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Cody Leventhal crossed the finish line at Kodiak 100K in 12th place. He had been chasing a Top 10 finish—the guaranteed entry to CCC at UTMB Chamonix that came with it. He finished 15 minutes short. Then he got the email.
This is the story of a first 100K, a goal that almost came true, and the moment everything changed.
The Goal That Started It All
For Cody, trail running and ultramarathoning have always been about three things: adventure, community, and pushing your limits. CCC by UTMB in Chamonix, France, represents the pinnacle of those goals—a chance to test yourself against the best ultrarunners in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Kodiak 100K by UTMB is one of four UTMB World Series Majors, drawing elite competition from around the world because it guarantees entry to CCC for the top 10 finishers. For Cody, that goal became a dream within reach only in the last year. Kodiak would be his first 100K. Finishing in the top 10 was always a longshot, but as Cody puts it: "If your goals don't scare you a little bit, you're not dreaming big enough."
When the Race Got Real
Cody didn't know his placing until around the 50K mark. His crew informed him he was in roughly 18th place. At that point, making up enough ground for a top 10 finish looked difficult.
As a first-time 100K runner, Cody wanted to run his own race—not get pulled into someone else's pace and blow up. He had paced the first 50K patiently and felt good. He had confidence he could start picking off runners who maybe went out too fast. He tends to be a strong climber late in races.
He picked off about six runners in the second 50K, moving up to 12th place. He finished 15 minutes behind the 10th-place runner.
Two Emotions, One Finish Line
Cody was disappointed. He had always known the top 10 was a longshot—his first 100K, in one of the deepest fields in ultrarunning, on a hard high-altitude course coming from sea level. But he was also immensely proud.
"I left everything I had that day on those beautiful alpine trails," he says. "There was never a single moment for those nearly 10 hours where I wasn't giving it my absolute all."
He learned a lot from the experience. He'll take those lessons into his next race.
Redefining Success
Looking back, Cody thinks missing the top 10 did change how he sees success in trail running—at least to some extent.
Running is always a competition with yourself, a way to see what you're capable of and challenge the limits in your mind. But it's easy to get caught up in external measurements of success, like a top 10 finish.
In reality, while those goals matter, Cody has had to reconcile them with the objective success he achieved: completing a challenging training block under demanding circumstances in his personal and professional life, and finishing the race in under 10 hours—his B goal after a top 10 place.
Cody is an amateur doing this for fun. He has a demanding career as an attorney. While he devotes as much time as possible to the sport, he recognizes that sometimes success comes from within—not based on placements he cannot control.
This race was a good reminder of that.
The People Behind the Runner
Cody thanked his parents and his Wednesday Night Run Club after the race. Their support was constant.
His parents were the best crew he could have asked for. They were at every crewed aid station with his nutrition and anything else he needed, ready to go. They got up at 4 a.m. and stood out in the cold and rain for hours at some stations just to see him for maybe a minute.
Wednesday Night Run Club is a group of trail runners who meet up in Newport Beach every Wednesday. This year, they volunteered their weekend to man the Bear Mountain aid station, which the 100K passed twice—at miles 5 and 30. Seeing his friends at mile 30, hearing their cheers, knowing they were following the livestream and supporting him—it was a massive boost.
Showing Up Every Day
Cody's post-race reflection talked about "showing up every day." His parents and grandparents set excellent examples for him. They are hard workers who instilled in him from an early age that hard work beats talent.
Ultrarunning, in particular, rewards consistency and doing the hard things day after day. Cody intends to keep showing up, doing the right things, and focusing on perfecting what is within his control.
The Email That Changed Everything
Cody finished 12th. The top 10 earned guaranteed entry to CCC. He was 15 minutes short.
Then the email arrived.
The race organizers informed him that he, too, would be able to run CCC in Chamonix next summer.
Just like that, the goal that had driven him through nearly 10 hours on alpine trails—the goal that had slipped through his fingers by 15 minutes—was suddenly back within reach. Not because he finished top 10. Because the race organizers recognized what his performance deserved.
What Comes Next
Naturally, Cody still wants to race CCC. He may be back at Kodiak next year to chase that top 10 finish again. There are plenty of other challenges he's interested in, but all of them involve continuing to do what he's been doing: training hard and taking care of his body.
Once he's rested and recovered, he'll start planning his next big swing.
For now, he has a spot in Chamonix waiting for him.
