Diego Pazos of Switzerland finished second at the 2024 Hardrock 100 after a close battle with Jason Schlarb that saw the two men within two minutes of each other with just five miles to the finish. In this interview, Zpeedy — Pazos’s alter ego — talks about how the race played out with Schlarb in the later miles, how he did everything he could to run the final downhill as fast as possible without getting hurt, and whether he hopes to return to the race in the future.
For more on how the race played out, check out our in-depth 2024 Hardrock 100 results article.
Diego Pazos Post-2024 Hardrock 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar here with Diego Pazos after his second-place finish at the 2024 Hardrock 100. How are you, Diego?
Diego Pazos: Hi, Bryon. I’m fine. Very fine.
iRunFar: Yeah? Did you have an enjoyable day out there? Or two days.
Pazos: Yes, with high highs and downs, but I enjoyed this day every minute.
iRunFar: Before we get into the play-by-play, because it was kind of an interesting race for such a small field, what did you enjoy on the course, outside of the racing?
Pazos: The landscapes. I think, I didn’t know Kroger’s Canteen, Handies Peak, so I discovered everything during the race. And yeah, it was fabulous. I had the sunset at Handies Peak. That was fabulous.
iRunFar: Yeah?
Pazos: It was a dream. All red behind. It was like, wow.
iRunFar: Yeah, so you got to enjoy it.
Pazos: Yeah.
iRunFar: And you were able to take that in during the race, a little bit.
Pazos: Yeah, a little bit. It was a hard moment for me at that point, but it helped me. Yeah, knowing that it’s unique to be here at that point of the race, so I cannot give up, and I have to continue and give it all.
iRunFar: Yeah. So going to how the race sort of happened. Early in the race, you’re out there with Ludovic [Pommeret], François [D’haene]. It’s a francophone start to the race. Were you, at least for some time, running together and chatting, or was this racing from go?
Pazos: No, no, no. It was a nice pace at the beginning. We were four, with Jason [Schlarb] as well. Courtney [Dauwalter] just behind, maybe 50 meters behind. And then after the first downhill, we went, the three, with François and Ludo. I was feeling good. It was good at the first checkpoint and everything. And they went away at the second climb. I didn’t want to follow this rhythm. I want to keep in my bubble. But the first climb, it was nice. It was a nice talk. Jason was the botanist. He was explaining to us all the flowers of the region. It was nice.
iRunFar: And you enjoyed those as well?
Pazos: Yeah, yeah, sure.
iRunFar: It’s a perfect time of year for the wildflowers here in the San Juan Mountains.
Pazos: Columbine and everything, all the flowers. It was wonderful.
iRunFar: So, starting at about 20 kilometers, you’re on your own.
Pazos: Yeah.
iRunFar: And for quite a long time, yes?
Pazos: Yes. The uphill to Kroger’s Canteen, Jason came back and he passed me. And I was not in a good moment. I was stuck. I had no power hiking. So, it was a hard moment. I said, okay, it will pass. You have to learn. Use your experience in ultra to say, okay, that’s a bad moment. I let him go. And I went, and then we went down. Very technical descent after Kroger’s Canteen. Very nice experience. And then, yeah, the long descent to Ouray. And then I came back, and I was maybe one or two minutes just behind him. And from Ouray until the end, I would say the big fight with Jason started.
iRunFar: Yeah. For a long time, you were maybe 10 minutes behind him.
Pazos: Yeah.
iRunFar: And unlike him, you know the difference. You can hear at the aid stations.
Pazos: I can see him.
iRunFar: You can see him. What was that like? Was it a consistent difference in time?
Pazos: It was always changing.
iRunFar: Oh, changing. Okay.
Pazos: Yeah. You could see only that it was 10 minutes because he was taking me on the uphills.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Pazos: And then in the downhills, I was reducing the distance. And sometimes I was passing him. He was passing me again. In the night, it was a, how do you say, a back and forth?
iRunFar: Yeah. Back and forth. A battle.
Pazos: A big battle.
iRunFar: Which doesn’t look like it on the splits and in the aid stations. It was always him ahead.
Pazos: Yeah. He was more ahead than I was.
iRunFar: Okay.
Pazos: More time. But from Pole Creek, I passed him just after the checkpoint of Pole Creek. And then we did a mistake. I mean, I went up and then I went down the same way. And I was two minutes ahead. So, I saw him going up again. So, we went with him. At that point, we were together. And then going to Maggie’s, I had maybe two, three minutes advantage. I kept the advantage until Cunningham. Three, four minutes. And I knew in the last uphill that he was better than me, maybe. I was feeling better. So, he was not increasing the gap in the uphill. So I could be on the top of the last uphill with maybe one minute, 1:30. And then I knew that in the downhill, I was going to give it all. And that I was feeling a bit better than him going downhill. So, at the end, that’s what happened.
iRunFar: For me, that feels like a nightmare to be, I mean, it doesn’t matter if you’re further back in the pack. But if you’re trying to run for first, second, third, and being 10 kilometers out with one minute.
Pazos: Yeah.
iRunFar: Is that scary? Exciting? For you, what is that emotion like?
Pazos: Both. Scaring and exciting. But if you want to perform, you have to be used to that. I’m quite used to it since the years. It can be for podium, it can be for top 10 positions. You always have to fight. And it doesn’t give you the time to breathe. You know, you have to check point, you have to go. You have to put the pressure. He’s putting the pressure on you. So, it’s a game. And we know each other very well with Jason. So we enjoyed it a lot. It was good.
iRunFar: So you do end up finishing second. A great performance for you. Are you happy with it?
Pazos: Very happy. Yes. I mean, for me, it’s perfect. Ludo was on another planet on that day. And I’m very happy because I had a very hard preparation. I had big health problems. I had with the family, with work, it’s not easy for me to put volume, to train really well. When you are not professional and you are busy work, it’s hard. So I’m very, very happy, very proud of my performance. And mentally, I think I was really, really strong yesterday. And this helped me a lot at the end of the race.
iRunFar: So, it’s hard to get into this race. But do you think you’ll put your name in ever again to come back to Hardrock?
Pazos: I mean, when you see the landscape and everything, I cannot say no. I hope so. But I cannot say now when, and if it will be. Because, you know, it’s a lot of organization for me. But I mean, it’s one of my best souvenirs, for sure. I will keep in mind always. And why not? I will be happy to come back. Yeah.
iRunFar: What do you have on your schedule for the rest of the year? Any big highlights coming up?
Pazos: I give me the next two weeks to recover. Because I’m not a person that does many hundred miles, many races. I prefer to focus on some races. I don’t have time to do the rest of the things. But maybe I would love to do Grand Raid de la Réunion, Diagonale des Fous.
iRunFar: Yeah?
Pazos: We’ll see. I will be at UTMB, but more for cheering.
iRunFar: Okay. So that leads me to a question, then. UTWT [Ultra-Trail World Tour], you ran when that was the first years, you’ve been doing that for a long time. You’ve been doing high-level ultra running for a long time. People who you were racing at the top level in the UTW races, a lot of them aren’t racing anymore, or are not racing at a high level. Maybe do you have an advantage in longevity in the sport? Because, not just because you’re choosing not to race a ton of races, but having a profession and not being able to. Is that an advantage? Not in an individual race, but in your career?
Pazos: Sure. For me, the objective is the career. I want my kids, as well, to see me running still, to see this atmosphere. I think we have very good values in trail running, in ultra trail running. So, I want to last. And I think if you have something next to the running, as well, if you preserve yourself, you can last longer. And of course, I think it helped me, and I hope it will help me as well in the future.
iRunFar: Awesome.
Pazos: When you see Ludo, for me, it’s an example. I mean, for sure, he’s 49 soon, and he’s still at top level. If not one of the now two, three, four best ultra trail runners in the world. Yeah, he’s going to be at UTMB. It’s going to be interesting.
iRunFar: Awesome. Well, congratulations on your great run here, and I can’t wait to see you at a race in a decade.
Pazos: With pleasure. See you.
