Brian Reynolds, Leadville, and the People Who Helped Him Try Again

Brian Reynolds, Leadville, and

the People Who Helped Him Try Again

Brian Reynolds finished the Leadville Trail 100 on his fourth attempt. That sentence tells you the result. It leaves out three years of unfinished races, running legs that did not hold up, and the people who kept returning with him.

On this episode of Enduring Minds, Brian tells Evan Birch and Jason Bahamundi that after his third attempt, he wondered whether finishing was possible as a double amputee. He had been cut around mile 71 or 72. This time, he did not immediately decide to come back. His crew spent weeks talking through what could change and helping him believe another attempt was possible.

What changed on the fourth attempt?

Brian describes a problem that reached well beyond ordinary race-day nerves: the constant calculation of whether his prosthetic equipment would last. During an earlier attempt, his running legs broke at mile 13. He spent much of the next 37 miles repeatedly repairing them with duct tape.

For the fourth attempt, he brought additional running legs and removable treads. His crew could swap the treads at aid stations, reducing a source of stress that had followed him for years. Brian is candid about the tradeoff: with that problem addressed, he felt a different pressure. If he did not finish, he could no longer point to broken equipment.

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The people behind the finish

Many of Brian’s crew members were people he met at Leadville during previous attempts. Nineteen were there for the finish. Brian says an immediate success in year one would have meant missing the friendships that grew during the years he returned.

The conversation also comes home to his three children. Brian talks about running as a way to process stress and show up better as a father. He hopes his oldest son, who saw both the difficult aid stations and the eventual finish, learned something about working through hard things.

This is an episode about a 100-mile race, but the finish is only part of it. Brian’s account asks a more familiar question: when you cannot see a way forward on your own, who helps you find the next one?

Listen to Brian Reynolds with Evan and Jason on Enduring Minds, part of the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network.

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