Lefthand’s record-setting run of 576 miles came during Bike Sebring 2025 on Feb. 15-16. Now, he has his sights set on establishing a new record for virtual miles cycled over the same period.

The 32-year-old’s journey to cycling dominance has been wholly unconventional. Initially an accomplished marathon runner, he turned to cycling in 2022 when an injury put him on the sidelines. The will to move and conquer new goals persisted.

“I was just having bad knee and foot issues and was like, ‘I need to figure out some other way to be active because this is killing me,'” Lefthand told the Standard-Examiner. “Later that summer, I was sitting on the couch and I have this very vivid memory of like looking up at Mount Ogden and saying, ‘I should be up on top of that mountain.'”

Shortly thereafter, he was training on a bike, and just 60 days after clipping in for the first time, he was riding LoToJa, a grueling, 208-mile race from Logan to Jackson, Wyoming. Before long, he realized he was hitting gears other riders couldn’t.

“The first couple of weeks I was riding the bike, I was already going for 100-mile rides,” Lefthand said. “I didn’t really realize that, like, that’s a lifetime goal for some people. … I just thought this was normal because I was already doing like three or four of them. And there was a week where I did like five or six to get ready for LoToJa because I thought that was normal to do as well.”

After that first LoToJa experience, Lefthand was hooked. He competed as a Cat 4/entry-level rider in 2023 before moving up to the top category for 2024.

His breakthrough came that year when he dominated the Hoodoo 500, a 520-mile race in the punishing landscapes of Southern Utah. Battling adverse winds and nutrition struggles, Lefthand not only won but obliterated the course record for solo racers by a whopping six hours, finishing the race in just over 29 hours.

Mere weeks later, he logged an eighth-place finish as a top-category cyclist at LoToJa despite having crashed and broken his collarbone during the waning stages of the race.

Lefthand rode this momentum into Sebring, where he entered the race with a personal goal of crossing the 600-mile threshold. While 84-degree temperatures and wind conspired to keep him just shy of reaching that mark, he still managed to set a record, one he hopes will be just another in a string of history-making efforts.

As part of his regular training regimen — which can encompass 25, 30 or even more hours each week — Lefthand uses the cycling/running platform Zwift to complete long-distance rides virtually. Having already completed multiple ultra-long distance rides, he’ll undergo a Guinness World Record attempt for most virtual miles achieved in 24 hours on April 19 at ENVE Composites Headquarters in Ogden.

Lefthand is also aiming to establish new official records with Zwift and the World UltraCycling Association during the attempt.

“Knowing that I’ve done it before, I’m very confident that I can do it again, especially because I’ve gotten a little more fit since then as well,” he said. “I’m feeling really good about it.”

Through all the highs and lows, the miles of triumph and suffering, Lefthand’s greatest supporter has been his wife, Bailey, who, when she isn’t busy with her own work, community engagement efforts or helping raise their children, finds time to serve as an assistant coach/trainer, sports psychologist, travel coordinator and more.

“We’re best friends. We talk through everything. She’s the only person who knows exactly how my head works and what’s going on with me and how to handle me in all these different situations,” Lefthand said. “So, to have that at a race and for someone to see me, like, breaking down and having a hard time, but knowing that I’m OK because I’m used to pushing through that and her just taking care of the things that need to be taken care of and not getting too caught up in the moment with me — knowing that I will be OK — it’s huge.”

As Lefthand prepares for his virtual record attempt, he’s aiming to inspire others to climb to the top of their own, personal mountains. His credo is clear: The limits we believe exist are often self-imposed.

“My hope is to let people know that the limits in your life aren’t always as limiting as you think they are, that you can overcome many different things by trying, by training, by training your mind, by pushing harder, by realizing that it’s you that’s stopping yourself from accomplishing what you want to or what you could accomplish,” he said. “You don’t even know what you’re capable of until you give it a try.”