At an altitude of over 3,000m, Leadville could be known as the "almost-two-mile" city. Situated in Colorado's famed Rocky Mountains, this old mining town plays host to two well-known (and high altitude) endurance events. Both over a distance of 100 miles, the Leadville 100 mountain bike and trail running races are held one week apart in the month of August. Both are tough events in their own right and attract the best in their respective "businesses".
But it is the Leadville 100 Run that has piqued my interest of late. While I first became aware of the town of Leadville due to former Comrades winner Charl Mattheus' self-imposed training adventure/exile there over two decades ago (the topic of a future blog someday), it is the recent exploits of another two South Africans that caught my eye.
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Can a pro cyclist become an elite ultra trail runner?
Well there is at least one case study that has done just that.
Jock Green's eighth position in the 2019 Leadville 100 Trail Run beggars belief. In a good way, of course. A former pro cyclist with legendary South African teams like HSBC, Barloworld and Konica-Minolta, Jock left the cycling world to pursue a career in the motor car industry. But endurance sports never left him and he made the less-travelled transition to ultra trail running. OK sure - many a pro cyclist has made the leap into triathlon and marathon running. But few have managed to attain the level of excellence, consistency, longevity and resilience that Jock has, let alone in the ultra trail world, not to mention his impressive string of results.
While a pro cyclist certainly has a stratospheric aerobic engine, his or her legs are generally soft. Just ask John Howard, former Olympic cyclist and winner of one of the early Hawaii Ironman triathlons. Or Rolf Aldag, who ran a 2:40-ish Berlin Marathon shortly after calling time on his cycling career and spent a month hobbling around (Rolf hasn't run a step since). True story! Needless to say that Jock's Leadville performance says much about his structural adaptability, as it does about his mental strength. Pretty impressive for a 45 year old retired cyclist.
But how many former rider get to work with their mid-2000s team soigneur in another sport at an elite level? And how many past soigneurs are able to act as pacers for their former riders in a test of running endurance that requires more than just muscle memory?
Graeme McCallum spends more time on his feet than most. As sports and remedial massage therapist, "Punjab's" skills extend far beyond working on trigger points or releasing knots. Like Jock, Graeme is a former pro rider who is now a successful runner. A rider who could upset the best on his best days, to say that Graeme has been around the block would be an understatement. But in-between his pro cycling career and current running exploits was a career in rider care. And not just on any teams either. Zig zagging around any given European country handing out bottles, sorting out logistics or kneading legs are just a few of the tasks facing a "swanny" in the toughest of working grounds that is European pro cycling. And Graeme's time on squads like Barloworld and BMC Racing have instilled a sangfroid in him like few other occupations could. So Leadville's ruling that each runner requires a pacer was a natural extension for him.
But back to the present: Graeme explained in his own race report that his job as a pacing mule only began after 11 hours of getting to the feed zones on time. Imagine that for a second - half a day zooming around the mountains handing out bottles before you start covering arduous terrain 50km on foot guiding your athlete? I can't. But the result speaks for itself.
I'm sure Jock is revelling in his post-Leadville 100 recovery and believe that Graeme is currently honing his road running speed for future racing goals. Well done guys - may you both soak up the enormity and uniqueness of your exploits Stateside.
*Header image courtesy of Graeme McCallum
