Ian Sharman (post-race interview) won the men’s race at the 2013 Leadville 100, his third 100 miler since June 29th, as he’s participating in the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. After a dynamic first 60 miles, the men’s race later evolved to one dictated by Sharman with fellow Brit Nick Clark (post-race interview) the only one able to mount a charge. On the women’s side, Coloradan Ashley Arnold (post-race interview), who placed third in the 2010 edition of the race, dominated the 2013 edition from the start. She led from the line and built an ever-more-insurmountable lead as the race proceeded. Two very different races, but the outcomes were identical: big wins on the high-altitude stage of the Leadville 100.
In addition to this article, you can find our full play-by-play of the race as well as a collection of our pre-race interviews and preview on our Leadville 100 Live Coverage page.
As usual, we’ll be updating this article with additional results as well as links to Leadville 100-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports.
Thanks to New Balance for sponsoring iRunFar’s coverage of the race.
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2013 Leadville 100 Men’s Race
The 2013 Leadville 100 men’s race is hard to summarize in a couple paragraphs. After the race’s first 13.5 miles into the the May Queen aid station, Brit-by-way-of-California Ian Sharman led the race with a gigantic chase pack of dudes about a minute back. But by the Outward Bound aid station 11 miles later, New Zealand’s Mike Aish had opened a decent gap on Ian and the rest of the field, which he would maintain for 45 more miles.
Mile Aish leading at Twin Lakes 2 (mile 60). Photo: Bryon Powell/iRunFar
And then somewhere in there, Mike had a physical breakdown that involved doing a lot of walking in and out of the Half Pipe 2 aid station at mile 71. When Mike faltered, the tough crowd of Ian Sharman and Nick Clark pounced. At Half Pipe 2, Ian and Nick came through in first and second place, with Ian gapping Nick by more than 16 minutes. But things still took a turn for the interesting because, at the mile 86.5 aid station at May Queen 2, Nick had closed the lead to just 10 minutes, leaving us fans wondering what would transpire on the meandering trail around Turquoise Lake. But after May Queen 2, Ian sped up and Nick slowed down, allowing Ian to extend his lead to more than 35 minutes at the finish line. Ian’s 16:30:03 was the fourth fastest in the race’s history.
Ian Sharman wins the 2013 Leadville 100. Photo: Bryon Powell/iRunFar
Nick Clark on the road to (another) second-place finish. Photo: Bryon Powell/iRunFar
And amongst the rest of the men’s top 10, the group seemed to be almost equally composed of fast starters who managed to hang on through dwindling speed in the race’s second half and more conservative starters who pressed the gas pedal after the 50-mile mark. Notably, one of those fast starters included Scott Jurek, who after an approximately two-year hiatus from racing ultrarmarathons, declared his intention to race the 2013 Leadville 100. However, the elements got the best of him such that he complained of a foul stomach–albeit a happy heart–at the May Queen 2 aid station. He hung on for an eighth-place finish.
Early on, Scott Jurek runs the 2013 Leadville 100. Photo: Meghan Hicks/iRunFar
And among the conservative starters/fast finishers group, we’d be remiss if we didn’t note the blazing finish of Bob Africa who completed the Leadman competition. He was far off the leader radar all day, but he used racing smarts to find his way to ninth place by the finish line.
Finally, South African trail phenom and 2011 Leadville 100 winner Ryan Sandes started the race as one of the plausible favorites, but DNFed at the Winfield aid station, mile 50, because of hip and back pain.
2013 Leadville 100 Men’s Results
- Ian Sharman (SCOTT Sports) – 16:30:03 (pre-race and post-race interviews with Nick Clark)
- Nick Clark (Pearl Izumi) – 17:06:29 (pre-race and post-race interviews with Ian Sharman)
- Mike Aish – 17:27:59 (pre-race interview)
- Kyle Pietari – 18:37:21
- Andrew Catalano – 18:43:26
- Timo Meyer – 19:04:19
- Eric Sullivan – 19:17:33
- Scott Jurek (Brooks) – 19:21:54 (pre-race interview)
- Bob Africa – 19:38:41
- Javier Montero – 19:45:46
2013 Leadville 100 Women’s Race
Line to line, Ashley Arnold ran with grace, cool, and definitely a good sense of humor. Early on, the Coloradan’s pace was a fast one. For instance, at May Queen, mile 13.5, she was only five minutes off the lead men. Though her pace slowed some as the day went on, she stayed stronger–and faster–than all of her female peers. Of note on the course, she often reported that she was having a great time, that she couldn’t understand how she was doing so much better than the other women in the race, and that she was trying to run a smart race by intermixing hiking with running on the course’s steep bits. All of this clearly payed off because she emerged the women’s victor by hours.
Ashley Arnold on her way to a dominating Leadville win. Photo: Bryon Powell/iRunFar
Shaheen Sattar, of Texas, might have run the ladies most consistent race. As early as the May Queen aid station at mile 13.5, Shaheen sat about half way through the women’s top 10, and as late as Winfield at mile 50, she was still in sixth place. But as the race wore on, Shaheen worked her way up through the top five, ultimately finishing in the second position at 22:42:41. Shaheen and Keila Merino were clearly in a late-race duel, however, as Keila’s 22:47:36 finish to round out the women’s podium was less than five minutes back.
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Shaheen Sattar at Winfield, mile 50, on her way to a second-place finish. Photo: Meghan Hicks/iRunFar
Defending champion Tina Lewis, of Colorado, returned this year just a few weeks after being cleared for running by her doctor after a foot injury. Tina pressed the pace, breathing down Ashley’s neck for the race’s first 40 miles. However, on the first climb toward Hope Pass after the Twin Lakes aid station at mile 40, she found herself unable to complete the climb due to returning foot pain, so she returned to Twin Lakes to drop out.
Tina Lewis at about mile 24 of the 2013 Leadville 100, before she DNFed. Photo: Meghan Hicks/iRunFar
While Oregon’s Denise Bourassa rounded out the women’s top three during the race’s first half, she lapsed to the back half of the women’s top 10 later on, finally finishing in 12th place.
2013 Leadville 100 Women’s Results
- Ashley Arnold (Salomon) – 20:25:43 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Shaheen Sattar – 22:42:41
- Keila Merino – 22:47:36
- Katrin Silva – 23:16:25
- Rebecca Hall – 23:43:13
- Kara Henry – 23:50:20
- Abby Mcqueeney Penamonte – 24:06:20
- Maddy Hribar – 24:24:20
- Nicole Studer – 24:25:43
- Maggie Nelsen – 24:37:45
2013 Leadville 100 Articles, Race Reports, and More
Articles and Photo Galleries
- iRunFar’s 2013 Leadville 100 Facebook photo album
- iRunFar’s pre- and post-race Facebook photo album
- ESPN’s race profile and photo gallery
Rickey Gates’s photo essay[broken link removed]- Israel Archuleta’s Facebook photo album
- Josh Bergeron’s In Search of the Sublime photo album
- Stephen Baginski’s Facebook album (a more human look)
- Ian Little’s Hope and Uncertainty (on being part of Ryan Sandes’s crew)
- Andrew Catalano (5th man) interview by Pikes Peak Sports
Race Reports
- Ian Sharman (1st man)
- Nick Clark (2nd man)
- Katrin Silva (4th woman)
2013 Race Issues [Added 8/22]
The 2013 edition of the Leadville saw some growing pains with discontent voiced by numerous runners, pacers, crew, volunteers, and other stakeholders. There’s significant discussion of the issues and possible solutions in the comments on this article. Please keep the discussion respectful, civil, and constructive, so as to foster continued discussion and, hopefully, help improve the race going forward.
One excellent recount of the issues was written by pacer Rod Bien in his Leadville Loses Its Soul, while runner-up Nick Clark writes of how the Leadville 100 seemed tired, how he thinks the race can be turned around, why Leadville 2014 needs to be a success, and how he’d be willing to step in to direct the race.
[Editor’s Note 11/12/2013: The Leadville 100 race director, Josh Colley, and other race-management staff have responded to ongoing constructive criticism about the 2013 Leadville 100. In short, it appears that they will address the major issues that came up with the race this past year by reducing the number of entrants, improving parking, managing the Winfield Aid Station better, and addressing trash problems on the course for the 2014 race.]
Thank You
iRunFar’s Leadville coverage was brought to you by a slew of dedicated volunteers! Thanks to our CoverItLive moderators Travis Trampe, Andy Noise, David Boudreau, Andrew Swistak, and Mauri Pagliacci. Thanks also to the folks who assisted us in the field, Travis Liles, Israel Archuletta, and Jason Hatfield.
