Steven Peterson

About

Steven Peterson is an American ultrarunner and one of the most dominant athletes in the history of the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run. Racing through the altitude-challenged Colorado Rockies — beginning above 10,000 feet in the self-described 'highest city in North America' — Peterson accumulated five victories at the Leadville race from the late 1990s through the early 2000s, including three consecutive wins from 1997 to 1999. His mastery of the course required exceptional aerobic capacity, seasoned mountain pacing strategy, and the mental resilience to execute at altitude through the night hours. He was still competing strongly into his late thirties, recording a finish time of 17:40:53 at the 2001 edition at age 39. With more than 50 results in the UltraRunning Magazine database, Peterson represents the competition-focused spirit of North American 100-mile ultrarunning at its most intense in the 1990s, and his Leadville record long served as a benchmark for future generations of altitude specialists.

Notable Wins

• — Leadville Trail 100 1997 1st
• — Leadville Trail 100 1998 1st
• — Leadville Trail 100 1999 1st
• — Leadville Trail 100 5× champion (1997-2001)

Race History