Welcome to this episode of Grit, Guts and Determination, The Leadville Race Series Podcast, a leading authority on all things Leadville. Host Cole Chlouber, son of race founder Ken Chlouber, takes us on a story-telling journey of the 38 year rich history of this race. Listen in for tips, tricks, and stories from the Leadville members! Today’s episode features minimalist, runner, and Luna Sandal ambassador Patrick Sweeney! He first heard of Leadville from Christopher McDougall’s book, Born to Run.

As the conversation begins, Cole asks Patrick about his relationship with Barefoot Ted McDonald, founder of Luna Sandals. Ted is an independent athlete committed to rediscovering primal human capacities and encouraging others to do the same and he introduced Patrick to the Luna Lifestyle. In the early days, Patrick said he lived pretty simply hanging out on the internet, running on the beach, and finishing his days with good food and beers. He’s recently moved in with girlfriend, Sam who he says is also very independent and minimalistic They live out on a ranch with plenty of room to run.

Reflecting on his first Leadville experiences, Patrick shares that he was able to stay with the mayor and on a whim decided to run a 5K the next morning before running the Burro Race and coming in next to last. He couldn’t get the burro to move, but he still remembers it as a great experience. When his first Leadville race started, he was shirtless and didn’t have any crew or pacers. At one point he remembers doing a mile to a mile and a half off course. Then he started to experience a lot of knee pain, he had to slow to a walk and started feeling pretty demoralized. Eventually, his body mechanics changed and he started feeling a lot better and calculating how he could widdle down his run time.

Patrick has five finishes at Leadville and the community keeps him coming back. He still does burro racing as well, having finished it about five or six times, enjoying it because you never know what to expect and have to adjust based on the donkey. He’s hosted at Leadville as well and has been using it as an opportunity to raise money for the Leadville Animal Shelter. He also gives away plastic shovels he used to collect when running on the beach. One of his best memories though is running his TransCon and shares how his biggest takeaway was the generosity of Americans across the states.

As the episode ends, Patrick reflects on the meaning of Leadville, the race, the people, and the town itself.

Thanks for joining! Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe, and we hope to see you on the line in August!