In her debut at the event, Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth finished third at the 2024 Hardrock 100 despite dealing with a variety of issues throughout the race. During this interview, she talks about the first half of the race where she felt good, the bladder and vision issues that plagued her during the second 50 miles, and how she relied on motivation from her pacer to get over the final climb to the finish.
For more on how the race played out, check out our in-depth 2024 Hardrock 100 results article.
Katharina Hartmuth Post-2024 Hardrock 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar I’m with Katharina Hartmuth, it’s the day after the 2024 Hardrock 100 Endurance Run. You’re the women’s third-place finisher, how does that sound and feel?
Hartmuth: It feels great. Yeah, it’s a bit unexpected, but I take it. So I’m really happy.
iRunFar: You had such a mixed approach to this race. You had some injuries in the winter that we talked about in our pre-race interview, had some good training, and then had a pretty major back injury just a couple weeks before the race. So going into the race, you were worried about your back, but as it turns out, were there other things to worry about in this race?
Hartmuth: Yes. So luckily, the back seemed not to be a problem at all, but instead as usual, other problems occurred. So, yeah, well, no. First of all, I’m super happy that the back hold up so well because even at the morning of the race, I thought, nah, let’s see. Maybe I have to drop out at the 10k because it’s just not possible. But yeah, I’m just so happy that the back is okay.
iRunFar: So we can put the back thing to rest, at least for now.
Hartmuth: Yes.
iRunFar: The race starts, I think you spend some of the early miles with Courtney Dauwalter, and then the three top women in the group, yourself, Camille Bruyas, and Courtney sort of strung out a little bit in the early miles. Is that how it sort of went?
Hartmuth: Yeah, so I started with Courtney behind this group of men that were at the top. And yeah, it was nice. We had a nice little chat on the Rainbow Trail until the river crossing, and then in the ascent and the first climb, I let her go. I was like, “You should go,” because she asked me if I would like to work together with her, and I was like, “Nah, I don’t think so. I shouldn’t push myself too hard in the first climb.”
So I let her go. And then Camille, she came at some point and we run a bit together, but then I said the same to her. I was like, “I always start my races with an easy pace.” Well, it’s a high pace, but I have to start slow. And I think here it was exactly right because on the second climb, I already realized that I struggled a bit with nausea and had a light headache. So the altitude…I was like, I really have to take it easy and just do my thing and don’t try to stick with the others.
iRunFar: A lot of runners have said that the heat of the first day ended up being an issue. I mean, it wasn’t severely hot, but it was a lot of heat for this altitude. Did you feel that or what were the pain points of the first day of running for you?
Hartmuth: So heat never really bothers me. I don’t like it, but I think I can deal with it quite well.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: So it was hot, especially in the valleys, but for me, it was not that much of an issue.
iRunFar: Not too bad.
Hartmuth: No, I was actually glad that there was no rain or thunderstorms to be afraid.
iRunFar: That was the weather that you were the most worried about.
Hartmuth: Yeah.
iRunFar: I think as the race went on, you say it was an easier pace for you, but you were not that far behind Camille and Courtney in front of you. The gap at each aid station was just a couple minutes longer, not any big gaps of time. So to me, it seemed like the three of you were really running your own races, but they were really not that far apart from each other. It was just like parallel missions.
Hartmuth: Yeah. Yeah. I was actually excited to see that. I mean, I never want to hear any splits from my crew-
iRunFar: Okay, this is the no-split crew.
Hartmuth: Even when I was with my pacer later, he always was the first to tell the aid station, we don’t want any splits. But obviously when you’re that in front of the race, almost people will tell you.
So I had a rough idea of where I was and where the girls were, and I think for me it was exciting, especially to see that we had three women in the top six for a long time. I was like, that’s cool.
iRunFar: It’s super cool.
Hartmuth: Yeah. I mean, I knew that I would have to run my own race because it’s such a long race, and the night was still ahead, and I didn’t know if my back was holding up for the entire race. So I was just like, okay, do your own thing.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hartmuth: But it was good.
iRunFar: It’s said at Hardrock that for the fast runners who take not all of 48 hours to finish it, that the race is really broken into two parts, the daytime and then the nighttime. I think you had a really different nighttime than your daytime.
Hartmuth: Yes.
iRunFar: What happened for you in the nighttime, and what was the timeline of how things unfolded for you?
Hartmuth: Yeah, So I can basically split my race in two halves.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: First 15 hours were great, and the second 15 hours were terrible.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: Yeah. Well, the problems began already when it was still daylight because I somehow developed a bladder infection, which was painful when running.
iRunFar: Very painful.
Hartmuth: Yeah. So it bothered me not so much on the hiking on the uphill, but as soon as I was running, it was just super uncomfortable.
iRunFar: Like feeling the organ kind of jostle.
Hartmuth: Yeah. And it was just pain. And so especially remember that road coming down from Oh Point to Animas. I mean, usually I should be able to run the whole road, but I couldn’t because it was just unbearable. So every couple of minutes I had to just take a short walking break and that, well, it was a bit annoying. I wondered how that would play out throughout the rest of the night. But the main problem actually really occurred in the night because, as I said earlier, I had already problems with the fueling due to me feeling not so well on the first and on the second and third climb. So I already accumulated the deficit in calories, and it’s always difficult for me to fuel during the night. It’s way harder for me than during the day. And I think I pushed myself maybe a bit too hard on Handies, and I really felt it when I was on top of Handies. I was like, oh, I need to get in some calories. But then I forgot about it on the downhill and it just accumulated. And I mean, I made it to Sherman and still felt not too bad. And I picked up my pace and we did the climb, and still it was all fine. But then on the top of the climb in the middle of the night, I was just, okay, now it’s going downhill.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: From one moment to the next, I felt awful. I could just not move well anymore. And that was really a hard time up there. I think I’ve never been that low in a race in terms of just how I felt. And then we spent, I think 30 minutes in the Pole Creek station just trying to get something inside me that I wouldn’t throw up again. So that was really tricky, and I knew that I had to eat. There was no hope for finishing the race without eating, but at the same time, I just felt so sick all the time. So that was really, really tough. And I think we managed somehow to get a little bit out of it with daylight approaching. But in the end it was again a problem for the last climb, I felt really awful again.
iRunFar: Okay, so you haven’t mentioned the eyesight thing.
Hartmuth: Yeah.
iRunFar: So yeah, there’s the bladder, there’s the fueling deficit and not having the energy to move how you wanted, and then your eyes went at some point?
Hartmuth: So obviously there was something else.
iRunFar: Obviously, because trouble comes in threes and we have to have our third.
Hartmuth: Like with my crashes. I have three crashes, so I know three other major issues in the race. So yeah, when daylight was approaching, I was finally a bit better with the calories. Suddenly I had the problem that I lost my vision to a large part. So it was all blurry and foggy in front of my eyes. And I think the big problem was that I could not see the markers anymore, and I also could not see the map on my watch, so I couldn’t check on my watch if I’m still on the right path.
iRunFar: At least your watch wasn’t beeping at you or something, right?
Hartmuth: No, no, no. But it was very challenging and I was lucky that I was with my pacer who could basically show me the way, but at some point I lost my pacer because I had to drop him. And, yeah, it was really tricky going down to Cunningham, basically seeing…
iRunFar: Nothing.
Hartmuth: … only a few blurred colors, and I couldn’t even recognize my crew when arriving in Cunningham and it was a bit embarrassing,
iRunFar: In Maggie Gulch aid station, which is the second to last major aid station, you stayed for maybe 10, 12, 14 minutes to fuel yourself, and then you had a longer stop in Cunningham. Maybe you were even in the medical tent for a bit?
Hartmuth: Yeah, I think in Cunningham it was even 40 minutes.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: Because again, I was just so low with my energy and I had to eat something to make it over that climb. And then I had this eye problem and they tried to help me with some eye drops which at least it got a little bit better. But I knew that I had to take someone with me over that climb because I knew the road that was coming up, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that road without help because I just couldn’t see the stones in the road. And that road was so painful to run down. I think this is the race I’ve spent the most time in aid stations just sitting there and trying to get some food in and just to …
iRunFar: Recover yourself a little bit.
Hartmuth: … recover, yeah. So, actually, when we started the last climb, I wasn’t sure if I would make it. It seemed impossible because I was so low and I couldn’t see anything. So it was just like, what am I doing here? But at the same time I thought, well, I’ve made it so far now, it would be a pity to not finish. So luckily my crew, she was really good and she was like, “You have to get up there. There’s no way out of this, and we will bring you to the stone.” And yeah, we made it.
iRunFar: I love the ending of the race in whichever direction you go, because you get this little run into town, you’re closing the loop. You’ve come from way out in some of the most remote places of the San Juan Mountains back to this tiny civilization. And there’s just this aesthetic thing about closing the loop and getting to do that approach. Did you have any feelings as you were coming through town of, yes, I’ve finally done this through all of the challenges, or were you just numb to it. Let’s just get there and I’ll think about things later?
Hartmuth: Yeah, I think I was still very numb.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: When I came down the trail because I was like, “Damn it, I’m just done.” It took a lot out of me, especially the last climb. And then when I came to the finish line, I think first I was actually a bit disappointed because I saw that I was over 30 hours and I knew that without all these stops and the fueling issues, I mean it would’ve been two or three hours faster.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hartmuth: And that was a bit disappointing for me because I had the legs for a good time. But then when I was at the rock, I was like, no, it’s good.
iRunFar: A 30-and-a-half-hour Hardrock is a wonderful day.
Hartmuth: It’s definitely not a bad, no, no, no. And especially when I considered everything that happened and when I then realized how much time I also spent not running during this 30 hours.
iRunFar: That adds up too, right?
Hartmuth: That adds up to quite some time, yeah. So no, then as soon as I was at the finish line, actually, it was a very positive moment.
iRunFar: One of the worst questions to ask today after a hundred miler, but it’s the one that most people are curious about. You’re from abroad, so coming to race Hardrock is a really big deal in the first place, but now you are a finisher of Hardrock, which makes it a little bit easier to get in another time.
Hartmuth: Hopefully, let’s see.
iRunFar: I mean, would a second Hardrock be something you would like to do someday?
Hartmuth: Yes. I was told by certain people that you have to do the other way around as well, to be a real Hardocker.
iRunFar: Well, I guess that means you have to put in again.
Hartmuth: Yeah, I thought so much doing the race about how it would be running the other way around. I am very curious because I think that the other way around, I think this, how we did it this year, the clockwise round is maybe my favorite.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hartmuth: But I still have to see how it is the other way around.
iRunFar: There is a certain person on the, iRuFar team who likes to say that their favorite is, “Whichever direction the race is going.”
Hartmuth: Yeah, possibly. I will say this then after I’ve done the other way.
iRunFar: Or the best way is the one that you get the entry to do, right?
Hartmuth: Exactly. No, I mean, I would be super stoked to come back. Actually, this year, it was a bit tough to get here in the first place because I was on my own and organizing everything. I was quite exhausted.
iRunFar: But now you know your way around, you’re going to be a Hardrock pro.
Hartmuth: Yeah, and now I know so many more people here, which is super helpful. And now I’ve been here, I’ve seen the mountains. I experienced how beautiful they are, and I think I’ve really fallen in love a bit with the place here. So yeah, it’s not that difficult when you have such a great, great mountain.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hartmuth: No, I definitely want to be back. And I mean if I can’t make it as a runner, then maybe as a pacer or crew, or whatever that is.
iRunFar: That is music to my personal ears. My last question for you, Hardrock is a pretty challenging race in and of its own, but you may have something even more challenging on your race calendar for this year.
Hartmuth: I think so, yes.
iRunFar: You’re going to race the Tor de Géants in the start of September or mid-September.
Hartmuth: Yes. Well, beginning of September.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hartmuth: Yeah, exactly. So I thought a lot about this also during the race because I was like, ah, that’s another Hardrock added.
iRunFar: It’s probably not something you should think about in the middle of that.
Hartmuth: Yeah, especially not when you’re in a bad place and hurting. No, I’m really much looking forward to it. It will be the first time for me racing over a hundred miles. And I think, especially the sleep deprivation, that’s a big topic that doesn’t really arise in a hundred miler, but when you go beyond, it will. So that’s something that I really don’t know how it’ll work out, and I’m really excited to find out.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hartmuth: And also a bit scared, but I’ve seen parts of the course already last year, and it’s so beautiful over there. It’s a huge challenge, but I really would like to complete it this year. And yeah, let’s see how things will turn out.
iRunFar: Well, there is a big, beautiful finisher’s breakfast waiting for you just over there that has your name on it. Katharina Hartmuth, congratulations on your first Hardrock finish and your third-place finish at 2024 edition.
Hartmuth: Thanks very much.
