| Bgcolour: | white |
| Date: | August 18–19 |
| Location: | Leadville, Colorado |
| Type: | Ultramarathon trail run |
| Distance: | 100miles |
| Est: | 1983 |
| Record: | David Roche 15:26:34 (2024); Ann Trason 18:06:24 (1994) |
The Leadville Trail 100 Run (aka The Race Across The Sky or the LT100) is an ultramarathon held annually on rugged trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. First run in 1983, the race course climbs and descends 15600feet, with elevations ranging from 9,200 to 12,620 feet (2,800–3,850 m). In most years, fewer than half the starters complete the race within the 30-hour time limit.
The course is a 50miles out-and-back dogleg run primarily on the Colorado Trail, starting at 10200feet. The centerpiece of the course is the climb up to Hope Pass at 12620feet, encountered on both the outbound trek and on the return.
In the early 1980s Colorado Ultra Club president Jim Butera had the idea of creating a 100 mile run in Colorado. When Aspen and Vail showed no interest Butera found support by Lake County Commissioner Ken Chlouber to hold the event in Leadville as a way to bring in visitors after the closing of the Climax Molybdenum Mine. Butera designed the course and the first running was held on August 27–28, 1983, with Butera serving as race director with the assistance of Chlouber and Merilee Maupin.[1]
Leadville is one of the four 100-milers in the United States that make up the "Western Slam", completing four western 100miles events: the Leadville 100, the Western States 100 in northern California, the Wasatch Front 100 in Utah, and the Angeles Crest 100 in southern California. Leadville is also a part of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (the Vermont 100, Western States 100, Leadville and the Wasatch Front 100, originally Old Dominion 100 instead of Vermont) and an optional part of the Rocky Mountain Slam (Hardrock 100 plus three of four other races in the Rocky Mountains: Leadville, the Bear 100, the Bighorn 100, or the Wasatch Front 100). Leadville is also one of the valid qualifying events for the Western States 100.
Leadville was the venue for the American debut of the Tarahumara runners of Mexico. In 1992 the Tarahumara first showed up to run outside their native environs. Wilderness guide Rick Fisher and ultra-runner Kitty Williams brought some of them to Leadville. However the experiment went bust. The problem, it turned out, was psychosocial, i.e. an unfamiliarity with the trail and the strange ways of the North. The Indians stood shyly at aid stations, waiting to be offered food. They held their flashlights pointed skyward, unaware that these "torches" needed to be aimed forward to illuminate the trail ahead. All five Tarahumara dropped out before the halfway point.[2] The Tarahumara teams came back in 1993 and 1994 and won the Leadville event outright both years. In 1993, 52-year-old Tarahumara runner Victoriano Churro came in first, followed by 41-year-old teammate Cerrildo in second. In 1994, a five-man Tarahumara team took on Ann Trason in a much-publicized race in the ultrarunning community. Twenty-five-year-old Tarahumara runner Juan Herrera won in a record time of 17:30. His mark stood for 8 years until broken by Chad Ricklefs in 2002 (17:23), then again by Paul DeWitt in 2004, then again by Matt Carpenter in 2005, and finally by David Roche in 2024. Trason finished in second place with a time of 18:06, which remains the course record for female runners.
In 2024, David Roche set the new course record of 15:26:34.
The winner of the first race in 1983 was Skip Hamilton of Aspen, CO., in a time of 20:11:18
David Roche is the current course record holder for the Leadville Trail 100 Race. His time of 15 hours, 26 minutes, and 34 seconds in 2024 shattered the 19 year record previously held by Matt Carpenter.
Ann Trason holds the female LT100 record, 18:06:24, which she set in 1994. Trason is widely recognized as one of the greatest ultrarunners of all time, and nearly won the race outright in 1994.Charles Williams holds the record of the oldest man to ever complete the race, which he did at the age of 70 in 1999. He was featured in the August 1999 issue of GQ magazine, which compared his training for the race to that of a professional football player.
Bill Finkbeiner became the first person ever to receive the "Leadville 2000-Mile Buckle" for twenty LT100 finishes in 2003. Finkbeiner has a total of 30 consecutive finishes, starting in 1984.[3] In 2014, Kirk Apt finished his 20th Leadville 100. In 2019, Eric Pence finished his 25th Leadville 100, becoming the third person to earn 25 or more buckles, along with Finkbeiner and Garry Curry.[4]
Men's Winners[5]
| Year | Winner | Time | Age | State/Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | David Roche | 15:26:34 | 36 | ||
| 2023 | JP Giblin | 17:07:25 | 29 | ||
| 2022 | Adrian Macdonald | 16:05:44 | 33 | ||
| 2021 | Adrian Macdonald | 16:18:19 | 32 | ||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2019 | Ryan Smith | 16:33:24 | 40 | ||
| 2018 | Rob Krar | 15:51:57 | 41 | ||
| 2017 | 17:34:51 | 36 | |||
| 2016 | 16:22:39 | 35 | |||
| 2015 | 16:33:53 | 34 | |||
| 2014 | Rob Krar | 16:09:32 | 37 | ||
| 2013 | 16:30:02 | 32 | |||
| 2012 | Thomas Lorblanchet | 16:29:28 | 30 |  France | |
| 2011 | 16:46:54 | 20 |  South Africa | ||
| 2010 | Duncan Callahan | 17:43:25 | 27 | ||
| 2009 | Timmy Parr | 17:27:23 | 27 | ||
| 2008 | Duncan Callahan | 18:02:39 | 25 | ||
| 2007 | 16:14:35 | 24 | |||
| 2006 | 17:01:56 | 23 | |||
| 2005 | 15:42:59 | 41 | |||
| 2004 | Paul DeWitt | 17:16:19 | 36 | ||
| 2003 | Paul Dewitt | 17:58:45 | 35 | ||
| 2002 | Chad Ricklefs | 17:23:18 | 35 | ||
| 2001 | Steve Peterson | 17:40:53 | |||
| 2000 | Chad Ricklefs | 18:07:57 | 33 | ||
| 1999 | Steve Peterson | 18:47:31 | 37 | ||
| 1998 | Steve Peterson | 18:29:21 | 36 | ||
| 1997 | Steve Peterson | 18:10:45 | 35 | ||
| 1996 | Steve Peterson | 19:29:56 | 34 | ||
| 1995 | Kirk Apt | 20:33:05 | 33 | ||
| 1994 | Juan Herrera | 17:30:42 | 25 |  Mexico | |
| 1993 | Victoriano Churro | 20:03:33 | 52 | Mexico | |
| 1992 | Rick Spady | 19:51:10 | 40 | ||
| 1991 | Steve Mahieu | 19:38:04 | 44 | ||
| 1990 | Jim O'Brien | 17:55:57 | 37 | ||
| 1989 | Sean Crom | 18:56:40 | 33 | ||
| 1988 | Rick Spady | 18:04:03 | 36 | ||
| 1987 | Skip Hamilton | 18:44:55 | 42 | ||
| 1986 | Skip Hamilton | 19:26:09 | 41 | ||
| 1985 | Jim Howard | 19:15:57 | 30 | ||
| 1984 | Skip Hamilton | 18:43:50 | 39 | ||
| 1983 | Skip Hamilton | 20:11:18 | 38 | ||
Women's Winners
| Year | Winner | Time | Age | State/Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mary Denholm | 18:23:51 | 37 | ||
| 2023 | Jacquie Mannhard | 21:24:55 | 38 | ||
| 2022 | 19:37:57 | 30 | |||
| 2021 | Annie Hughes | 21:06:58 | 23 | ||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2019 | 20:18:06 | 46 | |||
| 2018 | Katie Arnold | 19:53:40 | 46 | ||
| 2017 | Devon Yanko | 20:46:29 | 35 | ||
| 2016 | 19:00:27 | 24 | |||
| 2015 | Elizabeth Howard | 19:34:09 | 43 | ||
| 2014 | 19:38:04 | 41 |  Spain | ||
| 2013 | Ashley Arnold | 20:25:42 | 26 | ||
| 2012 | Tina Lewis | 19:33:44 | 30 | ||
| 2011 | Lynette Clemons | 19:59:06 | 30 | ||
| 2010 | Elizabeth Howard | 21:19:48 | 38 | ||
| 2009 | Lynette Clemons | 20:58:01 | 35 | ||
| 2008 | Helen Cospolich | 23:21:53 | 31 | ||
| 2007 | Tammy Stone | 22:44:54 | 45 | ||
| 2006 | Diana Finkel | 20:43:19 | 34 | ||
| 2005 | Nikki Kimball | 20:28:21 | 34 | ||
| 2004 | Anthea Schmid | 20:50:05 | 32 | ||
| 2003 | Valerie Caldwell | 22:54:16 | |||
| 2002 | Anthea Schmid | 19:44:24 | 30 | ||
| 2001 | Janet Runyan | 21:47:44 | |||
| 2000 | Amanda McIntosh | 22:16:17 | 35 | ||
| 1999 | Amanda McIntosh | 22:05:22 | 34 | ||
| 1998 | 20:58:32 | 37 | |||
| 1997 | Julie Arter | 24:08:07 | 36 | ||
| 1996 | Martha Swatt-Robison | 23:30:11 | 34 | ||
| 1995 | Linda Lee | 22:59:01 | 39 | ||
| 1994 | 18:06:24 | 33 | |||
| 1993 | Christine Gibbons | 20:55:59 | 31 | ||
| 1992 | Theresa Daus-Weber | 23:37:23 | 37 | ||
| 1991 | Alice Thurau | 22:10:35 | 35 | ||
| 1990 | 20:38:51 | 29 | |||
| 1989 | Kathy D'Onofrio | 20:50:41 | 25 | ||
| 1988 | 21:40:26 | 27 | |||
| 1987 | Randi Young | 24:12:57 | 35 | ||
| 1986 | Maureen Garty | 22:45:01 | 36 | ||
| 1985 | Marge Hickman | 26:57:50 | 35 | ||
| 1984 | Teri Gerber | 28:17:41 | 35 | ||
The LT100 is one of six races presented under the Leadville Trail 100 banner. The other five events are as follows:
A competitor who officially finishes the Trail 100 Run, Trail 100 MTB, the Marathon, the Silver Rush bike or run, and the 10K is called a "Leadman" or "Leadwoman", a title which nods to the Ironman Triathlon. Charles Bybee currently holds the most Leadman titles, with 10 years of finishing all events (2007-2010, 2012–2017). In 2015, Junko Kazukawa completed the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning and the Leadwoman series, becoming the first person to complete both events in a single year.[6] [7] In 2019 Dion Leonard became the first male to complete the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning and the Leadman series in one year.[8]
All events of the 2020 edition of the race series were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given a deferral and a refund option for each race.[9]