Leadville, The 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race Podcast p/b Shimano

Melisa Rollins joins us for an hourlong deep dive into what it's like to love this race as much as we do, and to truly give it everything you've got. For everyone who has turned themselves inside out racing the LT100 and wondered, "what if?," this episode is for you.

After the race, it's time to share stories. While we can't tell everyone's, we CAN share quite a few. In this episode, we hear from nervous racers before the gun goes off (and how their races went), how the new course segments, shuttling and crewing rules worked out, have a great finish-line conversation with the LT100 racer on a handbike, talk with the first winners of the LT100, get to know the two people who have finished all 30 of the LT100MTB races, and (believe it or not) more. 

As we get close to the main event, we complete our conversation with Jeff Waldmuller, whose story should inspire every racer on the course. Be sure to listen to last week's episode (S7E23), and then enjoy this one as you put your feet up and rest up for the big race.

We've got 2 great interviews in this episode. First, Andy Blow—Founder/CEO of Precision Fuel & Hydration—joins us to talk about his well-considered framework for endurance fueling, as well as how you might want to include Precision products (available on-course this year) in your plan. And then, part 1 of a two-part interview with Jeff Waldmuller: as you're getting close to race day and looking for inspiration, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better story. 

It's one thing to tell people abstractly how they ought to do the LT100. It's a completely other thing to actually describe your own plan. In this episode, Fatty & Hottie detail how they're going to walk the walk in 2024, from bike setup to clothes setup to nutrition to split times to crewing plan.

When should you come to Leadville for the race? How should you manage the course and crewing changes this year? How do you stay warm before and after the shotgun blast? Where should you burn matches? What do we wish we knew the first time we did this race? We answer all these questions and more with listener (and host) favorite and 21-time finisher Nate Whitman!

In times past, we used to say you could safely ignore power numbers at Leadville. The tech and understanding of power meters have come a long way since then, and now, properly incorporated, a power meter can really benefit your race. In this episode, Coach Hunter Allen, who has worked with Jeremiah Bishop and dozens of other Leadville athletes, will help you get our FTP converted to something we can use at 10,000 feet and help us pace the race using power.

Show favorite Hannah Otto joins us for a second time this season to share her top tips for a successful day on the Leadville course, and Fatty gets obsessive over what you should do to ensure your GPS is a help -- not a hindrance -- on race day.

The people who say "age is just a number" are either very young or are not paying attention. Age matters, but so does experience, attitude, motivation, and training — and our guest Bob Graham is bringing all of those to the starting line this year. This is a great conversation with a great athlete, no matter what age you are (but especially for those of us who know that age is one of the factors to consider in the Leadville 100).

Also, be sure to catch Fatty's Finishing Tip this episode; he's got some wisdom to share that he learned the hard way...and to take advantage, you need to heed it ASAP.

Hottie and Fatty turn the mics over to the mother-daughter power duo Lisa & Melisa, who have 23 LT100 finishes between them. This is an episode for women and by women, although we definitely encourage everyone to listen. Also be sure to listen to Fatty's Finishing Tip on how to turn a big mistake into a learning experience.