feel better after the two-hour mark and was able to hook onto the tires of some of the top men, making the ride much faster.

“It was a very exhilarating experience,” she said. “There are so many emotions you go through during an eight-hour ride. I definitely want to go back next year.”

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com


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