By Bill Plock
Boulder, CO–On Saturday, professional triathlete and Boulder native, Sam Long “Everested” a combination of Lee Hill Road and Deer Trail Road. In exactly 10 hours, Sam ascended and descended those roads 15 times. He rode 133 miles and climbed 29,219 feet averaging 254 watts of power. Think about all those descents at near zero watts–pretty impressive. The 4.52 mile climb is notorious in the Boulder area, averaging an 8% grade for nearly 1,900 feet of climbing. By comparison the climb on Lookout Mountain, Pillars to Post, is almost the same distance, but climbs 1,200 feet, For math fanatics, there is a slight hill on the descent of Lee Hill that adds to the totals.
He started alone around 6:30 am on chilly, but pretty wide open roads. But, he says, “I really loved that 30 or more people came out to ride throughout the day.”
When asked about his power, he says, in general the climbs were done around 305 watts, with my lowest lap being around 280ish and my highest was 330 (a guy came out and raced me for a lap). When he finished, Sam said, “that was about as tough as an IRONMAN race.”
The last segment of the climb, Deer Trail road is about a mile and half and includes punchy segments between 15% and 20% of grade. Afterwards, Sam says laughing a bit, “Deer trail might not have been the best choice to include.”
He finished in front of his parents and a few friends about 5pm, an hour earlier than he had predicted.
We interviewed Sam on the 303 Endurance Podcast two days before his attempt. Check out the discussion here, it was a lot of fun and he predicted it well overall! LISTEN HERE
When asked the next day how he felt, Sam said his legs felt surprisingly good and his back was a little stiff. Oh, and he ran 18 miles the next day at a 6:35 pace……Go Sam!
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