5 min read

Welcome to Trail Tested , a monthly column from entrepreneur and athlete Jack Espy as he trained for the grueling Leadville 100 ultramarathon. Trail Tested followed Jack along his journey to do his first 100-miler to see what his body is capable of and what his mind can endure. Throughout his training and post-race, he’ll be giving us a rundown of gear he’s been putting to the limit.

C ONSIDERING I RAN a 100-mile ultramarathon , my body held up surprisingly well. I didn't get a single blister, which says a lot about the socks and trail shoes I was wearing and about staying on top of foot care throughout the race.

My biggest issue was my right knee. I started experiencing pain around Hope Pass, somewhere around mile 45. Luckily, I had packed a knee sleeve in my drop bag at the next major aid station around mile 50, and getting that on made a huge difference.

Outside of the knee pain, my body stayed tough through all 100 miles.…