First of all, congratulations to all of you chosen for the 2016 Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run. With this year’s race proceeding in the perceived-to-be faster, clockwise direction, lottery entrants were up to 1,549 over last year’s lottery which had 1,367 applicants. All of these tickets (6,587 total) for 152 coveted slots for the privilege of running, hiking, and being supported on one of the most beautiful mountain courses in the world.
Prior to the lottery, the run administration placed all of the lottery applicants in divisions based upon their previous experience (or not) with Hardrock and separate lotteries took place within each of the divisions. The divisions are ‘First-Timers’ from which 47 spots in the run were given, ‘Veterans’ from which 35 spaces were given, and ‘Everyone Else’ from which 70 spaces were given.
Even though this event is called a run and not a race, the front end continues to grow in competitive nature while still seeming to maintain the cooperative family spirit which Hardrock prides itself upon. Below we document the men and women who were selected in the lottery today who we think will be the main 2016 contenders. We also mention who is on a waitlist and might get in and who is on a waitlist so far down they probably won’t get in.
Last year the waitlists went 9 deep (13 in 2014) in the ‘Never’ category. In the ‘Else’ lottery the waitlist went 12 deep (16 in 2014), and in the ‘Veteran’ category the entire waitlist of 8 runners will likely get into the race. A special thank you to Rob Erskine who provided this information through his blog.
The competition on the men’s side most certainly features two-time returning champion Kilian Jornet who is likely returning to better his clockwise direction course record from 2014 of 22:41:33. While he is largely considered unbeatable on this mountain course boasting some 33,000 feet of ascent, he will be challenged by Xavier Thévenard who has two Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc titles and could provide the most considerable challenge to Jornet yet. Throw in Jason Schlarb who has been incredibly consistent over the past two years in long, technical mountain races, and that should be an exciting race to watch. Nick Clark took a bit of a sabbatical last year, but he has the experience and skills to also make the podium at Hardrock. Who knows what we will see out of Timothy Olson, who has been pining to return for revenge on this course ever since his gutsy finish after an epic blow-up in 2014. Jeff Browning is always consistent in long mountain races. Additionally, cagey returnees such as Troy Howard, Scott Jaime, and Ted Mahon rarely have off-days. All in all, a solid men’s field.
On the women’s side, this is the deepest field in recent memory with a lot of tough and experienced women who’ve performed well here in the past. Last year’s champion Anna Frost will be returning to defend her title in the opposite direction. She will likely be chased by the entire podium from last year. Included are three-time champ Darcy Piceu, who is on the ‘Veterans’ waitlist but who will probably get in, as well as Darla Askew who was third here last year. Newcomer to Hardrock, Bethany Lewis, has not lost a 100-mile race yet and recently won the Fat Dog 120 Mile in British Columbia which is reportedly more difficult than Hardrock. Missy Gosney and Meghan Hicks (4th and 7th from last year) now have experience on this course which will further place them in contention. Throw in Petra Pirc, a tough mountain runner who was third at the 2014 Bear 100 Mile, and Betsy Kalmeyer, who is going for her 17th(!!!!) finish and who was second in 2014, as well as Katie DeSplinter, who is high on the First-Timers waitlist but who will probably get in.
Automatic Entrants
There is only one way to gain auto entry into Hardrock, and that is by winning last year’s race. Kilian Jornet and Anna Frost have both chosen to use those entries.
Notable Men’s 2016 Hardrock 100 Entrants
Here are the men who gained entrance via today’s lottery.
- Jeff Browning — 4th 2014 Hardrock, 3rd 2015 Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji
- Ryan Burch — Winner 2015 Never Summer 100k, 7th 2015 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile
- Nick Clark — 3rd 2011 Hardrock
- Nick Coury — 3-time Hardrock finisher including 11th man in 2015
- Troy Howard — 3-time Hardrock finisher including 5th in 2015
- Scott Jaime — 8-time Hardrock finisher including 5th in 2014 and 3rd in 2012
- Andy Jones-Wilkins — 5th 2009 Hardrock, 7 top-10 Western States finishes
- Ben Lewis — 7th 2015 Hardrock 100
- Ryan Kaiser — 6th 2015 The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-Mile Champs, 11th 2015 Western States
- Ted Mahon — 7-time Hardrock finisher including 10th in 2014 and 5th in 2013
- Timothy Olson — 2-time Western States winner and course-record holder
- Bryon Powell — 14th man 2015 Hardrock, 3rd 2015 Ultra-Trail Gobi Race
- Jon Robinson — 2nd 2013 Cascade Crest 100, 10th man 2013 Hardrock
- Jason Schlarb — Winner 2015 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, 4th 2014 UTMB
- Kevin Shilling — 3rd 2004 Hardrock
- Patrick Stewart — 10th 2012 Hardrock
- Xavier Thévenard — 2013 and 2015 UTMB winner
Notable Women’s 2016 Hardrock 100 Entrants
Here are the women who gained entrance via today’s lottery.
- Darla Askew — 3-time Hardrock finisher including 3rd in 2015
- Missy Gosney — 4th 2015 Hardrock
- Meghan Hicks — 7th 2015 Hardrock
- Betsy Kalmeyer — 16-time Hardrock finisher including 6th in 2015 and 2nd in 2014
- Bethany Lewis — winner 2015 Fat Dog 120 Miler, winner 2014 Wasatch Front 100 Mile
- Sarah Evans McCloskey — 6th 2014 Hardrock
- Petra Pirc — 8th 2015 Speedgoat 50k, 3rd 2015 Bear 100
- Emma Roca — 5th 2015 Western States, winner 2014 Leadville Trail 100 Mile, 3rd 2013 UTMB
- Tina Ure — 4th 2014 Hardrock
Waitlisted Men with at Least a Remote Chance of Getting In
Here are the male contenders who were chosen in the top-20 slots of the First-Timers waitlist, the top-15 slots of the Veterans waitlist, or the top-30 slots of the Everyone Else waitlist. These men have a good shot of getting off their respective waitlists and into the run.
- Joe Grant — 7th on Else waitlist
- Jamil Coury — 12th on Else waitlist
- Nick Pedatella — 14th on Else waitlist
Waitlisted Women with at Least a Remote Chance of Getting In
Here are the female contenders who were chosen in either the top-20 slots of the First-Timers waitlist, the top-15 slots of the Veterans waitlist, or the top-30 slots of the Everyone Else waitlist. These women have a decent shot of running.
- Katie DeSplinter — 5th on First-Timers waitlist
- Leah Fein — 19th on Else waitlist
- Darcy Piceu — 7th on Veteran waitlist, 3-time Hardrock champ and 2015 runner-up
Notable Waitlisted Men with Pretty Much No Chance of Getting In
Here are some fast men who are so far down their respective waitlist that there is almost no chance of them getting in.
- Jay Aldous
- Adam Campbell
- Seb Chaigneau
- Yassine Diboun
- Mike Foote
- Matt Hart
- Iker Karrera
- Keith Knipling
- Keita Kobayashi
- Jason Koop
- Anton Krupicka
- Eric Lee
- Steven Moore
- Chris Price
- Brandon Stapanowich
- Brendan Trimboli
- Zach Violett
- Adam Wilcox
Notable Waitlisted Women with Pretty Much No Chance of Getting In
Here are some fast women who are so far down their respective waitlist that there is almost no chance of them getting in.
- Clare Abram
- Jennifer Benna
- Kate Fogelberg
- Pam Reed
- Nicki Rehn
- Ronda Sundermeier
Call for Comments
- Who are you most excited about running the 2016 Hardrock 100?
- Who are your picks as favorites? Did we miss anyone who should be on these lists?
- If you’re in, how excited are you to be racing Hardrock next year?
