Finishing second, Camille Bruyasof France put together a solid run at the 2024 Hardrock 100, her first go at the event. In this interview, she talks about running with Courtney Dauwalter and Katharina Hartmuth in the early miles of the event, her issues with getting food down while out on course, and how she had to take an extended break at a couple of aid stations in order to consume the calories she needed to finish.
For more on how the race played out, check out our in-depth 2024 Hardrock 100 results article.
Camille Bruyas Post-2024 Hardrock 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunfar. I’m with Camille Bruyas. It’s the day after the 2024 Hardrock 100 Endurance Run. You’re the second-place women’s finisher. How does that feel, and how does that sound?
Camille Bruyas: Yes, I realized just now because yesterday I was so destroyed, and my head was completely tired. But yeah, today I’m okay.
iRunFar: The awards have just finished, and so you got to be honored for that second-place position. Maybe it’s starting to sink in a little bit? Like how despite your difficulties, you had such a good race. You were second place.
Bruyas: Yeah, it was hard until Maggie to the end, but yeah, the night was hard. It was cold. I was not enough with some clothes to be safe. So yeah, it was super hard. The hardest race I ever did, for sure. I really wanted to drop at Maggie and say, okay, I want to stop. But my pacer Marianne [Hogan] said, “No, no, no. Keep going.”
iRunFar: Let’s backtrack for just a second to the parts of the race where you felt good, the first half. I think you felt really good. You were running so strong, and you had a big smile on your face for so many miles. Talk us through the parts of the race that you felt good. Like, how about the first climb, the second climb, where there were so many people cheering? Tell us about that.
Bruyas: Yeah, the first climb was, for me, slow. And just start slowly, but the second climb, it was amazing because many, many people are cheering there.
iRunFar: And also cheering there and then watching you go off of Grant Swamp, too.
Bruyas: Yeah, yeah. It was scary because this downhill is not super easy. And after, I joined Courtney [Dauwalter] on the next downhill, so it was nice to share some miles with her on the next uphill to Kroger’s Canteen, which for me is the best place. It’s super nice. It’s super beautiful, you know. After Telluride, I love this part. So, yeah, I was super, super nice until Telluride. And after, to Ouray it was okay, but after Ouray it was hot.
iRunFar: So hot.
Bruyas: Yeah, you start to have 70 kilometers on the legs. But with Marianne, we keep going until into the night and Handies Peak. Handies Peak is super hard because with the altitude, it’s hard to eat, and I think I start to eat less and less and less until Maggie. So I think in Maggie I was no energy, nothing I can eat, nothing. It was cold. So many things go wrong on these points, but now I understand why.
iRunFar: The long section before Maggie you see crew at Sherman, and then you go into the night for a long, long time by yourself. And you said you weren’t eating enough, and you were out there with not enough. You should have had more clothes, you think?
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: So you felt like you slowed down, you couldn’t generate heat, and you couldn’t eat and make energy, so was it just a matter of putting your head down and just going step by step?
Bruyas: Yeah, yeah. I just want to finish, so I think okay. Step by step to this climb, this climb, this climb, this downhill. The downhill was super painful for me because I had stretched quadriceps. But it was okay.
iRunFar: So, I was at Maggie Gulch when you came in, and the first thing that you wanted to know was the gap to the person behind you. The aid station gave you an estimate. Two, two and a half miles, something like that. And then it was like you thought you would sit down, use some time to get warm, to try to eat and drink.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: And then not use all the time like between you and that woman, but use some of the time to take care of yourself. Is that what happened?
Bruyas: Yeah. At Maggie I just want to, because when you have the crew at the beginning of the race, if you didn’t eat too much during your running and racing, it’s okay because you have the crew. And you can eat more what you want. But when after Sherman, you have a long time where you have to eat in the aid station.
iRunFar: On your own.
Bruyas: Yeah, on your own. So, you have to manage this thing, and in Pole Creek I didn’t stop a lot. Maggie is like, I need to stop because it’s long.
iRunFar: Yeah. I was impressed because it was clear you felt bad physically and mentally, but I was impressed at how much you were able to eat. You took a lot of soup and some chips.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: Like, you still had a stomach. A lot of people at Maggie did not have a stomach anymore.
Bruyas: Yeah, sure. That’s why I’m saying, okay, you can’t eat, you can eat. So focus on this, and keep going.
iRunFar: Yeah. And so in Maggie, you were in a chair with a blanket and I don’t know, kind of desperate looking? And then all of a sudden you shed the blanket and you marched out of the aid station just like immediately. It wasn’t like, now I’m going to get ready to go. It was, you were gone. You were still like, committed to the mission.
Bruyas: Yeah. Yeah, because I was super cold. If I stay here, I will stay here for a long time.
iRunFar: I will not leave here.
Bruyas: Yeah, sure. So, yeah, when I decided to keep going, it’s like, okay, let’s go.
iRunFar: There’s still 18 miles or 30 kilometers from Maggie to the finish.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: It became harder for you. It got even harder.
Bruyas: Yeah, it’s hard, the end, because the last climb super steep, super long. And yeah, the sun come so it was hot.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Bruyas: So yeah, this race never ending.
iRunFar: You stayed for a break in Cunningham Gulch with your crew to, kind of like Maggie, to rest and eat some food, I think.
Bruyas: Yeah. Yeah, because I couldn’t eat while I’m running.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Bruyas: And everything sometimes go outside. So yeah, I said in Cunningham I need to eat. I can’t go this uphill if I didn’t eat, because it could be super, super hard. And you can make many, many times on this uphill. So that’s work. I ate a lot in Cunningham so I can finish.
iRunFar: Okay. Was there ever a point before the finish line where you were able to, I don’t know, breathe a sigh of relief and say, okay, I’m going to make it. I can enjoy a few miles. Or was all enjoyment done at that point?
Bruyas: Yeah, I was super slow. I was walking with my friends, so I said just before the finish, okay, it’s okay. You can enjoy. You can enjoy people, and we can speak. So that was fun, and it was okay.
iRunFar: Okay.
Bruyas: But in my mind, I was completely destroyed and more negative, I think. But today I understand more what I did. But yesterday I was just, I’m super, super shit. I’m super bad. I’m super slow. But, you know, when you are in this mood, it’s hard to disconnect when you’re super tired, and you didn’t sleep.
iRunFar: I think it’s like our nature to recognize the things that we do poorly, before we recognize the things that we do well, but to run 29.5 hours at Hardrock with so many difficulties, that’s a very good time and that’s a very good performance. So, I hope with some time you can recognize that.
Bruyas: Thank you.
iRunFar: You have been here. You came here, you did Softrock. You adjusted to the altitude. You did Hardrock one time. Do you feel like now that you’ve learned it, do you feel like you might want to come back and try again and try to figure it out?
Bruyas: Yeah, maybe, and it’s interesting here because one year is in one side and the other loop. So yeah, maybe, why not?
iRunFar: Last question for you. Do you have other races or plans or adventures for this year, or are you just going into rest mode now?
Bruyas: Maybe adventure, but no races.
iRunFar: Anything fun to talk about?
Bruyas: Yeah. No, not fun, but around house.
iRunFar: Okay.
Bruyas: Yeah, some trails I want to go, some challenge and adventure with friends. So yeah, first during the summer will be that. Maybe one race, but a shorter one for sure, at the end of the year. Because 100 miles for me, it’s hard.
iRunFar: It’s a lot.
Bruyas: Yeah, you have to recover mentally. And physically, it’s okay, but mentally you need to be back with a strong energy.
iRunFar: So maybe we see you at something in the fall.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: Depending on the recovery.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: Congratulations to you on your first Hardrock finish.
Bruyas: Thank you.
iRunFar: And congratulations on your second place.
Bruyas: Thank you, Meghan.
