I have to hand it to anyone who completes the Shenandoah 100. It is a BRU-TAL race. There are some STRONG riders out there. I knew coming off of Leadville that I was going to underestimate this race. I knew the course was slower, I knew it had a lot of climbing, and I knew that people with all different levels of training attempt this race. How do you qualify someone when they say, "this course is very rocky", or "it starts real fast." What's the frame of reference? Why is it that I hated nearly this entire race, yet I'm looking forward to doing it again?! So, the answer to the question is "Yes." Shenandoah 100 is a HARDER race than the Leadville 100. Leadville gives you pavement and fireroad and restful descents. While Shenandoah gives you some fireroad and road climbs, and rocky gnarly singletrack, and you can count on nearly every descent being a white knuckle, bone jarring, endo infested gnarlfest. Here's how I remember the race ...