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Love,
Ultrarunning
A site powered by self-love and good trails
Finding Leadville
by Barbara Powell
Experience the transformative power of running rooted in love, healing, and a willingness to say yes.
Join me on a journey to the 2023 Leadville 100 trail run where every step was a necessary one.
Little by little, bit by bit, let love be your super fuel.
I published this for my inner child, who knew she could write a book one day. For my teenage self who struggled with her body and place in the world. And for all of us who say YES to a starting line -- and in doing so, can heal something mighty along the way.
Letting Go of Leadville
Leaving Twin Lakes Aid Station Inbound with my pacer during the Leadville 100 The 2025 Leadville 100 Trail Run has now slipped away...
Barbara Mary
Aug 313 min read
The 2025 Leadville 100: Finish Line Feels
I shuffled my way in the dark toward a red carpet and a finish line clock. The numbers read twenty plus minutes past 25 hours, and the...
Barbara Mary
Aug 243 min read
Mountain Time
Breckenridge, CO There's a power outage throughout the entire mountain town. It's the week of the Leadville 100 and I'm restless as I...
Barbara Mary
Aug 122 min read
A Lucky Kind of Day
The trail linking Twin Lakes Village to Hope Pass My old jeep had started to clunk. It worried me. Worried me enough to bring it to the...
Barbara Mary
Jul 209 min read
The Land of Oz
I got to thinking about the land of Oz on my run yesterday. There I was, eight miles deep into a new-to-me trail in the Colorado...
Barbara Mary
Jul 132 min read
Every Day in Every Way: Better and Better
Gold Hill in Breckenridge, CO Lately I’ve been clicked into the mantra: “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.” As I...
Barbara Mary
Jul 102 min read
My Book is now a REAL Book!
The most exciting news of the week: I submitted everything for publication for my book, Finding Leadville! You can pre-order here on...
Barbara Mary
Jun 272 min read
Done and Dusted: A Treadmill Adventure
In the first few hours of my 12 Hour Run My watch alarm buzzed: 4:55 AM. It was time to get up and get ready for the adventure I’d been...
Barbara Mary
Jun 164 min read
12 Hours on the Treadmill: WHY
I'm running 12 hours on the treadmill at a local Life Time tomorrow, Saturday, as a fundraiser for the Life Time Foundation. As an LTF...
Barbara Mary
Jun 134 min read
The Story is full of Mile(stones) and Mountain Trails
The author mid-race Ultrarunning isn’t just about chasing finish lines. I don't think it can be. It’s about meeting yourself again and...
Barbara Mary
May 193 min read
My Second Leadville 100: Time to Expand
On the trails in Colorado It’s mid-May in the Twin Cities. Everything is in bloom, the lakes are glistening, and every moment outside...
Barbara Mary
May 123 min read
A Trail Runner at the London Marathon
The author at the finish line of the London Marathon Just two weeks ago, I was flying toward a road race of 56,000 strangers and 26.2...
Barbara Mary
May 63 min read
Why did I Write 'Finding Leadville?'
The author in 2020 It was 2020 and everything was quiet. Barely a car puttering past in an otherwise busy neighborhood. And yet, every...
Barbara Mary
Apr 214 min read
I Run Because It's Me
The author running in a cross country meet as a Holyoke Catholic High School Lady Gael I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but I...
Barbara Mary
Apr 143 min read
Finding Leadville Bonus Content: A Token of Love
A Family photo from 2006 Quite late into July, just a few weeks before race day, my mother sent me a small medal of Mother Teresa — the...
Barbara Mary
Apr 73 min read
Exploring a Race (or any other victory) Through Storytelling
The 2023 Leadville 100 Runners train for and run races. Then, we can become storytellers. Running the Leadville 100 was not just a bucket...
Barbara Mary
Apr 33 min read
Finding Leadville Bonus Content: Take on the Adventure
You can do that thing you’re thinking about. Yep, even that. Yes, even with all the things going on in life. That thing you’re drawn to,...
Barbara Mary
Mar 254 min read
Finding Leadville Chapter 20: Coming Home
The author and her Chris adventuring in the Midwest Reframing I used to be afraid of bees from when I was three because a whole swarm...
Barbara Mary
Mar 248 min read
Finding Leadville Chapter 19: Seeing Things (All the Way Through)
The author running with her pacer, Trapper, at Turquoise Lake, less than 12 miles to the Leadville 100 finish “Look up!” Trapper crowed. ...
Barbara Mary
Mar 2312 min read
Finding Leadville Chapter 18: (un)Common Ground
The author and her dad, mid-marvel The week before the 100, my dad visited me in Colorado. When I was a child, we'd have our day...
Barbara Mary
Mar 228 min read
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