A year after Kilian Jornet set a clockwise course record at the Hardrock 100, this year’s race might prove to be more exciting. For the unfamiliar, Hardrock is a 100-mile race with nearly 34,000 feet of elevation gain (and an equal amount of descent) that loops through the über-scenic San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
With an average elevation of 11,000, the course pops over 13,000’ seven times. Starting and finishing in Silverton, the course reverses direction each year with this being a counterclockwise year.
As you’d expect, we’ll be covering the race live starting at 6 a.m. Friday, July 10. We’ll also have plenty of interviews leading up to the race, all of which are listed after the appropriate runner below.
Thanks so much to Salomon for their generous support of our coverage of this year’s Hardrock 100.
Thanks, too, to Smartwool and Ultimate Direction for making our Hardrock coverage possible.
2015 Hardrock 100 Women’s Field
At the moment, it’s safe to say women’s field boils down to a two-woman race between Darcy Piceu (pre-race interview) and Anna Frost (pre-race interview).
Darcy Piceu
Darcy Piceu is the three-time defending Hardrock champ and one of the most consistently strong women’s mountain ultramarathon runners of the past decade. (Post-race interviews in 2012, 2013, and 2014.) Let’s put it this way, if I were trying to race Hardrock, I’d try to race like Darcy. This year, she’s won the Red Hot Moab 33k in February and set a course record at the Big Horn 50 Mile early last month. Her three Hardrock wins have all been in the 29-and-change range.
It goes without saying that we can call Anna Frost one of the strongest women’s trail runners on the planet without listing off her resumé. She’s wanted to run the race for a few years now and ran her first 100 miler at The Bear last September to gain her Hardrock qualifier. She easily won and set a course record there. However, that’s her only 100 miler and Hardrock is a big step up. She also dealt with some injury issues earlier in the year, but spent most of June training hard in the San Juans. Even at less than 100%, Anna has the ability to go for the course record. However, a more conservative approach would give her a much stronger shot at winning the race.
[Insert a few hours here. ;-)]
Darla Askew
If there’s any woman in the field with the potential to bridge that time gap, it’s Darla Askew, who has a pair of Hardrock finishes. She was third in 2012 in 33:52 and second in 2013 with a massively improved 31:09 (interview). Earlier this year, she’s tok fifth at the Sean O’Brien 100k in 11:40 and won the Scout Mountain 100k in 11:36, so she’s got solid fitness for this year’s race.
When thinking about Hardrock, it’s hard to separate the Betsies: Betsy Kalmeyer and Betsy Nye. Between the pair, they’ve finished 28 Hardrocks (Nye 13, Kalmeyer 15) and have won the women’s race six times (Kalmeyer 5, Nye 1). Last year, Kalmeyer had the upper hand when she finished second woman in 37:57 (post-race interview) to Nye’s third 42:22. Kalmeyer’s run a couple races this spring, including a fifth at the Jemez 50 Mile in 12:28. Nye, too, has raced a couple times this spring, including the Zion 100 Mile where she finished in 25-and-a-half hours.
- Clare Abram — In 2013, she was 12th at the Lake Sonoma 50 Mile in 9:23 and 21st at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 36:16.
- Leah Fein — A resident of nearby Durango who took fifth at the 2012 Hardrock in 38:09. She’s been running ultras for more than a decade.
- Missy Gosney — While she lives in Durango and has been to the race many times, this is Missy’s first go at Hardrock. She has, however, been on many badass adventures including the 186-mile (with 85,000’ of climb) Petite Trotte à Léon and 205-mile (with 79,000’ of climb) Tor des Géants. Last year, she won the Bighorn 100 Mile in 24:30. This year, she was second at the Zane Gray 50 Mile in 11:18.
- Meghan Hicks — She’s won the Marathon des Sables (2013 – awesome race report), a race where she’s been in the top five four out of her five runnings. Last year, she finished the Tor des Géants. Last month, she was sixth at the Squaw Peak 50 Mile in 11:04.
- Suzanne Lewis — Took fifth at Hardrock last year in 42:55. Back in 2010, she was second at the Wasatch 100 in 27:27.
Other notable names: Liz Bauer and Pam Reed.
It’s worth noting that women’s course-record holder Diana Finkel pulled herself from the entrants list in May. She’s led the last few Hardrocks until very late in the race until the same health concerns have forced her to drop.
While still fifth on the “Never” waitlist as of this writing, Salt Lake City’s Bethany Lewis would be a huge addition to this year’s Hardrock. No doubt, she has the capability to run sub-30 hours and give Darcy and Anna a run for their money.
2015 Hardrock 100 Men’s Field
Kilian Jornet
So, yeah, Kilian Jornet’s (pre-race interview) back and he’s going to be hard to beat. He simply dominated last year’s race and made everyone’s jaws drop as he crushed the final 25 miles of the course en route to a big course record (finish-line and post-race interviews). He’s not raced much so far this year, but his training outings suggest that he’s no less prepared for this year’s race. The only curve ball is that he’s not spent more than a couple days at high elevations for a few months and isn’t arriving in Silverton until race week.
Iker Karrera (pre-race interview) might be the guy who can hang with Kilian for the longest. They’re Salomon teammates, know each other well, both speak Spanish (and English), and they’ve raced in sync before. For example, the duo (along with Seb Chaigneau and Miguel Heras) ran together until mile 90 of UTMB in 2011. Kilian went on to win, while Iker was second in 20:45. Iker tied for second at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc last year in 20:55 (interview). He’s also won the 205-mile Tor des Géants in 70:04 (2013).
Mike Foote
On the American side, Mike Foote (pre-race interview) might be the best shot for the win. He’s run incredibly well at UTMB, placing third in 2012 (interview) and fifth in 2013 (interview). He’s also run Hardrock once before, taking third in 2010 in 29:35. He’s capable of running at least a couple hours faster than that. It sounds like his training has been going well and he’ll have had an week and a half in Silverton before the race to acclimate.
Adam Campbell was third at last year’s Hardrock in 25:56 (interview). That’s a pretty strong piece of evidence in for another top finish. He’s got another dozen ultra results backing that up, including a second at both the CCC (2011 – interview) and Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji (2012). On the other hand, Adam runs hot and cold on running and his training log suggests he had a cold period this spring.
Troy Howard
Troy Howard don’t get no love. He should. This guy’s twice placed second at Hardrock. Running 26:01 in 2009 and 25:20 in 2013 (interview). The only guy to have a faster second-fastest time at Hardrock is Julien Chorier. Last year, Troy was second at the Wasatch 100 in 20:58 and, last month, he was second at the Squaw Peak 50 Mile in 8:38.
At last year’s Hardrock, a rockfall hit Tsuyoshi Kaburaki in the face. No matter, he took sixth in 28:07. The year before, he won the Bighorn 100 Mile in 18:51. Go back a few years earlier and Kaburaki-san had podium finishes at UTMB, Western States, and The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championships. [7/3 Update: Tsuyoshi Kaburaki has withdrawn from the race.]
Jared Campbell
Jared Campbell is 35 years old… and he’s going for his 10th Hardrock finish. Wrap your head around that. He did happen to win the race in 2010 in 27:18. That’s still his fastest time and the 20th fastest time ever run at Hardrock. Last year, he took seventh at Hardrock in 28:23.
Chris Price has run even faster than Jared, running 26:51 to take fourth in 2013. He continued running strong last year, with a fourth at the Sean O’Brien 50 Mile and 12th at Western States. In tuning up for Hardrock, he was second at the Jemez 50 Mile in 8:49.
In his seven Hardrock finishes, Karl Meltzer has won the race five times. The last time he won was 2009 and he did DNF in 2013. Last year, he won the Massanutten 100 Mile and, this spring, he won the Cruel Jewel 100 Mile.
Scott Jaime
In his eighth running of Hardrock last year, Scott Jaime ran 27:46, which was good enough for fifth. He’s finished as high as second (2008) and twice placed third (2009 and 2013, when he ran his fastest time of 26:38). He admits he’s not had as much time to train this year, but I’d still expect him to make it around the course in under 30 hours. [Updated 7/1 to reflect correct HR100 times.]
Other Candidates for Filling Out the Top Ten
- John Anderson — 10th Hardrock 2010; 1st Tahoe Rim 50 Mile 2014
- Jamil Coury — 14th Hardrock 2013 (ran close to, if not the fastest split for final 58 miles… after six-hour nap at mile 42); 2nd San Diego 100 Mile 2014; 3rd Angeles Crest 100 Mile 2013
- Nick Coury — 6th Hardrock 2013; 5th Hardrock 2008; 1st PCT 50 Mile 2015
- Matt Hart — 1st 2012 Tahoe Rim 100 Mile; 3rd Bear 100 Mile 2012; 5th Cascade Crest 100 Mile 2014; 12th Hardrock 2011
- Adam Hewey — 10th Hardrock 2013
- Jason Koop — 3rd Bear 100 2014; 2nd Zion 100 2014; 14th Hardrock 2012
- Ben Lewis — 1st Scout Mountain 100k 2015; 2nd Scout Mountain 100k 2014; 3rd Wasatch 100 Mile 2012
- Denis Mikhaylov — 2nd Massanutten 100 Mile 2013; 1st Virgil Crest 100 Mile 2012 & 2014
- Jeason Murphy — 5th Bear 100 2014; 6th Bear 100 2013; 16th Hardrock 100 2014
- Brandon Stapanowich — 2nd Zane Gray 50 Mile 2015; 7th Leadville 100 2012; 13th Western States 2013
- Brendan Trimboli — 2nd San Juan Solstice 50 Mile 2014; 10th Wasatch 100 2012; 11th Leadville 100 Mile 2011
Call for Comments
- Can anyone touch Kilian? Will he run another course record and, if so, in what sort of time?
- Will Darcy’s consistency outlast Anna’s ability?
- Who are you most excited to follow at Hardrock?
- Who will surprise us most out there? We miss anyone?
- Women’s and men’s podium predictions?
