The Leadville Trail 100 MTB was first run in 1994 and has become one of the best marketed, attended and known marathon events in mountain bike racing.
[3] The race is run on an out and back course of about 50 miles (80 km), starting and finishing in downtown Leadville, Colorado, United States, at 10,200 ft (3,100 m) elevation.
The course includes five major climbs: St Kevins, Sugarloaf, Columbine, Powerline, and Turquoise Lake Road.
Total elevation gain is approximately 11,000 feet (3,400 m) when verified by GPS tracks of past competitors.
[1] The actual length of the course is approximately 104 miles (167 km), and the greatest elevation is over 12,500 feet (3,800 m) at the half-way point at the Columbine mine.
In 2010, Armstrong was unable to return due to injury, but his Team RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer, riding in his first mountain bike race, won and set a new course record of 6:16:37.
In 2011, a conflict with the Tour of Utah kept Leipheimer away, but U.S. national cross-country bike champion Todd Wells turned in the second-fastest time ever to win, 6:23:38, while Rusch won the women's race again and shaved over 15 minutes off her previous record, with 7:31:46.