Proving once again that our engineers are often as rugged as the products they create, Garmin colleagues Dave (senior product designer) and Tom (mechanical engineer) rode the legendary Leadville 100 recently with their eyes on the prize. And that prize is an enormous shiny belt buckle. Here they tell their stories to the Garmin blog:

TOM: Way back in January my colleague Dave coerced me into entering the Leadville 100 lottery. Lo and behold, I “won” and thus began my journey. Starting with a team training camp in Arkansas in March I would have to train more and harder than I’d ever done before. Using my Edge 500 to record my training and guide my intervals, I logged an average of 11 hours per week of focused, intense training on the bike (not to mention the core and upper body workouts). Guided by the plan from LW Coaching and Training Peaks, many lunch hours were filled with “fun” interval sessions (in 90+ degree heat) and many a weekend were spent on the MTB grinding out gravel centuries in the hot, dusty Kansas sun. There were hiccups along the way (not the least of which was a surprise knee issue that was resolved with copious amounts of NSAIDs and stretching) but for the most part I stuck to the plan.

DAVE: This was my 4th year at the Leadville 100 and 3rd year in a row chasing the elusive 9 hour Buckle. I first tried this race way back in 1996 having no idea what I was getting into and dropped out at the halfway point. But since then I have always wanted the big buckle for finishing in 9 hours. I have two 12-hour (small) buckles but they’re not chasing the 9-hour monkey off my back. Since last year I have been trying to convince other Garmin cyclists to sign up for this monster. Last year Gerald fell for my pitch and finished strong despite horrible weather conditions. This year there were several that tried to get in but only Tom was lucky (or not) to make the lottery entry. Tom was strong all summer dragging me around many a gravel road as we built our base for Leadville. After a three week training taper we arrived in Leadville. I brought along Marcos, a colleague in the ID department, and his girlfriend Dana to crew for me. Race morning was clear at 37 degrees and after training all summer in 90+ I welcomed it. I never felt better.

TOM: Race day dawned bright and cold and Dave and I made our way to the start line. Wow. I was nervous. Can’t lie. The Leadville 100 MTB race has become one of the biggest races in the country. Where else can you race with top professional cyclists and weekend warriors all at once? At promptly 6:30 a.m. Ken Chlouber fires off the shotgun and we’re off. And I’m freezing. As we flew into the valley on the way to St. Kevin’s Gulch the temp dropped to near freezing. Coming from a week straight of 100 degree days this was a shock to my system. The climb up St. Kevin’s begins soon enough and I warmed up quickly as I settled into my pace. Using my 500 to keep track of my pace and heart rate, it was easy to keep my efforts in check. I’d never done a race (or ride, for that matter) of this duration and I did not want to earn a DNF in my first attempt.

DAVE: This year I decided to set my Edge 500 to show only heart rate and average speed and not watch the clock, and this turned out to be a great idea. The first section of the race came and went quickly. I rode efficiently watching my heart rate closely on all the climbs and accelerations. Twin Lakes came up, Marcos and Dana refueled my bike and I was off to climb Columbine. I climbed this 10-mile monster at an even pace watching the heart rate closely. The trick to Leadville is to not blow up early because you stand the chance of never recovering, especially at altitude. I hit the turn at the top and started back without stopping.

TOM: The St. Kevin’s and Sugarloaf climbs went well and Columbine lived up to my expectations (long, high, crowded). On the return trip the sun was relentless and I was able to “dig deep” to ride up and over the Powerline climb (pushed the bike up the lower section) to the Turquoise Lake road and then back down St. Kevin’s to the infamous Boulevard and the finish where my wife and parents were waiting for me.

DAVE: Inbound for home I noticed my Edge 500 was indicating around 11.3 mph for an average, which is what I needed for a nine hour finish. This was going to be close. The middle rollers came and went, then up the nasty Powerline climb and onto the finish push. Still showing 11.3 mph on the 500. As I arrived at Carter summit – which is considered 1 hour from the finish – my 500 read 8:12. Time to get busy, we’re not watching the heart rate anymore. I climbed St. Kevin’s, bombed the downhill and rode hard for the finish. As I turned onto 6th – the finish stretch – my Edge 500 read 8:58. No way. I hammered it and finished 9:01:53. I didn’t care about the buckle because I just had the best race of my life. At the awards ceremony, there is a tradition to vote in a small number of riders who just missed the 9 hour cut-off. Five of us were called up. I was the fifth and we got voted in. I’ll take it. Many thanks to my supportive family and coworkers for keeping me motivated. Already thinking about next time…..

TOM: After 100 miles and 11,100 feet of climbing Dave managed to grab the coveted “Big Buckle” while I finished in 9:55, earning the smaller “finishers” buckle. I now know why this race is so special to so many people. It requires everyone to “dig deep” just to finish. I had wonderful support from my family both during the race and throughout my training. I learned a lot from this race and while I would have told you differently an hour after the race, I’ll definitely be back. If my wife will agree to it.