The 2014 Hardrock 100 started out looking like it’d be a benign year. The leaders of the stacked men’s field were running above course-record pace, the weather was moderate, and women’s course-record holder Diana Finkel was going out behind Darcy Piceu. Then, of course, everything that makes Hardrock Hardrock came into play. By shortly after sunset, insane electrical storms had blown over the heart of the field, some of the toughest ultrarunners in the sport had dropped, Kilian Jornet was doing as he pleased with the field (and the course record), and Diana Finkel had gone from racing for the women’s win to moving into the overall top five. But then things changed all over again when Diana Finkel dropped from the women’s race for the third year in a row–this year at Maggie Gulch, mile 85.1, from unspecified medical issues. The slightly-more-conservative racing approach of Darcy Piceu paid off, and she won for the third year in a row. And Kilian, well, Kilian made history.
In addition to this article, you can find our full play-by-play of the race as well as a collection of our pre-race interviews and preview on our 2014 Hardrock 100 Live Coverage page.
For even more info on how this race went down, check out:
- Post-race video interviews with Adam Campbell, Julien Chorier, Kilian Jornet, and Darcy Piceu Africa along with 15-time finisher Betsy Kalmeyer and 20-time finisher Kirk Apt;
- Finishing videos for Kilian Jornet, Darcy Piceu, Julien Chorier, and Adam Campbell;
- Kilian Jornet and Darcy Piceu finish-line interviews;
- Video of Kilian Jornet, Timothy Olson, Julien Chorier, and Dakota Jones descending Grant Swamp Pass (mile 14.8);
- Our photo albums: The Start, Pitman Cataract Ridge (mile 7.8), KT (mile 11.5), U.S. Grant Swamp Pass (mile 14.8), Oscars Pass (mile 21.3), Telluride (mile 27.8), Governor Basin (mile 35.9), Ouray (mile 43.9), the Bear Creek Trail (mile 47), Engineer (mile 51.9), night (one) falling on the course, Grouse Gulch (mile 58.4); Handies Peak (mile 63.7), Maggie Gulch (mile 85.1) the Finish (leaders), the Finish (others), and the Awards Ceremony;
- Criss Furman’s photo gallery; and
- Geoff Roes’s article Twenty Two, Forty One, Thirty Three in which he tries to put the performance in perspective.
As usual, we’ll be updating this article with additional results as well as links to Hardrock-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports.
Thanks to Drymax for sponsoring iRunFar’s coverage of the race.
Ps. To get all the latest ultra news from iRunFar.com, subscribe via RSS or email.
2014 Hardrock 100 Men’s Race
Early in the race, a group of seven favorites ran together up front and just above course-record pace. No one was surprised to see Kilian, Julien Chorier, Adam Campbell, Timothy Olson, Dakota Jones, Sébastien Chaigneau, or Joe Grant out in front. By Oscar’s Pass at mile 22, Kilian had shattered the group as he went off the front. He had a 5- to 7-minute lead on Julien, Dakota, and Timothy while Seb fell back 10 minutes and Joe and Adam dropped back almost twice that with Scott Jaime joining them.
Kilian continued on with a 4- to 7-minute lead until after Engineer Pass (mile 52) at which point he more or less waited up for Julien so that he’d have someone to run with for a little while. Once Kilian left Grouse Gulch (mile 58) with a pacer to keep him company, it was all over. Kilian started climbing massive Handies Peak and built a 12-minute lead by its summit. His lead only multiplied from there.
While he was speeding away from the rest of the field, he started closing in on Kyle Skaggs’s course record of 23:23:30. He would tell us after the race that he pushed hard from Sherman Aid Station (mile 71.8) to the finish and his splits as compared to Kyle’s prove that:
- Sherman (mile 71.8) to Pole Creek (mile 80.9): Kilian – 2:09; Kyle – 2:32
- Pole Creek (mile 80.9) to Maggie Gulch (mile 85.2) : Kilian – :56; Kyle – 1:09
- Maggie Gulch (mile 85.2) to Cunningham (mile 91.3): Kilian – 1:33; Kyle – 1:51
- Cunningham (mile 91.3) to the Finish (mile 100.5): Kilian – 2:03; Kyle – 2:31
He ran so much faster than Skaggs did, but then he proceeded to spend 10 or 12 minutes chilling in each of the aid stations before blazing off again, easily spending up to triple the time Kyle did in aid. In the end, despite his rather meandering and care-free approach, he still obliterated the record, running an incredible 22:41:33 and bettering the course record by more than 40 minutes.
Kilian Jornet made sure to absorb all of the Hardrock course. Photo: iRunFar/Marc Laveson
Julien Chorier was the picture of steady and strong all day, never slowing, never faltering. Early on, he ran with and near the front of the field. And later on, he did the same as well. In the first approximately 25 miles of the race, Julien ran in the lead pack, looking quiet and focused. But by Telluride at mile 28, he had moved into a solid second position which he would hold for the balance of the race. He seemed to have just one minor weakness that revealed itself in the final 15 miles of the race, a really sore back. He crossed the line with a huge smile but a little hunched over, protecting it. After winning the counterclockwise direction in 2011 (post-race interview), his second place this year seals him as a ‘true Hardrocker,’ someone who has completed the run in each direction.
Julien Chorier couldn’t hold Kilian’s pace, but he dominated everyone else. Photo: Ryan Krol or Liz Sasseman
Adam Campbell, what can we say about this guy’s race except that–from the outside looking in–it seemed perfectly executed. He fiddled around just outside the top five for a while before slipping up position by position as he stayed strong when others faltered in the race’s second half. During the first half of the day, his leads or deficits to other runners seemed to stay steady. And, in the night, his deficit to first and second place increased but so did his lead over the rest of the field. A successful day out for a guy who did no altitude training before running North America’s highest-altitude 100 miler.
Also, ahem, his headlamp and pacer got struck by lightning on the shoulder of Handies Peak in the aforementioned bad weather! Everyone is okay save for being frightened beyond oblivion. We can’t help but think this fact further elevates his achievement’s badassery.
Adam Campbell wasn’t always in third, but he was at mile 11. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
The weather starting at sunset was miserable, and, for the leaders, this meant heavy rain and dangerous lightning over Engineer Pass and Handies Peak. So threatening was the weather that a number of men huddled together and under rocks to stay safe. Next time you see Jeff Browning (fourth place, textbook race start to finish, positive energy all the way), Jason Koop (DNF due to physical issues related to being out in cold, wet weather too long), Tsuyoshi Kaburaki (sixth place, a steady day despite being hit in the jaw by a falling rock in Bear Creek Canyon after Ouray–this race is crazy, no?), Scott Jaime (fifth place, his EIGHTH Hardrock finish), or Joe Grant (DNF due to a quadriceps injury), ask them about how they weathered the storm.
Jared Campbell, Mick Jurynec, Ty Draney, and Ted Mahon completed the men’s top 10.
Some expected favorites dropped including Dakota Jones (ankle injury) and Seb Chaigneau (rhabdo symptoms).
2014 Hardrock 100 Men’s Results
- Kilian Jornet (Salomon) – 22:41:33
- Julien Chorier (Hoka One One/Compressport) – 25:07:56
- Adam Campbell (Arc’teryx) – 25:56:46
- Jeff Browning (Patagonia) – 26:58:59
- Scott Jaime (Pearl Izumi) – 27:46:14
- Tsuyoshi Kaburaki (The North Face) – 28:07:38
- Jared Campbell (La Sportiva) – 28:23:42
- Mick Jurynec (Altra) – 28:28:54
- Ty Draney (Patagonia) – 28:46:04
- Ted Mahon – 29:23:34
The top-seven men were within 2 minutes at mile 11. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
2014 Hardrock 100 Women’s Race
Let’s face it, in the women’s race for the win, there were just two women who legitimately vied for it (by just 15 miles in, there was already a gap of 30 minutes between the two contenders and the rest of the women’s field), two-time champ Darcy Piceu and course-record holder Diana Finkel.
Very early on, Diana seemed to control her aggressive Hardrock racing style, running behind and with Darcy. But Hardrock nature seemed to take its course by the top of the second climb, Grant Swamp Pass at mile 14.8. Diana arrived there several minutes ahead of Darcy and her lead would grow by several minutes at every aid station until she dropped for the third year in a row, this time with just 13 miles to go at Maggie Gulch and for unspecified medical reasons.
Darcy, too, seemed to race a bit faster as compared to her usual style, staying only a couple minutes behind leader Diana until after the halfway point before dropping back a bit more rapidly after that. Darcy’s raced Hardrock four previous times, and she’s not finished under 29 hours. We couldn’t help but wonder if she had sub-29 hours on her mind in this race? Though Darcy raced what has become a textbook race for her, steady, smiling, and seemingly peaceful as she goes, sub-29 just wasn’t in the cards for her once again, and she finished in 29:49:58.
Betsy Kalmeyer finished second, completing her 15th Hardrock! The other Betsy, Betsy Nye, completed the women’s podium.
Darcy Piceu completed her fifth Hardrock and her third win. Photo: iRunFar/Jon Allen
Diana Finkel has hard knocks at Hardrock. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
2014 Hardrock 100 Women’s Results
- Darcy Piceu (Hoka One One/Smartwool) – 29:49:58
- Betsy Kalmeyer – 37:57:22
- Betsy Nye – 42:22
- Tina Ure – 42:45
- Suzanne Lewis – 42:55
- Sarah McCloskey – 43:12
- Liz Bauer – 43:49
- Kim Gimenez – 44:43
- Patty Bryant – 46:34
- Susan Gardner – 46:46
The leading ladies– Darcy Africa and Diana Finkel–at mile 11. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
2014 Hardrock 100 Articles, Race Reports, and More
Last updated: July 17, 2014 5:30 pm
Articles, Videos, and Photo Galleries
- Jordi Saragossa’s photo gallery
Matt Trappe’s photo gallery[broken link removed]- Fredrik Marmsater’s photo gallery
- Competitor’s photo gallery
- Will Thomas’s photo gallery
- Seb Chagneau’s American Style Get Ready For… episode.
- Tim Olson’s family video
- Denver Post’s summary (Go Hoval!)*
- Star Valley Independent’s article on Ty Draney
- A Killer Course (Outside Magazine)
- Sky Hi News article on Amanda Grimes (survey wall)
- Competitor’s article
- Video about Julien Chorier’s race
Race Reports
- Julien Chorier (2nd man)
- Mick Jurynec (8th man)
- Ty Draney (9th man )
- Timothy Olson (12th man)
- Eric Lee (19th man)
Video of Leaders Descending Grant Swamp Pass
Thank You
As with all of our live race coverage, we managed Hardrock with a team of dedicated volunteers. Our Hardrock 100 field coverage was brought to you by the assistance of Kim Wrinkle, Travis Trampe, Shelby Berg, Jon Allen, Marc Laveson, Matthew Curtis, Justin Ricks and the rest of the Ricks family, Peter Rabover, Vince Heyd, Kristen Foster, Aaron Marks, Ryan Krol, and Liz Sasseman. From computers around the world, we also received huge assistance from Mauri Pagliacci, Andy Jones-Wilkins, Travis Liles, Ellie Greenwood, Gretchen Brugman, Eric Senseman, David Boudreau, and Andrew Swistak. Whew! THANK YOU ALL!
* Denver Post writer Dan Perry attended and ran for the same small public high school in New Jersey as iRunFar’s Bryon Powell.
Kilian Jornet after the 2014 Hardrock 100. Photo: Matt Trappe
