LEADVILLE 100 2026 PREVIEW: A REROUTED RACE AFTER THE WILLOW FIRE
Race organizers confirmed on July 31 that this year's 100 miler in Colorado's highest incorporated city will go ahead on August 22, though not on the course runners know. The Leadville Trail 100 will use a rerouted course after the Willow Fire burned across sections of the traditional route northwest of town.
The closures are not marginal. Hagerman Pass Road, Sugar Loaf Mountain, and the Power Line climb all sit within the burn area and will remain closed for the foreseeable future, according to the race's July 31 update. Power Line, the exposed climb that greets runners around mile 80 on the return trip, is one of the most recognizable features of the race.
The fire picture has improved. Containment of the Willow Fire reached 66 percent by the end of July, seasonal monsoon rains arrived, and evacuation orders and forest restrictions were lifted on July 30, reopening many trails around Turquoise Lake. Organizers wrote that fire crews protected key race infrastructure along Highway 300 near the Leadville Fish Hatchery.
A Course Without Power Line
The classic course is an out-and-back of just over 100 miles, run entirely at altitude between roughly 9,200 and 12,600 feet, with a double crossing of Hope Pass as its centerpiece. How much of that survives in 2026 is still unknown. Course reroutes are being reviewed by permitting agencies, and organizers have committed to publishing the final route and maps no later than August 14, eight days before the start.
Crew logistics follow on August 18, and organizers have guaranteed a minimum of three crewing areas and six fully stocked aid stations. For a race where crew access at spots like Twin Lakes and Outward Bound shapes every pacing plan, runners will be rebuilding their race strategies in the final week.
The race has been part of American ultrarunning since 1983, a history covered in our look back at four decades of the Race Across the Sky.
The Records Question
David Roche enters the year as the men's course record holder at 15:12:30, set in 2025 when he lowered his own mark from the previous summer. Anne Flower holds the women's record at 17:58:19, also set in 2025. Both marks were run on the traditional course.
That matters for how 2026 will be judged. Whatever times are posted on a rerouted course will be difficult to compare against the existing records, and any fast performance this year will carry that footnote until the race returns to its standard route.
What to Watch
The start list will come into focus once the course details land in mid-August. The more immediate questions are structural. How much climbing does the reroute keep? Does Hope Pass, which sits south of the burn area, remain in the race? How do six aid stations instead of the usual larger network change fueling strategies over 24 to 30 hours of racing?
The answers arrive on a tight schedule: final route on August 14, crew information on August 18, and the shotgun start in downtown Leadville at 4:00 a.m. on August 22.