Leadville 100 cutoff calculator
Leadville is a 161 km out-and-back that crosses 12,600 ft Hope Pass twice. The 30-hour cutoff earns a silver buckle; sub-25 earns the big gold buckle. This calculator projects your ETA at every aid station, outbound and inbound.
What the GPX doesn't tell you
Race start at 10,200 ft. Altitude is the dominant factor for anyone who hasn't lived above 8,000 ft for weeks.
Hope Pass at 12,600 ft, crossed twice. The double crossing breaks more runners than the distance does.
The “Boulevard”: 4 miles of dirt road back to the finish at 10,200 ft. Easy terrain that feels impossible after 95 miles.
Leadville's cutoffs are tight in the first half (Mayqueen at 3h45m for 12.4 mi is aggressive) and relax through the middle, then tighten again on the inbound leg. The Twin Lakes inbound cutoff (10:15 PM = 18h15m) is the most-missed. Runners arrive there with no quads left and 40 more miles to go.
The sections that decide the race
Twin Lakes outbound to the Winfield turnaround, climbing Hope Pass at altitude in the heat of midday. Pace too aggressively here and the inbound becomes a death march.
Advice for Leadville 100
For sub-25 (gold buckle), target the Twin Lakes outbound cutoff with 90 minutes of buffer. The model accounts for terrain but not your altitude adaptation.
For sub-30 (silver buckle), getting to Winfield by 13 hours gives you 17 hours for the inbound, which is usually enough.
The Twin Lakes inbound aid (km 99) is the practical “do I finish” point. Cross it before 9:00 PM (15h elapsed) and you should make it.
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