Saddles 100 · Prescott, AZ · Oct 3, 2026

Lucci's Crew Rail

100.3 mi · +11,709 ft gain · 5:00 AM start · 17:56 target · finishes ~10:56 PM, same day
He is never out there at 2 AM — that hour belongs to the official 34-hr cutoff, not to his race. Official cutoff is still the hard safety limit; the 17:56 target is the actual plan.
tap a station
No crew access
Runner log ▸
Nutrition tracker ▸
Protocol: 1× 500ml flask per hour (fluid), carbs from Maurten 160 mix (40g carb / 210mg sodium each, 12 on hand), Maurten gels (25g carb / 20mg sodium each), and Carbs Fuel packets (50g carb / 450mg sodium each) — target 40–60g carb/hr and 500–1000mg sodium/hr, adjusted up or down based on how he's feeling.
Aid-station protocol · approach vs. chair ▸
Two distinct handoffs, straight from Lucci (2026-09-27), not to be blended together. On approach — before he sits down — it's rapid, Miller-only, then hand off. In the chair, it's the team, and the vibe matters as much as the checklist.
On approach (Miller, immediately, before he sits): in this order — (1) his current place/position, (2) gap to the runner ahead, in real time — minutes and seconds, not "a couple minutes ago," (3) gap to the runner behind, same precision, (4) one question on fuel/hydration — how's it feeling. Then hand off to Joey. Lucci's own words: he doesn't want everybody talking at him — get him the numbers, then let him sit.
No live tracker exists for this race (checked directly against saddles100.com, 2026-09-27 — no RaceJoy/Ultrasignup-style spectator tracking offered). Position and gap times have to come from asking aid-station volunteers or other crews on-site, not a phone app. Don't guess a number Lucci can act on — if it's not confirmed, say so.
In the chair (Joey + team): hydration, fuel, feet — per Lucci, "that's kind of it." Then the terrain briefing for what's ahead (see each leg's own notes above). Keep it calm and locked-in, not a crowd scene — his words: "we're pros here," no applause, no fuss, even if he's crushing it (a quick "you're doing great" is fine, just not a whole moment). His stated reason: aid stations are full of industry people, and a team that looks buttoned-up and professional reads as sponsor-attractive on its own — he named Norda directly, same logic as Nike or Adidas sizing up a rider who already looks handled.
Race strategy · 17:56 target ▸
The plan: negative split, not even pace. Start controlled and stay within sight of the top 20 through the daylight miles — don't force position early. The real move starts leaving Ranch TH, mile 74, right around dusk: final ~26 miles at race pace, kicking hardest on the Homestead/Spruce climbs and the downhill finish, passing people who went out too hot. Lucci must finish in under 17:56 — a hard requirement, not just an aspirational target. 3 legs (Willow Ramada→Water, Water→Peavine, Spruce→Finish) had unrealistic splits, corrected to realistic paces 2026-09-21; every other leg was tightened by a small, uniform amount to hold that exact 17:56 finish rather than let it slip.
Per-leg target splits and pace are shown on the orange card on each leg — Controlled (miles 0–62.8, hold position, conserve, all in daylight), Build (Highway 69 → Ranch TH, the pivot, daylight into dusk), Surge (Ranch TH → finish, race pace, after dark). These are a strategy target built from the course's real terrain, not a promise — the official 34-hr cutoff below is what actually governs if the day goes sideways.
He is never out there at 2 AM. Start 5:00 AM, finish target 10:56 PM — done well before midnight, same calendar day. The overnight-sounding official cutoffs shown on each leg (some as late as 2:20 AM or 6:00 AM) describe the back-of-pack safety window for the whole field, not his race. Don't let those numbers read as his plan.
Known risk: he runs hot early. Tap "Start race clock" at the gun, then log a check-in at every stop — each one is checked against target pace. If he's more than 3 minutes ahead of target during a Controlled or Build leg, the tool flags it directly: too fast, tell him to back off. Running ahead during the Surge phase (Ranch TH onward) is the plan working, not a warning.
Race-day reference ▸
Pacers become legal at mile 50 · Willow Lake Ramada. Minimum pace 3 mph — cutoffs are when you must have left the aid station, zero exceptions.
Steepest pitches on course (0.1-mile sustained grade, from GPX analysis): 21.0% around mile 52 (Willow Ramada→Willow Water leg) — the steepest on the whole course; 18.6% around mile 28.3 (Skyline→Granite Basin leg). Everything else on course stays under ~17%. Flagged on those two legs' own cards too.
Michael Versteeg · Race Director928‑533‑8191
Mary Buchanan · Medical Director928‑899‑0585
Official race rules, markings, and race-director instructions on race day always supersede anything shown here. Mileage, cutoffs, and crew access are taken directly from the official 2026 Saddles 100 race manual (re-verified 2026-09-14, exact match on every station). Per-leg elevation gain/loss is computed from the race's own published GPX track (re-audited against Lucci's supplied 2026 track 2026-09-21, light smoothing to suppress GPS noise; totals 11,709 ft gain / 11,936 ft loss, the sum of the 13 legs shown — each leg is independently rounded to the nearest foot, so it lands a foot or two off any total quoted before per-leg rounding) — still an estimate, not survey data, typically within a few dozen ft per leg. Aid-station coordinates come straight from waypoints embedded in that same official GPX file, cross-checked 2026-09-14 — accurate for driving, but confirm parking/access specifics on-site since some lots fill up or restrict spots (see each station's notes). No-crew stations are a hard rule — showing up can get Lucci disqualified, per the manual's own policy.