Athletes Raise Over $353,000 for First Descents at 2026 Leadville Race Series

First Descents is excited to share that 43 athletes raised more than $353,000 this August, as two teams completed both Leadville Race Series events — the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and the Leadville Trail 100 Run — in support of First Descents’ mission to provide life-changing outdoor adventure experiences to young adults impacted by cancer and multiple sclerosis.

This marked the 19th year First Descents has fielded a team at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and the 8th year the organization has sent a team to the Leadville Trail 100 Run. First Descents’ new CEO, Alex Accetta, raced with the MTB team this year, joining a roster that included three First Descents alumni across both teams.

Twenty-six riders and seventeen runners took on the courses, with the bike race raising $263,479 and the run raising $89,569.

Two weeks before race day, athletes learned the Willow Fire would force changes to both courses, and they had to adjust the training and race plans they’d spent months preparing before stepping onto a course different from the one they’d trained for.

The MTB race covered 102.1 miles with roughly 9,916 feet of climbing, in place of the usual 104-plus miles and more than 12,000 feet of elevation gain. The Trail Run covered 99.7 miles with 13,357 feet of elevation gain, compared with the standard 100 miles and 15,744 feet of gain. Despite the changes, the running race’s signature climb over Hope Pass remained part of the run course as did the famous Columbine climb for the mountain bikers.

Team First Descents traces its roots to 2006, when then-Executive Director Allan Goldberg faced a cancer recurrence after 26 years in remission. Looking for a challenge to help him prepare mentally for the chemotherapy and radiation ahead, Goldberg chose the 2007 Leadville Trail 100 MTB and asked his oldest friend, Brent Goldstein, to race it with him. The pair raised nearly $85,000 for First Descents that year, which accounted for about one-third of First Descents’ annual budget at the time. Goldberg passed away in 2008, but his passion for helping others through this race has lived on.

This year’s race marked Goldstein’s 19th Leadville 100 MTB, and he plans to return next year for his 20th.

“There was nothing specifically more meaningful about the 2026 race for me than any of my prior Leadville 100s. Every single one is meaningful for the impact it has on FD and on first-time racers riding under the FD banner,” said Brent Goldstein, 19x Leadville 100 MTB athlete and First Descents board member. “What set this one slightly apart was the uncertainty surrounding the race because of the Willow Fire — we didn’t know whether we’d be racing until three weeks before race day. So even with a slightly abridged course, I felt quite thankful throughout the race that I was able to be out there and get #19 under my belt (or actually on my belt, since I got that 19th belt buckle!). I’m very excited to celebrate my 60th birthday next summer with family and friends when I hopefully become just the 17th person, out of some 17,000-plus mountain bike racers who have ever toed the line in Leadville, to earn the coveted 2,000-mile buckle.”