Plum Tree is taking on an incredible challenge.
We are racing the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race to raise funds for the Colorado Outward Bound School.

About The Leadville 100 MTB

The Leadville 100 MTB is the most challenging one-day mountain bike race in the world. The ‘Race Across The Sky’ isn’t just about endurance. The combination of altitude, distance, and terrain makes this race legendary among endurance athletes. It’s about perseverance, teamwork, and pushing past limits. Those same values drive our work every day at Plum Tree, as we help families and kids build resilience, courage, and connection.

• Distance: 100 miles (approximately 160 km)
• Elevation Gain: Roughly 12,000 ft (3,650 m) total climbing
• Founded in 1994 by Ken Chlouber and Merilee Maupin to help revive the local economy after the Climax Mine closure.

About The Colorado Outward Bound School

• The mission is to ‘Change Lives Through Challenge and Discovery’. Your donation will help expand outdoor leadership and character-building programs for our youth, especially for those who might not otherwise have access to these life-changing experiences.

What Are The benefits For Kids? 

• Belonging & Teamwork: Students form deep connections founded on respect, inclusion, and compassion.
• Self-confidence and Courage: Students discover they’re stronger than they thought (both physically and mentally) and develop the confidence to speak up and persevere through challenges.
• Reflection and Awareness; The programs include structured reflection, debriefs, and connect what’s happening outdoors to what students can translate back to their daily lives (school, home, community).
• Physical Engagement & Resilience: The outdoor tasks (hiking, navigating, camping) help kids step outside comfort zones, build stamina, and develop resilience (not just physically but mentally).
• Transfer of Skills: The idea is that skills developed (leadership, communication, problem-solving, perseverance) carry into school work, peer relationships, and later life.

Why Does This Matter?

• It gives youth a change of environment. Disconnecting (at least partially) from screens and typical settings and placing them in an outdoor, challenge-based environment can spark insight, growth, and new behavior models.
• Because of its group-based nature, it promotes peer support, leadership opportunities, and positive social dynamics, which align with socio-emotional learning frameworks that you might use in your practice.
• The structured challenge & reflection format aligns well with behavioral-health goals: for example, helping youth build self-efficacy (the belief “I can do it”), coping with discomfort, and stretching beyond current skill sets.
• Research supports that youth who struggle with confidence, social belonging, or motivation benefit from an outdoor experiential programs.