TransRockies Run: Stage 3 Recap – Leadville to Nova Guides

Stage 3 of the TransRockies Run brought our longest stage, a contrast to our shortest and steepest stage at Hope Pass the day before. We started the day in Leadville and ended at Nova Guides. Here’s how it all went down!

MORNING AT CAMP

I was up before dawn and made my way to Chillville for a breakfast of oatmeal and toast. There were volunteers that got up at 3:30a every morning to make coffee and prep an oatmeal/toast breakfast to be ready at 5a. How amazing they were! This was a service for early risers and runners participating in “Dawn Patrol” – a group that started the day’s stage about 1-1.5 hours early to help meet cut off times. Hot breakfast in the food tent was served a little later.

Check out all the oatmeal toppings that were offered!

The toast bar was also impressive and always had a selection of bread, English muffins and bagels with gluten-free options.

My go-to breakfast became oatmeal with a buttered English muffin. I slept in thermals and would put on my puffy jacket and a hat and head to breakfast wearing that. It was a cozy start to the day have coffee and breakfast by the fire.

After breakfast I got myself dressed and packed up my gear. After dropping my duffel with the luggage crew, we were ready for the 10 minute walk to the start.

STARTING LINE IN LEADVILLE

Stage 3 started in downtown Leadville. It was a chilly morning but things warmed up really quickly once the sun was fully out.

I went into Stage 3 feeling VERY nervous. It was an almost 25 mile day and our third day in a row of effort. I had felt pretty bad the day prior and was worried about the distance, how my body would feel throughout the day and meeting the nine-hour cut off. But once again, starting line vibes were so high and got me feeling excited about the day ahead.

STAGE 3 RECAP

They cued up Highway to Hell and we were off! This stage started with a few miles on the road out of Leadville and it was mostly downhill. I was pleased that I felt like running out of the gate (especially at 10,000 feet elevation!) and it was nice to get a few miles in at a good pace before hitting the trails and climbing.

A lot of participants didn’t care much for the road portions of TRR but this road runner welcomed them when they came!

After 2.5 miles on the road we found ourselves on a four-wheel drive road for our first climb. We climbed a little less than 1,000 feet to 10,900 and it was a steady grind. It wasn’t as steep as Hope Pass but still felt like hard work!

A reminder to turn around when you’re climbing and look behind you from time-to-time! It can be so easy to put your head down and power through but it’s so cool to see how far you’ve come and what’s around you.

We descended down some very runnable double track. I found someone to chat with for a few miles which made this section fly by. We made it to the first checkpoint of the day at seven miles.

I power hiked the seven miles between checkpoints one and two. We had another grindy slow climb where we gained a little over 800 feet onto Ski Cooper. This was the first day I chose to use my AirPods and listening to an audiobook was a fabulous way to relax and enjoy the miles. I would just put one AirPod in my right ear so that I could hear people coming on my left and chat if I wanted to.

Checkpoint two was at 14 miles in the ski area parking lot. I was ready for it!!! The aid stations gave you such a boost. Everyone was so positive and encouraging – and it was nice to get calories that weren’t gels or chews!

I had watermelon, peanut butter and jelly, ginger ale and packed salty snacks to go.

After the checkpoint, we crossed the highway at Tennessee Pass and go on the Continental Divide Trail.

This section of trail is super popular among TRR participants for being very scenic and runnable. We had a long rolling descent to Camp Hale, where we’d have our last checkpoint of the day. My anxiety about the day had subsided by this point. Body was feeling good and I knew I’d finish well within the nine-hour cutoff time.

From Wikipedia…

Camp Hale was a U.S. Army training facility in the western United States, constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. Located in central Colorado between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River Valley at an elevation of 9,238 feet (2,815 m), it was named for General Irving Hale. Onslow S. Rolfe, who had developed mountain warfare techniques as commander of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, was selected to command Camp Hale.^[2]

Soldiers were trained in mountain climbing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, cold-weather survival, and various weapons and ordnance. When it was in full operation, approximately 15,000 soldiers were housed there.

TransRockies had course supporters at various points along the course to cheer you on (or give you a shot of fireball haha). They were always dressed up, dancing and ready to give hugs and take selfies.

I hit one last aid station at 21 miles and then had a long trek down a gravel road for 3.5 miles to the finish. At this point in the day, I didn’t want to run anymore but I also had a great attitude and felt determined to finish. I put my AirPods in both ears and blasted music for the last push to the finish.

I was solo for most of it because we were all so spread out on the course by this point but I really liked it that way. I spent a lot of time thinking about and talking to my brother during these miles, as well as singing and dancing.

FINISH LINE AT NOVA GUIDES

And then I was done! In under seven hours!!!!!

It was great to have a strong day after struggling a bit with the climb and altitude on Stage 2. It gave me a lot of confidence for the final three stages to come – and I couldn’t believe I was halfway done!

CAMP AT NOVA GUIDES

Camp for the next two nights was at Nova Guides and it was so serene and beautiful. Nova Guides is located in Red Cliff, CO near Vail and offers ATV rentals, jeep rentals, snowmobile tours and much, much more. They have cabins on site and a small restaurant. They also accommodate big groups like ours for weddings, family reunions, etc.

I wandered around camp for the afternoon and found my friend Will having lunch with some people (who would end up becoming good friends with our little group!). One of the girls didn’t want her fries (!!!?????) so I happily took care of those.

Nova Guides was the most peaceful and relaxing camp of the trip.

The afternoon entertainment was the “Beer Mile” which is a TransRockies tradition. People bring costumes just to participate in this event (there was also NA beer and seltzer water). It was fun to watch.

I paid a visit to the shower trucks. It was so nice to get a hot shower every day. I quickly discovered that if you waited a little later (dinnertime or after) there was no line. Everyone rushed to shower after each stage (I totally get wanting to feel cleaned up – such a good reset) but I embraced being a little gross for a few hours so that I could take my time with my shower.

We had dinner and our meeting to review the next day’s course.

The food always looked a little better than it actually tasted but overall I would say they did a very solid job of feeding 750 people over the course of five days and various camps. I was never hungry and there was always snacks and food available in Chillville as well.

I went to do my leg compression in the Elevated Legs truck and not only got to do 30 minutes of therapy but also got to hang with the cutest Frenchie. He belonged to the guy who was there offering Elevated Legs and became quite the TRR mascot.

There were some issues with the tents so Elizabeth and I got solo tents for Nova Guides and it was nice to have a cozy and quiet space. I strung some lights up since we were staying for two nights. I put my ear plugs in, read my Kindle and fell asleep!

STAGE STATS

Final stats for the day:

• 24.66 miles
• 6:46:42
• 2,677 feet of climb
• Run time: 1:50:50
• Walk time: 4:31:24
• Idle time: 24:28
• Max elevation: 10,932 feet
• Minimun elevation: 9,211 feet

Three recaps down, three to go! Thanks for following along!