2000 Leadville Trail 100 - Run
August 19-20, 2000

Kim and Jan Bear were going to try to set a record for the first married couple to do both the 100 mile Bike and the Run Races set one week apart in Leadville, Colorado. Kim would be the second woman since 1994 to do both events. Five Team Santa Fe members went up to Leadville to help them accomplish this record. They were Larry Busby, Todd Kurth, Marianne Martinez, Eileen Pickett, and Slate Stern. Everyone was needed and worked hard over the 30-hour period.

There were 407 runners at the starting line at 4 am on August 19 and 175 (43%) would finish before the 10:00 am cut-off on August 20. The race began in the rain, then the day turned to relatively hot temperatures and then it would rain off and on throughout the race. These varying conditions took their toll.

The first 50 miles are run with the help of support crew. Kim and Jan had both decided to use the Leki Trekking Poles from the start. The other plan was stop at each transition area to use the Hydropel on their feet, change into a fresh pair of ThorLo socks and switch Montrail shoes as needed. Nutrition would again be mainly JogMate and Phil's bars along with some real food. They both opted to run with the CamelBak Blowfish and drink a 1/3 electrolyte to water mixture. This worked well as neither had stomach or hydration problems. Once the first 50 miles are run, then pacers can be used. Marianne took Kim up and over Hope Pass, with an elevation of 12,700 feet. Marianne had her Nite Rider to help. It was interesting to note that three of the runners that Kim and Jan had trained with in July now had their own set of Leki Trekking Poles. Marianne paced Kim to Twin Lakes, and at the transition area she changed into Alpine Lowe clothing as it was night. She left with Slate and Larry where they would practice Adventure Racing strategy, which included pushing, pulling and encouraging. The Princeton Tech Blast Light came in handy as it just clipped onto their hats and gave them enough light to maneuver the trails. They reached the next transition with 30 seconds to spare where they had to reach the next transition by 3 AM, which Marianne assisted with 10 minutes to spare.

Once there, Marianne decided to go with Slate and help Kim up under the powerlines to the other side of Sugarloaf. They would have to reach the last transition area by 6:30 AM. Meanwhile, Jan was doing great with plenty of time to spare. He was not going to go for "under 25 hours" so he and Todd were no longer under that pressure. Slate had paced Jan over Hope Pass and from there, Todd took over. Eileen paced Jan from HalfMoon to Fish Hatchery to give Todd a little break and then Todd was back at it. Todd used the tow rope method up under the Powerlines and got Jan to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain under 45 minutes. It takes about an hour to ride bikes in the bike race up that same trail. At MayQueen, they ran into the rest of the support team who felt Todd should go and help bring in Kim. Poor Todd had just done his least favorite section and now would have to repeat it. Eileen took Jan in the last 8 miles of the race and he finished at 27:51:18. Slate, Marianne and Kim ran into Todd on the "never ending" trail to MayQueen. Marianne who had only planned to do 12-15 miles was now at 27 miles and decided to let Todd take over. Slate and Todd now had their work cut out for them. With each of them at Kim's side, they powered her around the lake and up the "Boulevard". The support team waited close to the finish line and when she finally crossed it at 29:51:55, the TEAM knew it was because of them. The record was set, but not without Team Santa Fe.

Vail 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race
August 19, 2000

Carl Gable competed in the Vail 100 mountain bike ride, or as he would state, the 100 mile mud-fest. It rained long and hard the night before the race so some last minute course changes were made. Even with the change, the mud was slimy, greasy, squirrelly stuff. People were breaking chains right and left and everyone was covered with mud. This slowed the first half of the race but by noon things dried out and, if ones bike was still working, mud was no longer a factor. Carl's race went well until mile 60. At a very steep down hill, he did a major "endo" and broke off 4 inches of his handlebars on the left side. He also took some good hits to his body. The rest of the race was more of a limp along than a race. Some modification of the brake levers made it possible to grip the left side of the handlebars. Carl did endure and finished in 12 hours, 48 minutes; just 12 minutes short of the 13-hour cut off. That made for 246th place out of 428 entered. 167 of those entered were DNF. Carl's secret to success in the mud - a bottle of oil in his pocket - it saved his drive train!

Pikes Peak Ascent
August 20, 2000

Cindy Gagnon competed in the Pikes Peak Ascent on Saturday August 20. The ascent consists of a 13.32 mile run up Pikes Peak (a Colorado 14eer), with an elevation gain of greater than 7800 ft. Cindy completed the race in 3:36 minutes, placing her 8/95th in her age group. This was a personal record for Cindy.

Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000
August 21-August 31, 2000

Team Santa Fe member, Elise Harrington, completed on Team ENOSUS and finished 18th in the very challenging Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000 in Borneo. The journey to Semporna and back was a grueling 509 km race through ocean and jungle, across mountains and rivers. It took days of paddling, swimming, trekking, and slogging to get there. The winners finished in six days. For others, it took twice as long. 44 of the 76 teams that started the race finished. Congratulations Elise!