Alumni Spotlight: Alden Iselin’s Leadville 100

At age 18, Alden Iselin is the youngest HMI alum to complete the iconic Leadville Trail 100 Run

By Alden Iselin, Semester 48 alum

My name is Alden Iselin, I am a Semester 48 alum, and I ran the Leadville 100 this past August. Before coming to HMI I knew of the race, having previously run a couple of marathons, and I was very interested in what a 100-mile run would feel like. Upon arriving on campus I quickly learned that one of the teachers (Jacob Sheetz-Willard) is a many-time Leadville 100 finisher. After picking his brain for hours on expedition, I knew I was destined to run this race at some point. Jacob excited me enough that I signed up for my first 50-miler when we returned to campus, and that summer I contacted a charity to join their fundraising team for the 2023 Leadville 100. At that point, running Leadville was a sure thing. 

Ten days before the race I arrived on the HMI campus for the first time since leaving a year before. It felt amazing to be back on campus and relive some of my memories from the semester, though it was a little weird being there without the rest of Semester 48.

Fast forward to race day, I had an early 2:45 a.m. wake-up to make the 4 o’clock start. I got to the start/finish line twenty minutes before the race began, and was met by a thousand other people with the same nervous, scared, and excited look on their faces. At that point it finally sunk in that I was going to be moving for the next 30 hours or so. Then at 4:00 a.m., a shotgun went off and the race was on. 

My crew for the race was made up of my mom, Jacob, two apprentices from Semester 48, my friend from Semester 48, and her mom (who are also ultra-runners.) I saw them six times during the race and their job was to keep me on track with pace, calories, hydration, and all the other things that could be an issue.

An in-depth rundown of my whole Leadville 100 experience would be a pretty long story, so instead I’ll share a couple of moments that stand out:

  • Mile 38 – I ran into the Twin Lakes aid station feeling super hot and dehydrated. Within three minutes I had a popsicle in each hand, ice being put into my hat, and water being dumped down my back. I then proceeded to lie down in the Arkansas River.
  • Mile 44 – I was running down Hope Pass and stubbed my toe SO HARD.
  • Mile 57 – I was going up Hope Pass the second time and felt horrible. It was so hard.
  • Mile 68 – We sang Sweet Caroline with another runner.
  • Mile 78 – I got extremely cold and my knee began to hurt. From that point on I could no longer run and had to walk to the finish.
  • Miles 85-97 – I became very cranky with how slow I was moving and got bored of walking.
  • Mile 100 – I walked across the finished line with my crew, finishing the race.
Alden crosses the finish line with a time of 29:11:33

Throughout the race, I experienced a range of feelings from a 100/10 to a -50/10 on the happiness scale. Looking back, I know the low moments I felt were temporary, but in the moment it felt like I would never get out of the hole that I was in. Part of what makes ultra-running special is seeing how you react in moments like those. Doing that in a beautiful place which you feel connected to makes that experience one hundred times more special. Passing by the Fish Hatchery and Turquoise Lake brought back memories from my time at HMI that reminded me why I was running. Coming full circle and running Leadville felt right. 

I think it’s hard to understand the spirit of ultra-running without seeing a race for yourself. Leadville in particular feels incredibly special. The town, volunteers, and crews rally behind the race in a way that creates the most amazing community and sets the Leadville 100 apart from the rest. I hope I can come back to run it again.

This article first appeared in the Fall 2023 / Winter 2024 HMI Newsletter

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