Lexi Watts completes the Leadville Trail 100

On Saturday 23 August 2026, Lexi Watts completed her first 100-mile race at one of the most demanding endurance challenges in trail running, finishing the legendary Leadville 100 in 29 hours, 28 minutes and 10 seconds — just 31 minutes and 50 seconds inside the 30-hour cutoff.

Leadville, nicknamed the ‘race across the sky‘, isn’t a normal ultramarathon, with almost the entire course taking place at an altitude above 10,200 feet (3,109 metres), rising to 12,500 feet (3,810 metres) at its peak.

The 2026 event saw the same 100-mile course in the Colorado Rockies around the historic mountain of Leadville, and followed its usual out-and-back route.

Runners started in Leadville, before heading towards Twin Lakes and eventually reaching the race's defining obstacle: Hope Pass, which is the highest peak. Runners crossed Hope Pass on the way out towards the halfway point, then climbed it again on the return journey, by which point they had already covered around 60 miles (100km).

Of the 656 runners who lined up at the start, just 387 finished within the 30-hour cutoff.

Who is Lexi Watts?

Watts is a US-based running influencer and endurance athlete who has built a large following around marathon and long-distance running. She has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, where she documents her training, races and running lifestyle.

Lexi has completed numerous marathons, including a 3:14:37 marathon at the 2023 REVEL Big Bear Marathon, and in September 2025 she made the jump into ultrarunning, completing the Bryce Canyon 50 Mile in 12:27:04, finishing 24th overall and seventh among women.

You can read the full race results on the Leadville website.