Darcy Piceu Africa won her third straight Hardrock 100 this weekend. In the following interview, Darcy talks about the bad weather during the race, how this year’s Hardrock compared to previous years, and how her three-peat is a little bittersweet as she hoped Diana Finkel would finish.
[Click here if you can’t see the video above.]
Darcy Piceu Africa, 2014 Hardrock 100 Champion, Finish-Line Interview Transcript
Media: Darcy, how did it go? It looked like you had troubled times and great times.
Darcy Piceu: Yeah, that’s about it. Yeah.
Media: How was the night over Handies?
Piceu: It was thundering and lightning with lots of rain. I got totally soaked. I had kind of tummy troubles from Ouray over to Grouse and then the rain and weather came in, so that brought a whole new element to it.
Media: How close was the lightning?
Piceu: Really close. I think I squatted once.
Media: You went up right when it was starting, right?
Piceu: We went up right when it started, yeah. There were others out there and some were hiding for cover.
Media: You didn’t ever stop?
Piceu: We didn’t stop. We lucked out. Right before we got to the top it was clear.
Media: Lots of rain after that?
Piceu: Totally soaked. Then we had crew at Sherman which was very lucky, so we got to get totally dry.
Media: Did your stomach straighten out after that?
Piceu: Sort of. Just par for the course, I think, in the mountains.
Media: Three in a row! Is it a streak?
Piceu: Well, I think it’s bittersweet. I wish Diana [Finkel] could have kept going.
Media: You ran a good race, yeah?
Piceu: [Shrugs and smiles emotionally]
Media: But it’s a 100-mile race.
Piceu: Yeah. Yeah.
Media: Is the feeling coming down this stretch completely different or is it always amazing?
Piceu: It’s amazing when I get to run with her, yeah.
Media: Sophia, what do you think? Your mom’s a champion again!
Sophia: [Snuggles with Darcy]
Piceu: I lucked out. I had a good pacer who brought me in. I’m not sure I would have gotten here under 30 hours if it weren’t for Krissy [Moehl] wherever she is.
Media: Once again.
Piceu: Once again. Exactly.
Media: There was no guessing. You were going to break 30. You were with Krissy.
Piceu: I was with Krissy. She kicked my butt at the end. I would have just lollygagged. I think Timothy Olson might be coming soon.
Media: He’ll be second woman?
Piceu: He’ll be second girl.
Media: Nice job, Darcy.
Media: Second girl. You can say that but we can’t.
