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Don’t Give Up – Make Your Leadville Trail 100 Dreams Reality

By Rebecca Rusch

You don’t need a lottery slot handed to you. You can earn your space in that corral and still race on August 9.

Well, you are reading this message with disappointment because you were not selected for a 2014 Leadville Trail 100 MTB spot from the lottery. You threw your name in the hat, got excited, started planning, dreaming and anticipating. Now, you are dealt the heavy blow of learning that you are not one of the lucky ones.

So, what are you going to do about it? You have two choices:

1.  Hang your head, throw that letter in the trash, throw in the towel and give up on the LT100 for this year.

2.  Straighten up, square your shoulders and firmly decide that you will not give up on being on that start line on Aug 9, 2014.

Option #1 is far easier. Option #2 is far more rewarding and has the potential to create lifelong memories. It’s also the harder road. But if you dreamed of racing the LT100, you are not the kind of person who takes the easy route.

All of the best things I’ve done have been hard earned. Things that come easily just don’t have the same impact as the ones for which we strive and struggle.

You have met your first hurdle in your 2014 LT100 quest. How you deal with this is up to you.

As Vince Lombardi said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

So get up and get yourself signed up for one of the Leadville Race Series qualifying races. Go ahead and keep pushing toward your goal and earn yourself a spot on that start line. You don’t need a lottery spot given to you. Instead, you are going to earn your place in that corral.

I can personally attest to the quality and amazing training experiences the qualifiers offer. These are killer 100-kilometer races around the country prepping you perfectly for the big day in August. Not only will you hone your riding skills, dialing race nutrition and gear, you are setting short-term goals to push toward the big day.

There is no substitute for racing and with the qualifiers, you are setting yourself up for success. In addition to earning your spot on the Leadville start line, your times in the qualifiers also help place you into the appropriate corral. So what do you have to lose?

I’ll see you at the races –

Rebecca

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