Leadville 100
Leadville 100 MTB & Run Races
The Leadville 100 races are highly coveted fundraiser opportunities for the Chris Klug Foundation. We enter teams in both the mountain bike and the trail run, as well as offer the opportunity for athletes who receive entries through the lottery to join Team CKF to fundraise. The CKF Leadville 100 teams allow us to reach over 4,000 individuals and introduce them to organ, eye, and tissue donation.
If you are interested in joining the team for either the Run or the MTB, please email info@chrisklugfoundation.org.
Thank you to our 2024 Sponsors!
2025 CKF Trail 100 Run Team
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Jeremy Nicolosi
Jeremy will be running this year’s race in honor of his sister Stephany, who was lost in 2022 at only 33 years old.
Stephany became a hero as an organ donor, saving multiple lives, and her strength has given Jeremy the passion to tackle the impossible!
For the past four years, he has taken on numerous crazy races, but there is something special about the Leadville 100 and representing the gift of life.
Jeremy was a member of the 2023 and 2024 Leadville 100 Teams and unfortunately has not made it over the finish line yet. But he is back this year more determined than ever to cross the it!
Jeremey states, “I will finish the Leadville 100 Trail Run because I have the CKF Family!”
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Sara Fillman
Sara is a retired police detective from Michigan. She has always enjoyed running, but in 2016, she decided to step up her mileage. She began with a trail marathon or two before taking on a 50k, then 50-miler, and beyond.
Sara attempted the Leadville 100 in 2023 and then 2024 with CKF, but unfortunately did not finish and she is now back for redemption!
Sara is no stranger to organ, eye, and tissue donation after 26 years in law enforcement, speaking with families as they made the decision for their loved ones to become heroes as donors.
Sara first learned about CKF when she stopped by their booth at the 2023 Leadville Expo. She loves the mission, had a great experience on the team in 2024, and has signed up with them again to cross the finish line together!
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Matt Randle
Matt’s love for running started young with running cross country and track in high school. He continued running through college, and then at the age of 40, Matt decided to test himself and run a marathon. Next came trail running which led to his love for it, and eventually grew into running ultras. Since then, he has completed 17 ultras, including three 100-mile runs.
Matt was born with a liver disease called Biliary Atresia. After surgery at a young age, he went on to live a relatively normal life until he turned 49 years old, and his liver began to fail. In 2022, Matt received a liver transplant that has since allowed him to get back to running.
This year, he will be running the Leadville 100 with CKF as he aims to be the first liver transplant recipient to complete an ultra marathon. Matthew is also a member of the CKF Ambassador Team, working nationwide to educate and inspire individuals.
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Jesse Thomas
Jesse has been running in the mountains for over a decade, and has taken on countless half marathons, marathons, and 50ks. He has completed 100k at both the Silver Rush and Kodiak, but unfortunately Leadville eluded him in his previous attempt.
He is ready to take up the gauntlet and run for a great cause. Jesse is great friends with teammate Jesse Libby, and when talking about wanting to finish Leadville, Libby said there is no better cause to run for.
This year Jesse will be running in honor of his grandmother who recently passed away and was a huge supporter of his running dreams!
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Drew Francis
Drew is a Colorado native who lives in Leadville! He is a Firefighter / Paramedic for South Metro Fire and has spent his whole life enjoying the outdoors. In 2020 he worked as a paramedic for the Leadville 100, which began his 4.5 year path of ultra endurance events!
Leadville is more than just a race to Drew, it is part of his life. When he decided to take on the challenge, he thought why not do some good at the same time.
Given his job, Drew has seen many medical emergencies that have resulted in transplant or donation. But beyond this his dad is a kidney donor himself! His dad donated his kidney earlier this year and Drew was left stunned and humbled by his role model who donated a piece of himself to save another’s life.
All this to say that CKF was the perfect match!
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Jesse Libby
Jesse claims he is not a natural runner, he is not sure he even likes running! However during Covid with gyms closed, he looked outdoors to the mountains, and began to experience that runner’s high, when running becomes easier and your brain relaxes.
He signed up for a flurry of races including Turquoise Lake 20k and the Leadville 100. But opening day at Aspen Highlands put an immediate stop to his plans as Jesse broke his back. The following April he was back running, and on race day, Jesse managed to cross the Leadville finish line in just under 30 hours.
Since then Jesse has run many races across the US, including the 2022 Leadville with CKF. While he did not cross the finish line that time, but he did find a new passion in supporting the Chris Klug Foundation, and is back for 2025!
2025 CKF MTB 100 Team
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Travis Macy
Travis is an experienced athlete, endurance coach, author, and podcaster with six Leadville 100 finishes, including a 7h 11m finish. He is also a Leadman!
Leadville runs deep in the Macy family. Travis was born in 1983, the year the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike began! His dad took on his first Leadville run in 1988, two years before Travis’ mother, Pam, received a liver transplant.
When transplant medication and Hepatitis C caused kidney failure, Pam received a kidney from her living donor brother, Brian, also a Leadville bike and run finisher! Pam’s new kidney lasted for 15 years, and in 2017, she received a second kidney from her other brother, Eric, who has finished 27 Leadville runs, and at least one bike.This has led to Travis teaming up to race with CKF for the 2025 Leadville 100. Travis says, “Though Dad's Alzheimer's journey is increasingly uncertain, it would mean a lot to me (well, all of us) for my parents to see me riding Leadville in a CKF jersey.”
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Bodo Knudsen
Bodo grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, one of the coldest cities in North America. He grew up with a passion for medicine and cycling.
Bodo has competed in 4 Leadville 100 MTB races, and is excited to take on his fifth with CKF. Bodo was inspired by all those around him with incredible stories of overcoming obstacles to achieve greatness.
By trade, Bodo is a Urologist, specializing in Endourology and kidney stone disease at Ohio State University Medical Center.
As a Urologist, Bodo has plenty of experience with transplant patients, and during his residency, he assisted in organ procurement and transplant surgeries.
In 2005, Bodo began working at Ohio State, where he is Vice-Chair of Clinical Affairs for the Department of Urology. He leads the Endourology Program, and helps train the next generation of physicians and leaders. Bodo works closely with recipients, helping treat those who develop kidney stones.
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Alex Loeffler
Alex has been a supporter of CKF for years, and has raced on the CKF Leadville 100 MTB Team numerous times.
Alex recently moved to Minnesota, but is always looking for an excuse to come back to the mountains and support the cause of organ, eye, and tissue donation.
As Chris’s good friend, Alex has been continually inspired by the gift of life and the effect it has on not only the recipient but also their loved ones and friends.
Alex is excited to take on the challenge again in 2025 after a successful finish as part of the 2024 CKF Team!
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Charles Lucarelli
When he is not helping others to become better, Charles finds himself outside and trying to keep up with other members of CKF Chris Klug and Jon “Dr. String” Gibans.
Charles is a Personal Trainer, an opportunist, and an adventurist. Charles grew up in the town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. After graduating high school in 2000, Charles attended the University of Montana receiving a bachelor of arts in Communications and Marketing. “Montana was the gateway drug for the Mountains”.
Charles has been a member of the CKF Board for eights years. He ran the Leadville 100 as part of Team CKF in 2019, and now he wants the bike buckle!
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Andy Cortez
Andy was born and raised in the picturesque landscapes of Southern California, where the weather is almost always cycling weather.
As a kid, Andy would ride his BMX bike 20 miles round trip to the beach with friends. It was always a tool for adventure.
As an adult, Andy embarks on more ambitious Century tours and his bike still takes him on adventures. He has participated in road and mountain events from Lake Tahoe to Baja California, Mexico. Leadville has been on his bucket list since he first read about it in a magazine almost two decades ago.By day, Andy works in data analysis and maintaining information systems. He is a proud family man, with two wonderful daughters and an amazing wife who always supports his crazy endeavors.
Andy has done his best to instill in his daughters the values of empathy, fitness, determination, and a love for the great outdoors. His wife says he inspires them, but the truth is that their cheers are what inspires him to continue to pursue new challenges and help good causes.
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Jeff Cole
Jeff is a native New Englander, but has lived in the West (Colorado, Montana and Utah) since graduating from college where he played Division I Lacrosse for UVM. In the 90s, he was a soigneur and mechanic for several UCI World Tour road and UCI World Cup mountain bike teams. He is also a two-time National Masters Alpine Snowboard Champion.
Jeff spent the last 15 years as a Licensed Professional Counselor, specializing in sport and performance psychology, in addition to marriage and relationship coaching. He cofounded the Aspen Relationship Institute with his wife, Lori.
Jeff currently lives in Aspen. He and Lori write the “She Said, He Said” relationship advice column in the Aspen Times.
This will be Jeff’s third year riding the Leadville 100 MTB with CKF. -
Chris Klug
In 2003, Chris used $3,000 out of his own pocket to start the Chris Klug Foundation.
Chris was a professional snowboard racer when he was placed on the National Transplant Waiting List after being diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), a rare degenerative bile duct condition. He spent six years on the waitlist, critical for the last three.On July 28, 2000, Chris received his liver transplant, and said, “It was like a new engine was dropped in me!” Six weeks later, he was back on his snowboard, and had the opportunity to represent the USA at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he won a bronze medal.
During Chris’s time on the waiting list, he promised himself he would do everything he could to spread the message of organ, eye, and tissue donation once he was able.
This will be Chris’ 15th Leadville 100.
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Ryan McClean
Ryan’s first mountain bike race ever was the 2014 Leadville 100 with the Chris Klug Foundation, and since that day, he has been a staple member of the CKF Bike Team. Ryan resides in Venice Beach, CA, and Utah with his family. He is a dad of two, with his son Wayne being born right before the 2023 Leadville 100!
Ryan has spent years supporting the foundation and our mission after his first race in 2014. This year will be his 10th Leadville 100, and he has raced all of them with team CKF!
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Jon Gibans
Jon has been an ER Physician for over 21 years. An avid cyclist, skier, and mountaineer, Jon has summited two 8000-meter peaks: Gasherbrum II in Pakistan in 1994, and Mount Everest in 2003. He has summited Denali twice (including working as a volunteer doctor on the mountain for the National Park Service), has taken part in six expeditions in South America, and five other Himalayan expeditions, including skiing from over 7000 meters (23,000 ft) twice.
Jon is great friends with Chris Klug and has served on the CKF Board since its inception! He has been inspired by Chris’ story and the message he sends to everyone on the transplant waitlist.
Jon is aiming to finish his 24th Leadville 100!
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Adam Hopp
As a mischievous kid growing up, Adam’s parents strategically kept him busy with sports so that he would stay out of trouble. He grew up enjoying the camaraderie of teammates, and learned the value of competing, practicing, and improvement through dedication and hard work.
When Adam started college, he pushed sports aside to focus on getting good grades and setting his sights on a pathway to a career. However, it was during this time that a couple fellow students introduced him to mountain biking for the first time. Time outdoors with some friendly competition was exactly what he had been missing from his younger years.
Once Adam graduated college, life got busy with work and family obligations. Biking friends also got busy, and the bike was hung up to collect dust for the better part of the next 10 years.
Burnt out, Adam realized that his work/ life was going to require some rebalancing. He re-discovered the passion he had for mountain biking, and now he is having the time of his life competing in a multitude of endurance races each year. Pushing his limits to see what he is truly made of, this journey has led him to the iconic Leadville MTB 100 with CKF.
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Nick Lonsdale
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Brooke Starbuck
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