Keith Completes His Second Leadville 100 Miler, Crushes PB

After trekking across the mountains of Colorado for a little over a day with no sleep and very few walking breaks, Keith Levasseur crossed the finish line of the 2012 edition of the Leadville 100 Mile trail race in a personal best, 24:44:58, crushing his previous time on the course by over 5 hours!  The sub-25 hour time was good enough to earn him his first gold belt buckle.

Keith had the support of two of his racing team-mates, Caroline Bauer and Mark Buschman, and fellow Strider Hafiz Shaikh, who paced him starting the 50 mile mark.  Below are some posts that Mark published over the course of the race.

Pre-race (Friday Night): For those interested, the Leadville 100 starts at 6am EST. Keith is bib #644. Rumor has it there is runner tracking but I doubt it will work right. He'll have 3 of us supporting and pacing him in person but show your support by liking this or sending him a good luck text or call (within the next 3 hours or so, early bedtime). I've run some of the course and this will undoubtedly be the toughest thing I've ever witnessed! I will try to post updates and pics along the way. LET'S GO KEITH!!!!

10:13AM (MST): Keith at Mile 23.5 aid station in 3:50...looks great. Definitely learned his lesson from last year.

12:21PM (MST): Waiting for Keith at Twin Lakes (Mile 39.5) aid station. Check out the scenery!

6:05PM (MST): Had no cell reception at Mile 50 aid station. Keith came in around 10:33. Tightness in left quad but still in good spirits. Now he has a Pacer the rest of the way, starting with Hafiz. Sub 24 is definitely still in the cards!

7:48PM (MST): Ready and color coordinated for a 13.5 mile jaunt around the base of Mount Elbert

9:45PM (MST): Thru 60.5 mile aid station (Twin Lakes) in 14:35ish...it appears ramen noodles is the fueling source of choice from here on out.

7:30AM (MST): Keith crossed the finish line of the Leadville 100 in 24:45:02 to earn a sub 25-hour gold belt buckle!!! Ran an amazing last 27 miles in rough terrain, a sore stomach, tight legs, and a s*%tload of elevation gain. I ran from 72 to 86.5 and it was all up a %$^# mountain. Now we can all finally sleep for 5 hours then go to the awards ceremony!!!

Awards. That is one large belt buckle! I hope you plan to wear it around everywhere you go, Keith.

Keith crosses the finish line (credit: Hafiz Shaikh)

Full results are available here: Link

Congrats Keith on an amazing accomplishment.  Get some rest, so we can see you out on the roads again soon!