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HARDROCK 100 MILES 160KM/10.000M+: RACE PREVIEW, FINALLY BACK AFTER 2 YEARS OF CANCELLATIONS ON 16TH JULY
HARDROCK 100 MILES (160KM/10.000M+): back after 2 years – 2019 heavy snow and 2020 Covid-19. Our TRAIL RUNNING USA section bring us today the preview of the 2021 Hardrock 100 miles that will take place on 16th July in Silverston, Colorado. FOLLOW THE RACE UPDATES LIVE HERE
146 runners will departure from Silverton Colorado this wekend crossing thirteen major passes in the 12,000′ (3600 m) to 13,000′ (4000m) range, ultil reaching the highest point on the course being the 14,048′(4200 m) summit of Handies Peak, to finally arrive back to Silverton after 100 miles/160km and complete the tradition of, instead of crossing a finish line, “kiss the Hardrock”, a picture of a ram’s head painted on a large block of stone mining debris.
Ike Karrera kissing the Hardrock 2017 Photo: Salomon Running
HARDROCK 100 MILES 2021: THE RACE & HISTORY
Hardrock is one of the few that deserve international resonance for its own personality: There are Western States for being the first; Leadville for its great history and the magic of Colorado… and this HardRock that stands out perhaps among all for being the hardest and wildest according to its creators.
Completing the 160km of this adventure, should be done in 48 hours, well. But crossing 13 high mountain passes of more than 3,700 meters of altitude. Logically, with this radical route some years the race must be suspended due to excessive snow, like in 2019.
In fact, the words “Wild & Tough” receive on the finish rock each finisher, every year. Because at the Silverton finish line, as the image above shows, the race doesn’t end until you kiss the finishing rock 🙂
Each year’s run is run in the opposite direction of the previous year’s event (2018 was run in the clockwise direction, 2021 will be counter-clockwise).
HARDROCK 100 MILES: THE ORIGINS
The following text is an original from the www.hardrock100.com:
In the fall of 1991, Gordon Hardman (Boulder & Lake City, CO) placed a notice in Ultrarunning Magazine that in the summer of 1992 there would be a 100-mile run in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. John Cappis (Telluride, CO & Los Alamos, NM) contacted Gordon and asked what his thoughts were for a course.
The general approach was to bring the route as close as possible to Silverton, Lake City, Ouray, and Telluride, the four major mining towns of the San Juan district. The original thought was to change the start/finish between towns each year to add variety to the run. Cappis volunteered to try and lay out a course, keeping in mind the idea of connecting the towns while at the same time selecting routes that would be on trails as much as possible.
A basic principle was that the course make use of the old mining trails as much as possible. This event was to be not only a physical and psychological challenge to the entrants, but also a celebration of the miners that made that area what it had become. It was envisioned as a “Post Graduate” run. Entry was limited to those who had finished several other certified 100 mile runs and/or were considered, in the opinion of the run management, capable of finishing what was meant to be the most mountainous trail run in the United States.
By January of 1992 a route developed entirely from map studies was available. Charlie Thorn (Los Alamos, NM) then became active in the process and by April the necessary government permits were obtained. In June, Charlie, Rick Trujillo and Cappis spent many days making sure the chosen routes were feasible and making field adjustments, including addition of the Dives Little Giant section only one week before the run. The course was run in the clockwise direction with a nominal length of 98.8 miles and a cumulative vertical gain of 29684 feet. Start and finish was in the Silverton Memorial Park with a large tent serving as run headquarters.
And since then, they are still there every year, except for the cancellations due to snow, as we said in 2019 or due to Covid in 2020, so this year’s edition is truly highly anticipated by both runners and spectators.
A race full of romanticism and hardness: cross 13 mountain passes of more than 3700 meters following the paths originally used by the miners of the nineteenth century in the mountains of San Juan, Colorado, to reach and kiss a rock that symbolizes the effort and tenacity of those ultrarunners who challenge the 162 km, to finish in an average time of about 40 hours , which means, spend 2 nights in the race.
HARDROCK 100 MILES 2021: THE ROUTE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE DIRECTION
Here you can read the full Hardrock 2021 Runners Manual
HARDROCK 100 MILES 2021: THE FAVORITES
In the men’s category the TOP3 favorites, according to their previous results would be: the French François D’Haene, three times winner at UTMB (2012, 2014, and 2017) and four times champion at Diagonale des Fous (2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018) who has been training already in Colorado for more than a month as he has published in his Instagram account.
Jeff Browning, the veteran American runner, who is in fact he returning Champion at the Hardrock 100, who we also saw a couple of weeks ago at the Western States where he DNF as he explained in his Social Media, preventing him from burnout as he wanted to be 100% ready for this year’s Hardrock. We will se if he is fully recovered from the heat at the WSER100.
Dylan Bowman, the North Face and Red Bull athlete, third at Transgrancanaria in 2020, winner of Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji in 2016 and 2019, and a 7° at UTMB in 2017 is, according to us also one of the favorites for the final podium at this Hardrock 100 in 2021. Let’s see if the Vectiv shoes bring him really forward in the race.
Also pay attention to names like Ryan Smith, Leadville champion 2019, or Julien Chorier who won here in Silverston in 2011 and was 2° after Kilian Jornet in 2014.
In the women’s category, there are also 3 names that we would highlight above some others, like Courtney Dauwalter, who won the 2019 UTMB, 2019 Madeira Island Ultra Trail, 2018 Western States 100, and 2018 Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji 100 Mile and despite being for the first time at the Hardrock, we are sure whe will give it all to be in the lead; Sabrina Stanley having won the 2018 race in 30:23 and living in Silverton since April 2019 obviously gives her a lot of chances of fighting really hard to repeat the victory in her back garden and Darcy Piceu , also a returning champion with her victories in 2012 and 2014.
Very interesting will be to see how both runners and runners battle with the weather, which will oscillate in the valleys between 22 ° C and 11 ° C and possibilities of rain but at height altitude can turn into snow and cold, which is expected between Friday and Sunday in the area of the San Juan Mountains and these historic 100 miles in Silverton Colorado.
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