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Race across the sky

Karel and I went to see Race Across the Sky Last night at the movies. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend going to the website and requesting for another encore showing.
The movie started with a documentary, including Dave Wiens (6 time champion) and Lance Armstrong, in addition to a few other speakers. The movie was about the notorious Leadville 100 mountain bike race in Leadville, CO.
Just like in an IM, there were many amazing stories and when you see people cross the finish after mountain biking in extreme elevation and terrain, you just wonder how was that possible? I was amazed during the entire movie and I kept telling Karel "you have to do it". Because I have no desire to mountain bike for 100 miles, even though I still feel like I would enjoy it if I would just ignore my fears and get on a mountain bike, I want to witness the event and cheer for other athletes.
After the movie, Karel was excited to see how he could enter the lottery and come December, Karel is considering entering the lottery in hopes of getting one of the 1400 spots into the event.
Here is one of my favorite quotes in the movie (given by the Leadville trail 100 race director) on the day before the event

"You're better than you think you are. You can do more than you think you can"

This quote really meant something to me and I think everyone can live by this quote on a daily basis. Whether it is nutrition, exercise, work or family-related, be sure to give yourself credit for all the positive things in life and remember that life is a journey. Live in the moment as you plan for the future.

Race across the sky Leadville 100 event details:

Race across the sky

Leadville 100

At 10,000+ feet, against the misty backdrop of a former mining town, Leadville, Colorado, 1400 cyclists line the starting line. For many, it will be the most difficult race of their lives. For some, a bragging right to say they raced alongside the best in the world. Some imagine victory. Most hope only to finish. But everyone will count.

The race that started 25 years ago as a running race to drive tourism in Leadville has now grown to a lottery cap of 1000+ competitors, many of them the world’s most elite cyclists. But the Leadville Trail 100 "Race Across the Sky" Mountain Bike Race is not just a race of man against man: it’s man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. elements, man vs. time. A clock set for 12 grueling hour’s slugs through 100 miles, over 14,000 vertical feet of climbing, some two miles above sea level, through extreme climate changes ranging from heat to hail, from rain to snow. To the racers, the risks of injury, fatigue and mechanical failure pale next to the chance that they will fall behind the 12 hour cut off mark and be eliminated.

Rivalries include six-time defending champion Dave Wiens vs. international star / seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Inspirational stories of human triumph include a Leadville woman rider who was critically injured by a car while training for last year’s race, another who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and 45+ rider who has raced all 15 years.

Whether they’re international stars of the sport or everyday folks with the will to finish a race whose difficulty is on par with the Ironman, the grit to push to their own physical and emotional limits strikes an elegant symmetry between racer and environment and a struggling former mining town whose very existence now relies on the tourism generated by this race.