Hello, Dear Listener, I (Gary) have a confession...on most podcasts, if I don’t recognize the guest name, I skip that episode. So, if you’re like me, you may be tempted to skip these next two episodes because you probably do not recognize the name “Ben Dicke.”

But, please don’t skip these episodes! Ben is a very dear friend of the show, and we’re thrilled to share his story.

This story, of his attempt to go sub 25 hours at the Leadville Trail 100 last year, is absolutely incredible. After the race, he wrote a profound reflection of his experience that was widely shared across social media, and then picked up by Ultrarunning Magazine in their November 2018 edition.

It’s a story of digging deep and going after something that is right on the edge of one’s ability…of trying to dance on that razor’s edge between the possible and the impossible. 

Here in part 1, we get to know Ben and his running background and why we all love Leadville (the town and the race) so much. Enjoy. (Part 2 will contain the 2018 story itself.)

And, as always thanks so much for joining us! We’d love to have you as an ongoing conversation partner. Please subscribe and review and do all the things. It makes a massive difference for us!

Here are a few links to things discussed in the show:

• Dana Rouche’s guide to running Leadville, including sub 25 splits: http://www.dclundell.net/running/info/train100.html
• Not discussed in the show, but this story of Matt Carpenter’s record setting run is amazing: http://skyrunner.com/story/2005l3.htm
• 2011 Leadville Results: http://l283s3pxq2ktw6gs37ski16ee-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2011-Leadville-Trail-100-Run-Overall-Results.pdf

Salomon’s Video of Leadville and Ryan Sandes’ 2011 Race