Familiar faces take home wins at Leadville Trail 100

On Saturday morning, the most famous 100-mile trail race, The Leadville Trail 100 (The Race Across the Sky), kicked off in Leadville, Colo., as runners made their way through 4,800m of elevation gain in the Rocky Mountains. Previous champions Clare Gallagher (2016) and Adrian Macdonald (2021) both earned their second Leadville titles, taking the win by a margin of two hours.

This race has been a staple of the ultrarunning community since its inception in 1983. The extreme elevation and high altitude are the biggest challenges athletes face as they make their way through the Rocky Mountains.

The women’s race

When Gallagher won in 2016, she flirted with the course record of 18:06:24 (1994) for the first 50 miles. This year, Gallagher went out more conservatively, racing with Addie Bracy until the 50-mile mark.

Bracy, a three-time USATF Trail National Champion, created a six-minute gap on a Gallagher, but she managed to gain back time on Bracy in the second half. By the 60-mile mark, Gallagher managed to fight her way back to the front, while Bracy dropped out of the race, leaving Gallagher with a considerable lead over the field, which she held until the end.

Clare Gallagher WINS the 2022 Leadville Trail 100 in an impressive time of 19:37:57! #LT100 pic.twitter.com/xC9GbP5giT

— ATRA ?‍♂️ ?? ? (@ATRAtrailrunner) August 21, 2022

Gallagher, from Boulder, Colo., was the first woman to cross the finish line in 19:37:57, only 37 minutes slower than her winning time in 2016. Alisyn Hummelberg of Corona del Mar, Calif. and Lindsey Herman of Albuquerque, N.M., came across the line for second and third, two hours after Gallagher finished.

The men’s race

Heading into this year’s race, Macdonald was destined to repeat as the men’s champion. Last year, he won dominantly in only his first 100-mile race.

Macdonald remained composed early on, mixing things up with a pack of 10 runners until the mile 25 mark. A small gap at the front began to emerge over the next few miles as Macdonald set the pace. By the halfway mark, he established a 15-minute lead over the second-place runner.

Adrian Macdonald WINS the 2022 Leadville Trail 100 in a n impressive time of 16:05:44, his second #LT100 in a row and 3rd fastest time in race history! ? pic.twitter.com/32ccbzlNaw

— ATRA ?‍♂️ ?? ? (@ATRAtrailrunner) August 21, 2022

The Fort Collins, Colo., native continued to extend his lead over the final 50 miles, coming to the finish line in 16:05:44, beating his 2021 winning time by 13 minutes. Macdonald crossed the finish line more than two hours before JP Giblin of Scotland and Ryan Kaiser of Bend, Ore., came across for second and third, respectively.

See full results from Leadville Trail 100 here.