CEO and $2,275? Get a Spot at Leadville
The start of the 2010 Leadville Trail 100. With the Leadville Trail 100 under new ownership come new aspects to the race. Of course there is the new Leadville Qualifying Series, a collection of three races in 2011 that offer coveted spots to the granddaddy race…
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With the Leadville Trail 100 under new ownership come new aspects to the race.
Of course there is the new Leadville Qualifying Series, a collection of three races in 2011 that offer coveted spots to the granddaddy race in the Rockies. The qualifying series is being put on by Life Time Fitness, which owns all the LT100 cycling and running events, and AEG, the sports industry giant that owns, among other things, the Amgen Tour of California.
And now there is yet another way into the LT100 for those who aren’t lucky in the race lottery — a CEO challenge. The $2,275 buy-in program guarantees entry into the race to 15 people, even though the lottery is closed and the event is completely sold out, according to CEO Challenges, a company that caters to executives looking to take part in marquee events in triathlon, hockey, basketball, driving, fishing, tennis and a variety of other sports.
CEOs will compete against participants in their age group, and against fellow company CEOs. A portion of each CEO’s entry fee will be donated to the Leadville Trail 100 LEGACY Foundation that benefits the Leadville community, and to the Challenged Athletes Foundation charities, according to CEO Challenges.
“The CEO Challenge provides once-in-a-lifetime opportunites for CEOs to prove their fitness in some of the most epic endurance events in the world,” said Ted Kennedy, president of CEO Challenges. “With the addition of the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, we may have just provided the most insane opportunity in our history. I dare any CEO to register today.”
The LT100 field of entrants has grown in the last several years. Some 1,700 riders will be starting the race in August, 300 of whom earned their spots from the qualifying races. About 1,600 people started the race in 2010, while approximately 1,437 took on the race in 2009.
Meanwhile, the CEO Challenge package includes a dinner with pro athletes, private race check-in, pre-race strategy session, awards dinner, and trophies to the top three overall CEO Challenge finishers, plus the first female, and first finisher over 50 years old.
“We’re excited to introduce an entirely new audience to the epic Leadville Trail 100 MTB event,” said Scott Giffin, race director for the Leadville Race Series. “Many mountain bikers dream of participating in this legendary race, and the CEO Challenge is an opportunity for the boardroom to meet the buckle — a true life-list achievement for serious riders.”