Grueling climbs, mountain passes and — aliens? Summit County resident recounts Leadville Trail 100 debut.

News News | Aug 23, 2023

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include results for Silverthorne resident Stacey Nathan.

It is no secret that the Leadville Trail 100 is one of the hardest and most challenging ultramarathons in the Mountain West region and the United States.

Competitors not only have to climb through the rugged trails and mountain roads that surround the town of Leadville, but competitors also must complete the entire 100-mile course in under 30 hours, all while being perched above 10,000 feet of elevation.

With around half of the race field failing to get to the finish line every year, the Leadville Trail 100 is a race ultramarathoners usually wait to complete until they are seasoned veterans.

Despite the lore and stories surrounding the long race, Dillon resident Jacob Skraba, 25, chose to enter this year’s Leadville Trail 100 without ever racing more than 32 miles and having only ever completed one 50-kilometer race.

“This was my first Leadville and first 100,” Skraba said. “I have actually only raced one previous 50K a couple years ago as my only other ultra.”

Although Skraba may lack experience in races over 50 miles, he tailored his training to the trails and elevation gain he would experience before running the grueling course from Saturday, Aug. 19, to Sunday, Aug. 20.

Logging most of his miles in the Summit County area, Skraba said he focused on high-volume weeks while incorporating big climbs up local mountains, including Buffalo Mountain and Ptarmigan Peak.

“I ran some loops around Buffalo Mountain — some longer sustained climbs,” Skraba said. “The week before the race I did Ptarmigan Peak. That was sort of to recreate the Hope Pass climb in the steepness, length and elevation gain — trying to do some longer days out on the course itself to get myself more familiar with the course.”

These large training runs, which also included practicing proper hydration and nutrition, ultimately set Skraba up with the confidence he needed to perform well in his 100-mile debut. He said he knew a special day was within reach if the race went according to plan.

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“I definitely did a lot of training, a lot of long days, and I was pretty confident going in that there was an opportunity for a really good day if things went well,” Skraba said.

With darkness still clinging to the historic streets of downtown Leadville, Skraba began the 40th Leadville Trail 100 at 4 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19. Following in the conga line of bobbing headlamps, Skraba began to navigate the challenging course with confidence in his training and preparation.

Skraba passed the 12.6-mile mark in 22nd place before moving up to ninth place at the 23.5 mile mark. After passing through 24 miles, Skraba floated between 10th and 17th place before beginning the lung-burning and quad-crushing first climb of Hope Pass, which takes outbound runners up 3,200 feet of elevation gain in 4 miles. Inbound runners then gain 2,400 feet in about 2.5 miles.

It was during the two grueling climbs up Hope Pass that Skraba said that he was challenged the most.

“Going over it the first time, I felt terrible,” Skraba said. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish, but I managed to get to the halfway point and the aid station, and the volunteers there were great. I just worked with some of the other runners that were around me, chatting, telling some jokes to get back over Hope the second time.”

With support from his crew, course volunteers, fellow competitors and spectators, Skraba not only managed to conquer both climbs, but he also jumped from 17th to 13th place 62.5 miles into the course.

Skraba continued to bounce around the top 15 over the next few checkpoints before he said he got another wave of energy while traversing the Powerline climb around the 80-mile mark.

“It was getting dark, and I was hiking with my pacer,” Skraba said. “There is this unofficial aid station at the top called ‘Space Camp.’ I didn’t know it was going to be there, and it was incredible. We were joking about all the glow sticks, disco lights and the aliens that they had. It was such a bright spot that I wasn’t expecting in what was a dark time. I was hurting going up that. It raised my spirits.”

With an influx of energy, Skraba powered his way closer to the finish line, but with around 10 miles to go in the race, his body started giving him trouble.

“I was having some really bad knee issues,” Skraba said. “To the point where I could hardly even jog. I thought I was going to be walking in the last 10 miles.”

During feats of endurance, sometimes things occur that you can’t really explain. After taking a minute to regroup and think about his knee, Skraba said he miraculously found another burst of energy, which powered him to the finish line.

“I had not felt that good in hours, and we started running,” Skraba said. “I don’t know how to describe it. We were just chasing. I wanted to be done at that point. It was hurting. I can’t explain how I was able to get moving again and be able to run.”

Ultimately, Skraba said his belief in himself and his love for his support crew got him to the finish line in a time of 20 hours, 54 minutes and 50 seconds — 11th place overall.

After 100 hard-fought miles, Skraba was pleased with the high fnish in his first 100-mile race, and he is excited to compete in more ultramarathon races in the near future.

“It was a brutal day and it makes me want to come back again and see what more I can do,” Skraba said. “My pacer was trying to talk me into some other big ultras. Next year, looking ahead, maybe a few more competitive ones just to really start to see what I can do at these longer distances.”

Four other Summit County residents also competed at the 2023 Leadville Trail 100.

Breckenridge’s Paul Steinweg, 42, finished in 29th place (22:42:10), Frisco’s Eric Broecker, 48, placed 60th (24:25:32) in his Leadville 100 debut, Silverthorne’s Drew Petersen, 29, placed 78th (24:55:44) and Silverthorne’s Stacey Nathan placed 305th (29:30:31).

This year’s top male and female finishers also call Colorado home. Boulder’s JP Giblin was the first overall finisher (17:07:25) and Boulder’s Jacquie Mannhard was the first female finisher (21:24:55).

For full 2023 Leadville Trail 100 results, visit AthLinks.com.

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