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The operator playbook
Everything it takes to run it
A race like this is settled in the permits, the insurance, and the medical plan long before the start gun. This is the working knowledge base for building a high-country gravel stage race, in the order you actually need it. Sources cited, nothing invented.
Foundation — first
Permits, sanctioning, safety
Permitting & land use
USFS special-use permits (Leadville Ranger District), BLM, county and CDOT, and the ranch. Who owns the ground, and the lead times that set the calendar.
Sanctioning & insurance
USA Cycling versus self-permitted, liability limits, additional-insured for every land manager, and the rider waiver.
Course design at altitude
Routing, honest cutoffs, aid spacing, marking and the timing overlay, built around 10,000-plus feet.
Medical & safety plan
Altitude illness, descent-first evacuation, EMS coordination, the radio net above treeline, and lightning protocol.
Operations
Running the day
Timing & registration
Chip timing, registration platforms, and general-classification scoring across stages.
Volunteers & SAG
Course marshals, aid stations, the UTV support fleet, the radio net, staffing ratios and recruiting.
Sponsorship & budget
The budget model, sponsor tiers, entry-fee math, and how a first-year event pencils out.
Reach & riders
Filling the field
Marketing & the calendar
Where a new race fits on the gravel calendar, the media, the Life Time Grand Prix orbit, and launch strategy.
Athlete guide
Training and racing at 10,000-plus feet: acclimatization, gearing, tires, hydration and what to expect.
Comparable-events study
How SBT GRVL, Unbound and the Leadville Race Series actually run, and what to borrow.
Built to hand to a race director
This playbook is the working manual for standing the race up. It grows as decisions get made.