5:30 a.m. — Runners gather at the starting line to the 22nd annual Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run as the rising sun burns off a heavy fog that has settled over the town of Silverton. Several competitors stare lengthily at the Ram’s head painted Hardrock, a rock that marks the completion of the 100.5 mile race as though doing so will lead them back home as does the North Star a wayward mariner. Multiple-time finishers chat amongst themselves about how snowy the course will be as several runners crowd around for a photo with Kilian Jornet, (Team Salomon and 2014 course record holder with a 22:41:43 finish) arguably the most recognized and successful name in ultra-running.
The Hardrock Hundred boasts some of the most difficult terrain in the nation attracting elite national and international runners to cast their lot amongst the 1200 applicants for a chance to be one of the 152 participants each year. This year the favored contenders are Kilian Jornet Burgada of Spain, Adam Campbell of Alberta and Mike Foote of Montana for the men’s race and Anna Frost of New Zealand and Darcy Piceu of Colorado for the women’s race. It is already assumed that Jornet will take the win for the men’s race. The real race this year will be between first-time Hardrocker Frost and multiple-time finisher Piceu.
The race traverses the rugged San Juan Mountains and maintains an average elevation of 11,000 feet above sea level and tests a runner’s true mettle with a cumulative elevation gain of 33,992 feet. The course begins and ends in Silverton taking runners over several 13,000 foot passes, 14,000 foot Handies Peak, and then winds its way through the towns of Ouray and Telluride all with a 48 hour cut-off time. It takes most runners on average a grueling 41 hours to complete the race. That means most participants will see the sunrise and set twice; now, that’s mental tenacity.
Despite the difficulty of the course Killian Jonet commented in his finish-line interview after setting the course record in 2014, that running the Hardrock fulfilled a childhood dream of his yet, it was not simply competing that made it so. It was the sense of community, the energy of the mountains and the amazing people involved with the race that made the Hardrock so unique.
6 a.m. — The entire group of runners sways in unison with anticipation of the race’s start. At race director Dale Garland‘s countdown the entire mass suddenly yields into a sprint that mirrors marathon pace in spite of the incredible distance that lay ahead. It takes but a moment for the runners to disappear around the block heading toward 12,592 foot Stony pass. It is for a moment silent and then at once the crowd of spectators seems to exhale in wild speculation as to how Jornet will set a new course record, if the rain and snow will alter the outcome drastically, and who will win the brawl between Piceu and Frost.
Jornet took an early lead by Engineer Pass and with it he took the time to chat amongst the aid station crew, acting as though he were on an afternoon jog even with Mike Foote close on his heels. Chris Price, Adam Campbell, Anna Frost and Darcy Piceu rounded out the remaining top spots.
It was then, around midnight as the leaders were making their way over Oscar’s Pass from Telluride, that the snowfields began to take a toll. According to Foote, navigating the snowfield through heavy fog and rain was nearly impossible. The top ten were delayed for nearly an hour as they post-holed through snow that was chest deep in spots. Frost, nearly defeated from the task and losing her lead to Piceu, begged pacer Eric Skaggs of Durango, Colo. to allow her to lie down and sleep. Skaggs replied that it would mean hypothermia, “that it would kill you,” he said to Frost.
Piceu gained an 18-minute lead over Frost by Chapman aid station. By 5:28 a.m. Jornet crossed the finish line in first place overall setting a new counter-clockwise record with a time of 23:28:10. It would be over two hours before second place Foote crossed the line followed by Campbell. As the sunrise warmed Frost, so did her pace as she gained on Piceu and went on to finish first for the women setting a new course record with a time of 28:22 followed by Piceu with a time of 28:57. According to Campbell it was the most dynamic racing at Hardrock he has ever seen.