Leadville, Colorado · Trail
Official site ↗Leadville Trail 100
The Race Across the Sky: 100 miles out-and-back through the Colorado Rockies from Leadville, entirely above 9,200 feet, crossing 12,532-foot Hope Pass in both directions.
Completed August 22, 2026
Rerouted for the Willow Fire, which closed Hagerman Pass Road, Sugarloaf Mountain and Powerline. Runners now head west out of Leadville and around Turquoise Lake, turn, come back east around the lake, and rejoin the traditional course into Outward Bound: May Queen is gone, Carter Summit and Turquoise Lake Dam are new, and there are twelve aid stations and three crew locations. Hope Pass, the Winfield turnaround, the 4 a.m. start and the 30-hour cutoff all survive. The distance and climb shown are the race's own published figures for the rerouted course, and it has revised the climb three times in race week: posted with the map on August 13, lowered on August 18, raised on August 19, and lowered again on August 20.
women
- 1. Mckendree Hickory19:39:12
- 2. Jacquie Mannhard20:28:37
- 3. Emma Wood20:33:33
men
- 1. Adrian Macdonald15:47:23
- 2. Matthew Zupan16:15:25
- 3. Tim Tollefson16:45:14
Distances
- Distance
- 99.7 mi (160 km)
- Vert gain
- 13,357 ft (4,100 m)
- Cutoff
- 30 hr
WSER 2027 qualifier (sub-30:00)
| Distance | Vert gain | Cutoff | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99.7 mi (160 km) | 13,357 ft (4,100 m) | 30 hr | WSER 2027 qualifier (sub-30:00) |
Course records: Anne Flower 17:58:19 (2025) · David Roche 15:12:30 (2025)
About
The Leadville Trail 100 started in 1983 as a way to save a collapsing mining town, and it worked: every August the town of Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the United States, empties onto Sixth Street at 4 a.m. to send runners out on the Race Across the Sky. The course runs out-and-back on trails and dirt roads along the Colorado Trail, starting at 10,200 feet and never dropping below 9,200.
The centerpiece is Hope Pass at 12,532 feet, crossed outbound and again on the return, with the Twin Lakes crossings on either side. Sub-25-hour finishers earn the big gold and silver belt buckle; the 30-hour gun ends it. Roughly half the field finishes in a typical year.
Course
Out-and-back from downtown Leadville along Turquoise Lake, over Sugarloaf and Powerline, through Twin Lakes, and over Hope Pass to the Winfield turnaround, then all of it again in reverse. About 15,744 feet of climbing, all between 9,200 and 12,532 feet.
How to register
Entry is by lottery each winter, with additional spots through Leadville Race Series qualifiers, charity entries, and the Leadman and Leadwoman series. The race is produced by Life Time.