Race across the sky

On a crisp morning in August, senior finance major Anthony Re laced up his running shoes in Leadville, Colorado, and began to visualize what the day would bring. His task? Scale 18,000 feet of elevation and trek through 100 miles of mountainous terrain in under 30 hours or face disqualification. 

Six months of training brought him to this moment, preparing him to take on the legendary Leadville Trail 100 Run, all there was left to do now was begin the race of a lifetime.  

Six months prior, Re was approached by a friend about the competition who challenged them to run it together. The pair raised money for the Life Time Foundation, a charity that supports youth nutrition and health, as part of their entry fee and quickly got to training.  

Along with attending classes and starting a new internship, Re ran long distances six days a week, building up to running 24 miles in one session. The intensive program was meant to strengthen his physical and mental endurance, preparing him to take on the steep challenge of the ultramarathon. 

Dubbed the “Race Across the Sky,” the Leadville 100 was first created by Ken Chlouber, a local miner, in 1983. Since then, runners have attempted (and often failed) the feat yearly. 

For Anthony, failure was not an option. 

He found himself at the starting line, equipped with the necessary gear: headlamps, hiking sticks, energy gels, snacks, and he wore a bright red Dayton Flyers shirt for comfort. Unbeknownst to him, this would act as a beacon for alumni in attendance.

“I am glad I wore the shirt,” Re said.

“It was cool that there was a point of connection with the UD grads. I was surprised out in Colorado how many people were saying, “Go Flyers!” 

The first half of the ultramarathon was exactly what he trained all those months for. Aside from the softball-sized rocks along the dirt trail, it wasn’t totally unlike his experience running in Dayton.  

Suddenly, Re was faced with the first of two major mountains which participants had to climb. This halfway point is a make or break point for most runners, often deciding how the remainder of the race will go and if they’ll even finish on time. 

“I don’t know if it was the elevation that hit me or if I was taking it too slow, but I started dying,” he said candidly.

Anthony grew fatigued while making his way up the steep landmark, which set him slightly off the required pace. If he didn’t make it in and out of the aid station at the bottom of the mountain within fifteen minutes, he would be disqualified. 

Gritting his teeth, he propelled himself forward. 

When he finally arrived at the halfway checkpoint at 6 p.m., the race workers told him there wasn’t time to rest or recover, to continue the marathon he would have to keep moving. 

He now only had four hours to make it to the next checkpoint, and others around him were steadily dropping like flies. If he made the choice to keep going, there would be no going back. 

“I wasn’t going to let myself quit,” he said, “I didn’t come all this way to take the shuttle back.” 

Blistered, bloody and brazen, Re conjured up the strength needed to continue as nighttime loomed over the mountainous landscape. And, despite the potential threat of wild elk, coyotes and mountain lions, Anthony stuck with a pack of runners who, like him, were determined to finish on time. 

When he got to the final aid station tent, a new pacer was designated to help. There to guide him was Lisa Aubry, a 2009 UD graduate. It was a Flyer who would help him finish the behemoth of a race. 

“I got to about a mile left and I thought to myself, I didn’t just run 99 miles to walk to the finish line,” Re said.

Fueled by pure grit and powered by hard earned sweat and determination, Anthony finally barreled through the finish, 29 hours after starting the challenge. 

“I was grateful for the pacers, my parents and everyone who supported me through that. I realized it wasn’t just me out there alone, I had support,” he said. 

Interestingly, Re doesn’t even classify himself as a runner. “I’m actually not a huge fan of running in general,” he confessed. He is, however, a big fan of challenging himself to break new barriers.

While Re doesn’t intend on repeating the Leadville 100 anytime soon, future tests of will aren’t out of the question. 

Because when it comes to Anthony Re, he now knows there isn’t a mountain he can’t climb. 

Would you ever compete in “The Race Across the Sky?” Tell us: magazine@udayton.edu.