A small-town girl from Kingston has proven that determination can carry a person a very long way—100 miles, to be exact.
Kingston High School graduate Becca Hadeed completed the Leadville Trail 100 Run in Colorado on Sunday, Aug. 23. She crossed the finish line after spendingmorethanafullday traveling through the Rocky Mountains.
Hadeed is the daughter of longtime Kingston residents Rick and Julie Roach. News of her accomplishment was shared locally by family friend Donna Lindsay Bearden.
According to official results published by the Leadville Race Series, Hadeed completedtheultramarathon in 28 hours, 43 minutes and 42 seconds. She placed 247th among 387 runners who finished within the official 30-hour limit.
The race began at 4 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, and continued through the day, night and following morning. Hadeed crossed the finish line at approximately 8:44 a.m. Sunday, just over an hour before the race’s strict 30-hour cutoff.
The Leadville Trail 100 is not an ordinary road race. The nearly 100-mile course takes runners through rugged mountain terrain where the high elevation makes every step more difficult.
According to information publishedontherace’sofficial website, this year’s course included approximately 13,357 feet of elevation gain. Its lowest areas were still more than 9,200 feet above sea level, and the course reached approximately 12,500 feet at Hope Pass.
Along the way, participants had to reach aid stations before specific cutoff times. Falling behind at any checkpoint could end months of training and a runner’s hope of reaching the finish line.
Hadeed kept moving. She covered rocky trails and steep mountain climbs. She continued through the night before reaching the finish line Sunday morning.
Hadeed was ecstatic to cross the finish line. It was a joyful ending to a long and difficult journey.
Hadeed, who now lives in Morrison, Colo., competed in thewomen’s40–49agegroup. Her average pace was approximately 17 minutes and 14 seconds per mile.
Finishing in less than 30 hours made her an official Leadville Trail 100 finisher and earned her one of the race’s coveted belt buckles. The buckles are presented as lasting proof that a runner completed one of the country’stoughestendurance challenges.
However,thenumberstell only part of the story.
They do not show the countless training miles completed before race day. They do not show the tired legs, sore feet or moments when stopping may have seemed easier than taking another step. They cannot fully explain the strength it takestokeepmovingthrough a second sunrise.
What those numbers do show is that Hadeed finished what she started.
From the halls of Kingston High School to the highest point of one of America’s most challenging ultramarathons, Hadeed carried the determination of a small-town girl all the way to the finish line.
For Kingston, her accomplishment is more than an impressive race result. It is a reminder that growing up in a small community does not place a limit on how far someone can go or how high she can climb.