The Everesting is complete, but you can still donate! Thank you for all the support.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5504026125

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You'd spot a friend five bucks, right? I humbly ask for your support of these two charges I am training/fundraising for this summer. Check with your employer for non-profit donation matching. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

1. Everesting to provide food and shelter to those expieriencing homeless through Team Samaritan. "Everesting" is to complete a single bike ride that amounts to 29,029 vertical feet of climbing. The route I scouted is roughly 178 miles and my goal is to finish in under 20 hours.

2. The Leadville 100, a single-day mountain bike race across the Colorado Rockies to support young adults diagnosed with cancer by raising funds for First Descents (FD). The race is 103.5 miles with 12,600 feet of climbing at an average elevation near 11,000ft.
   

THE WHY
TS - Team Samaritan’s headquarters are in the River North district (RiNo) of Denver, which I consider a big part of my community (home to FD's office, and my old office+climbing gym). I regularly saw people in need during my daily bike commute. It’s easy to turn a blind eye while driving by in a car, but on a bike, you gain a greater appreciation for their life—the sights, conversations, sounds, smells, and weather conditions are far less ignorable while on a bike.

FD - I am inspired by my mom, a cancer survivor, and my aunt Diny, who is currently undergoing chemo treatment. Most all of us know someone close affected by cancer. But because cancer for 20-45 year olds is rare, most of these people are isolated in their undertaking. FD creates opportunities for cancer survivors to come together and share their experiences on an intimate level and provides support systems to manage an unfathomable life change. FD's main programs take participants on full-funded surf, kayak, or climbing adventure trips. Just like with their cancer, participants generally have zero experience with these activities.

THE OBJECTIVES
What’s my goal? To raise of funds, of course. How? By setting a challenge that's ridiculous enough for people to take note. That’s the idea, anyway. While I am aware my ask is simply glorified panhandling, think of your donation as an investment in my motivation to complete these goals emphatically, especially after 16 hours in the saddle. 

1. Race the Leadville 100 MTB
August 14, 2021
Racers are allotted 12 hours to finish the Leadville 100, but I do not want to simply complete the race. Although finishing before the cutoff is a significant challenge for nearly every competitor (the race officials offer a shiny cowboy belt buckle for those who do), I target to finish under 9. Ambitious? Probably. Misguided? Definitely. I have never mountain biked for more than 40 miles, let alone in a non-stop, high-altitude race. And while I have ridden and raced mountain bikes since I was 12, some friends are oddly confident in my ability to shoot for this 9 hour goal.

For those unfamiliar with what this race entails: This is not a road ride. This is on trails, in the alpine mountains/at timberline (when trees stop growing due to thin air and exposure). There will be thunderstorms, wind, low oxygen, dehydration, lack of nutrition, chafage, cramps, and heart rate spikes so high, they will ruin your day. Imagine how steep mountain pass roads are. Double or triple that pitch, throw down loose dirt and rocks, and pedal a bike up it for nine hours straight.

Building Block - Silver Rush 50
July 11th, 2021
In order to finish the LV100 in under 9 hours, I need to start towards the front of the pack. There are 2,000 people who start this race. With so many bodies, it's hard to make your way towards the front, so you have to start there. However, with world-renowned pros and many other actual endurance athletes at the front, I can’t just choose to start there. I have to qualify. Therefore, my training really begins with the Silver Rush 50, an MTB race similar to (and near) the Leadville 100. It’s roughly half in all respects and I have exactly half the time to complete it. I will train to mountain bike 50 miles, climbing 7,800 vert at an average altitude of 10,800, in under 4.5 hrs, by July 11th.

2. “Everesting”
June 20th, 2021
To train and raise funds for a program that provides food and shelter to the homeless, I am “Everesting” on the longest day of the year. “Everesting” is completing a single ride that amounts to 29,029 vertical feet. Find a hill-climb and repeat it until you’ve ridden to the top of Everest. The route I scouted is roughly 178 miles and I hope it will take less than 20 hours. Yay.

Some might call this endurance event “suffering”. But what is suffering? What does it mean to endure? I imagine most can recall their own experience suffering through an endurance event or giving something your hardest physical effort possible, despite fatigue. However, that’s all self-inflicted fun, far from suffering. As I write this, there is a blizzard outside (Denver, 3/14) with 22" of snow on the ground. There are people with no food to eat and no home to stay in tonight, tomorrow, or this spring. That is true suffering—true endurance—with no end in sight.

I convinced (duped) my friends AJ Sherer and Dillon Wilson to join me. They, too, enjoy “suffering” on a bike.

Building Block - The Murph
May 30th, 2021
My brother is hosting a community Murph workout in Erie, CO the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend to raise funds for the Eire Hero Foundation. The “Murph” is a workout in memory of the late SEAL Michael Patrick Murphy who was awarded the US Medal of Honor. It consists of a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another 1-mile run, all while wearing a 20lb vest. I think this might be the most difficult piece of my training, but I will need the body mass at the beginning of my summer to maintain fitness this summer. 

Wish me luck. I’ll keep you updated.

-Corbin