How do you get into the Leadville Trail 100?
Seven published routes, only one of which is the lottery. In the most recent cycle the lottery was open December 1 to 15, with everyone notified January 8. Qualifier-race registration opened the next morning. Life Time member priority opened a week before the lottery did. If you are planning a year out, the calendar matters more than the luck.
Read from the official Leadville Race Series lottery and qualification page and the Leadville Trail 100 Run event page on 2026-08-16. The dates below are the 2026-season dates, which is what the race currently publishes. The 2027-season dates have not been announced. When that page changes, this one changes.
The calendar, as last run
| Date | What opened |
|---|---|
| Nov 24, 10:00 AM MST | Life Time member guaranteed spots, first come first served |
| Dec 1 | Lottery applications open; Training Camp + Entry packages open |
| Dec 15, 11:59 PM MST | Lottery applications close; last moment to withdraw an application |
| Jan 8 | All applicants notified; selected cards charged |
| Jan 9, 10:00 AM MST | Qualifier races and Camp-only packages open, first come first served |
Dates from the 2026 cycle as published: applications ran Dec 1 to Dec 15, 2025, notification Jan 8, 2026, qualifier and camp-only registration Jan 9, 2026, member spots from Nov 24, 2025. Treat them as the shape of the year, not a promise about next year.
1. The lottery
Free to enter. A card is collected at application and charged only if you are drawn, along with the processing fee and any add-ons. Merchandise added at registration is charged only on selection; a donation is charged immediately and, the race states plainly, does not increase your chance of selection.
One application per person, and the team-entry option was removed in 2025, so everyone applies as an individual. Anyone who already holds an entry to that year's event may not enter its lottery. If you are drawn and your card declines, you get a follow-up email the same day and one week to fix it before the spot is forfeited. Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Withdrawal is by email to the support team before the close of the window.
2. Qualifier races
The most reliable route, and the one that rewards planning rather than luck. Each Leadville Race Series qualifier awards a minimum of 35 LT100 qualifier coins, and coins go only to athletes who finish the longest distance at that event. You must be 18 on race day. The exact number of slots at each event is at the Series' discretion, so 35 is a floor rather than a figure.
Run qualifiers: Leadville Trail Marathon, Silver Rush 50 Run, Austin Rattler Run. MTB qualifiers: Sea Otter Fuego XL, Lutsen 99er, Silver Rush 50 MTB, Leadville Stage Race, Little Sugar MTB, Austin Rattler MTB. Qualifier registration opens the morning after lottery notification and sells out.
Arithmetic worth holding onto: three Run qualifiers at a minimum of 35 coins each is at least 105 guaranteed Run entries before the lottery is drawn, and six MTB qualifiers at the same floor is at least 210. Those entries, plus camp, coaching, charity, volunteer and member spots, come out of the same permitted field the lottery draws from.
3. Training Camp + Entry packages
A camp on the actual course with a guaranteed entry attached. These opened the same day as the lottery in the last cycle and sold out. Camp-only packages, without the entry, opened in January with the qualifiers.
4. Coaching + Entry packages
A training program plus guaranteed entry, sold through Boundless Coaching, which the race series names as its official coaching partner.
5. Charity slots
Registering through an official charity partner guarantees entry and bypasses the lottery entirely. The commitment is a fundraising one; the partner sets the terms.
6. Volunteering
The series runs a volunteer program and points at it from the lottery page as a route toward entry. Terms are on the volunteer page rather than the lottery page.
7. Life Time member registration
Members holding a Club-Access membership for at least six months before the registration date may be eligible for a limited number of guaranteed spots, opened first come first served roughly a week before the lottery window. The race states that the exact number of these spots is tied to the event's permit. Members who miss out are directed back to the lottery.
What are the actual odds?
Nobody outside the race can tell you, and the race does not publish it.
The Leadville Race Series does not publish the number of lottery applicants, the number of lottery spots, or a selection rate for either 100-miler. Any percentage you see quoted is somebody's estimate, usually built from a screenshot, a forum thread, or a year-old number applied to a different year. We are not going to add another one.
What is knowable from published sources is the structure, and the structure is the useful part. The field is capped by a Forest Service and BLM special-use permit. Guaranteed entries are handed out through six non-lottery channels before the draw. Qualifiers alone put at least 105 people into the Run and at least 210 into the MTB. So the lottery is not a draw for the whole field, it is a draw for what is left of the field, which is why the athletes who get in year after year are so often the ones who ran a qualifier.
What we do not know yet
- The 2027 lottery window and notification date. Not announced as of 2026-08-16.
- Whether the qualifier list changes for 2027. It has moved before.
- Entry fees for the next cycle.
- The permitted field size for either race, which the series has never published.
The lottery page has historically been updated in the autumn. This page is checked on the daily run and will carry the new dates the day they appear, with the date of the check.
Sources
- Leadville Race Series: Lottery & Qualification, the selection rules, qualifier list, coin counts and every guaranteed-entry route above
- Official Leadville Trail 100 Run event page, course, permit language and entry terms
Written 2026-08-16 from the official pages, which govern. Entry rules, dates and qualifier lists are the race organization's to set and change at any time, and the pages above are the authority if this one falls behind. leadville.co is an independent site with no affiliation to Life Time, the Leadville Race Series or the City of Leadville, and nothing on this page is paid placement. Racing this year instead? See the course weather matrix, the crew and pacer resource index and acclimatization for racers.