Rob Krar wins Leadville Trail 100

Hamilton-born Canadian Rob Krar won his second 100 mile ultramarathon in as many months over the weekend in winning the Leadville Trail 100 mile race in Leadville, Colo. This comes shortly on the heels of his Western States 100 victory at the end of June. The event is referred to as the Race Across the Sky and takes place in the Colorado Rockies.

The Leadville race, which saw nearly 700 runners finish the event, is a 50-mile out-and-back course where runners climb over Hope Pass at 3,850 m of elevation on both legs of the run.

Krar, who now lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., finished the race in 16:09:32, the second-fastest result ever.

“Without a doubt, that was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Krar told the Denver Post at the finish line. “I did not expect this halfway through the race. I honestly don’t know how I did it.”

After winning two of the top 100-mile races in North American this summer, Krar has cemented himself as one of the world’s top ultramarathon runners at the moment. After taking a long time away from competitive running following university, Krar got interested in training again only a few years ago and has risen very quickly to the top of the sport.

The women’s race was won by Emma Roca of Spain in 19:38:04.

The race has been run since 1983 and is one of the major events in the ultrarunning circuit.

The series that hosts the event also puts on 50- and 100-mile mountain bike races on the same courses as their ultramarathons. All the races are part of the Leadman and Leadwoman series that see athletes complete multiple events and are ranked on their placement across an entire series during the summer races.