The 2024 Hardrock 100 kicks off on Friday, July 12, with the 146 lucky runners having 48 hours to complete the mountainous loop through Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
Starting in the tiny village of Silverton, the route alternates direction every year and, this year, is headed clockwise toward Telluride, onward to Ouray, and toward Lake City, before returning to Silverton. Along the way, the runners will climb more than 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) at an average elevation of roughly 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) and a high point of 14,058 feet (4,284 meters). The course currently traverses 102.5 miles.
With the possible exception of small sections, the course should be relatively snow-free on race day. An around-average snowpack over the winter and a wet start to the summer should mean plenty of water will be found along the course.
Courtney Dauwalter climbs amongst the Hardrock 100 wildflowers. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
This year’s women’s field will be headlined by Courtney Dauwalter, who owns the women’s course record in both of the course’s directions. Her biggest competition for the win will come from Europe in the form of Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth and France’s Camille Bruyas, both of whom have finished second behind Dauwalter at UTMB within the past three years.
As with the women, there’s a favorite on the men’s side in François D’Haene, as the Frenchman has run two of the three fastest times in Hardrock history in his two runnings of the race. However, you can never count out Zach Miller, especially as last year, when he placed second at UTMB, he ran it faster than D’Haene ever has. Then there’s Ludovic Pommeret of France, who surprised so many with his win at UTMB in 2016 but now would surprise no one with yet another top finish.
Both clockwise course records were set in 2022, the last time the race was run in this year’s direction, when Dauwalter ran 26:44:36 and Kilian Jornet ran 21:36:24. Jornet’s time remains the men’s overall race record while Dauwalter bettered her overall women’s mark in running 26:14:12 last year in the counterclockwise direction.
Ahead of the race, we’ll publish interviews with some of the race favorites and, of course, we’ll be covering the race live starting at 6 a.m. U.S. MDT on Friday, July 12. Enjoy!
Thank you so much to Tailwind for sponsoring iRunFar’s coverage of the 2024 Hardrock 100!
Thanks also to Fractel for sponsoring our race coverage.
Dusk on the climb up Engineer Pass during the 2023 Hardrock 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
2024 Hardrock 100 Women’s Preview
Courtney Dauwalter
With Courtney Dauwalter back in the race, it seems hers to lose. It’s tough to condense her long list of laurels and laudits, but here goes. Here at Hardrock, Dauwalter set the clockwise course record two years ago by running 26:44 and, then, set the counterclockwise course record of 26:14 last year. Or, looking at last year another way, she set course records at the Western States 100 and Hardrock 100, and won UTMB, all in the span of two months. That’s got to be in consideration for the best women’s trail ultrarunning season ever. This year, Dauwalter’s already won Transgrancanaria and the Mt. Fuji 100 Mile. But, as always, there’s a reason they run the race!
Katharina Hartmuth
Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth is high on the short list of women in the world who can run close to Dauwalter at such events. Last year, she was second to Dauwalter by 40 minutes at UTMB. That was part of Hartmuth’s stellar 2023 campaign in which she also took fourth at Transgrancanaria, placed second at the Trail Running World Championships – Long Trail in Austria, and won the Eiger Ultra-Trail 100k. A year earlier, the German also won the Eiger Ultra-Trail 100k and took third at TDS. So far this year, Hartmuth was seventh at Transvulcania and recently won the Trail 100 Andorra by a large margin. Hartmuth arrived to Silverton with about three weeks to acclimate to the high altitude, but has said on social media that she’s carefully nursing an injury at the moment.
Camille Bruyas
Like Hartmuth, France’s Camille Bruyas has taken second behind Dauwalter at UTMB, having done so back in 2021. In the past couple years, she’s taken 10th at the 2022 Western States 100, won the 2022 Les Templiers and 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k, and been second at the 2023 Diagonale des Fous. So far this year, Bruyas has won the Penyagolosa CSP 106k and the Volvic Volcanic Experience 110k relay. Like Hartmuth, Bruyas would benefit greatly from a few weeks of acclimation ahead of Hardrock, where Dauwalter has the advantage of living at 10,200 feet (over 3,000 meters). Indeed, Bruyas will have spent three weeks in the U.S. before race day.
Claire Bannwarth
Having taken fifth at least year’s Hardrock, France’s Claire Bannwarth is the second-highest woman’s finisher returning from last year’s field after Dauwalter. Bannwarth is a racing fiend, pinning on a number at seemingly as many and as long of races as she can find. Looking at only her 11 results listed on UTMB.World from 2023, she raced 1,612 miles. Among those finishes were a win at the Winter Spine Race, a seventh at Transgrancanaria, and overall win at the Tahoe 200 Mile, and a 16th at UTMB. As of mid-June 2024, she’s already raced at least 1,017 miles this year, again winning the Winter Spine Race, taking third at the Istria 100 Mile, placing fourth at the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail, and taking second at the Tahoe 200 Mile.
It appears that coastal Virginia’s Tara Dower is toeing the line at Hardrock barely three years into her ultrarunning journey, but don’t let that short ultra career fool you. Dower has finished at least eight 100-mile races in that time, including taking second at the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile in 2022 before winning in 2023. Already this year, she’s been seventh at the Black Canyon 100k and won the Umstead 100 Mile outright in 14:58. She finished last year with a fourth-place, 6:51 run at the JFK 50 Mile. Last year, Dower also set a then women’s supported FKT on the Colorado Trail, so she’s familiar with the high alpine terrain of the San Juan Mountains.
Canada’s Claire Heslop must use ultrarunning as a reason to travel the world, as her results page seemingly has more flags than the United Nations. One spot she does keep returning to is UTMB, where she’s finished 18th, 19th, and, then, 11th over the past three years, improving her times from 32:12 to 30:38 to 28:05 along the way. Heslop was third at Penyagolosa CSP 106k in 2022 and 14th at Transgrancanaria last year. Earlier this year, she was third at the Tenerife Bluetrail 110k.
When I think of Yitka Winn, I first think of her stint as an associate editor at “Trail Runner Magazine” —and writing a piece for iRunFar — a decade ago. However, she’s become quite the runner, winning the Cascade Crest 100 Mile in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023. Last year, she also took 10th at the Gorge Waterfalls 100k and third at the Orcas Island 50k. While she’s not run a big-mountain 100 miler in a while, she has experience in them, as well as in racing in the San Juan Mountains.
From just down the hill in Durango, Maggie Guterl is back in this year’s Hardrock, having taken 11th in 2022. Guterl is perhaps best known for winning the 2019 Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra and the 2021 Cocodona 250 Mile. While she’s struggled with long events at high altitude in the past and battles an Achilles injury, she’ll have spent as much time on the course this year as any woman you can expect to see toward the front of the race. She was also eighth at the 2022 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile.
Maggie Guterl during the 2022 Hardrock 100. She’s back on the roster for 2024. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
More Women to Watch
- Becky Bates (Canada) – 7th 2023 Hardrock 100; 22nd 2022 TDS; 8th 2022 High Lonesome 100 Mile
- Serena Eley – 3rd 2023 Grindstone 100 Mile
- Emily Halnon – 9th 2023 & 7th 2022 Hardrock 100
- Jordan Maki-Richards (U.S., living in Australia) – 4th 2022 Cascade Crest 100 Mile; 4th 2024 & 1st 2023 Buffalo Stampede 100k
- Amber Weibel – 15th 2022 Western States 100; 3rd 2023 Swiss Alps 100 Mile; 4th 2021 High Lonesome 100 Mile
Notable Withdrawals
Claire Bannwarth (left) and Annie Hughes share early miles in the 2023 Hardrock 100. Bannwarth returns in 2024. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
2024 Hardrock 100 Men’s Preview
François D’Haene
It’s hard to bet against recent success at Hardrock. That’s why France’s François D’Haene is likely the favorite heading into this year’s Hardrock 100. D’Haene is easily among the top three men at long, mountainous ultras over the past decade with wins at UTMB, Diagonale des Fous, Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji, Madeira Island Ultra-Trail (MIUT), and many more. Up here in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, D’Haene won the 2021 Hardrock in a counterclockwise course record of 21:45 before being edged out by Kilian Jornet to take second in 2022 in 21:51. That gives the Frenchman two of the three fastest times at Hardrock. He doesn’t yet have is a win in the clockwise direction, which the course will be run this year. D’Haene was eighth at Diagonale des Fous last autumn and fifth at the Trail 100 Andorra in mid-June of this year.
Zach Miller
While D’Haene may have two spectacular finishes in the San Juans, Zach Miller’s spent plenty of time in these mountains over the years. After a couple of years of battling injuries, he bounced back into long-distance form in 2023, winning the Tarawera 100 Mile, taking sixth Trail Running World Championships – Long Trail in Austria, and, then, taking second to Jim Walmsley at UTMB. Back in February, Miller took seventh at Transgrancanaria. No doubt, Miller and his bus will have been stationed high in the Colorado Rockies well ahead of race day.
Ludovic Pommeret
I’m excited that France’s Ludovic Pommeret will have spent nearly a month in Silverton before this year’s Hardrock. It’s hard not to root for a guy who’s quickly approaching 50 years old and is still on top of his game. These days, UTMB is easily the most competitive trail ultramarathon on the planet. In 2021, Ludo took fourth there, and, last year, he placed fifth. In between, he won TDS in 2022. Oh, and he won Diagonale des Fous in 2021.
Diego Pazos
Before diving into his results, I was tempted to say that Switzerland’s Diego Pazos has slowed a bit in recent years, but that’s not the case! Looking back at his UTMB finishes, he was 11th in 2014 in 23:11, seventh in 23:00 in 2021, and 24th in 23:17 in 2023, with the two latter races being on longer, slower courses than that from 2014. So, I think we can confirm that Pazos has one high-quality chronometer!
Jason Schlarb
Based in Durango, Colorado, Jason Schlarb tied with Kilian Jornet for the win at the 2016 Hardrock 100 before DNFing the following year. However, he blew his ACL skiing in February 2021, and while able to fully train again, his running hasn’t reached the levels from before the injury. Back in 2022, Schlarb was eighth at the Eiger Ultra-Trail and 51st at UTMB in 25:30. So far this year, he’s been 22nd at MIUT and won a local 50k.
Jeff Rome
Although he lives all of two blocks away from the start of Hardrock, Silverton’s own Jeff Rome remains a complete wildcard for this year’s race. Before he moved to town, he was seventh man in 2017 before moving up to take second in 26:34 in 2018. More of an adventurer than a racer, Rome did run well at last year’s nearby San Juan Solstice 50 Mile before taking 13th at the IMTUF 100 Mile in September. If he’s caught another case of Hardrock fever, he could once again surprise a lot of people.
Solidly in the Steady Eddy camp, I’ll be surprised if Colorado’s Paul Terranova doesn’t at least match his sixth-place men’s finish from last year’s Hardrock. Indeed, he’s the top returning man from last year’s event. Terranova ran Hardrock last year as part of the Rocky Mountain Slam, in which he also finished sixth at the Leadville 100 Mile, fourth at the Wasatch Front 100 Mile, and ninth at the Bear 100 Mile. In 2022, he was fourth at the Bighorn 100 Mile.
Jeff Rome takes second at the 2018 Hardrock 100 in a finish sprint. The Silverton, Colorado, local is racing again this year. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
More Men to Watch
- Nick Coury – 7th 2022 Hardrock 100; 1st 2024 Zane Grey 50 Mile; 4th 2021 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile
- Karl Meltzer – 3rd 2024 Antelope Island 100 Mile; 4th 2023 Pine to Palm 100 Mile
- Luke Jay – 2nd 2022 High Lonesome 100 Mile; 7th 2023 Telluride Mountain Run 40 Mile
- Mick Jurynec – 9th 2021 Hardrock 100; 10th 2023 Bear 100 Mile
- Michael Owen – 3rd 2024, 1st 2023, 1st 2022, 1st 2021, 1st 2019 & 1st 2017 Promised Land 50k; 1st 2023 Cruel Jewel 50 Mile
- Kris Tyson – 2nd 2021 Cruel Jewel 100 Mile; 6th 2023 Cascade Crest 100 Mile
Men with a Chance for Last-Minute Entry
- Joel Anderson (2nd Never waitlist) – 13th 2023 & 14th 2021 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile; 6th 2021 San Juan Solstice 50 Mile
Call for Comments
- Who do you think will be the first woman and first man to finish?
- Who do you think will surprise everyone at this year’s Hardrock?
François D’Haene on his way to setting a course record at the 2021 Hardrock 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
