In addition to the usual difficulties of running 100 miles, I felt that Hardrock presented four additional challenges: altitude, terrain, sparse course marking, and a second night of running. The conventional wisdom is to arrive 2-3 weeks early so that you can acclimate, learn the course, and get some experience on the terrain which includes steep snow, talus, travel near the edge of cliffs with big drop offs, cross country over various obstacles, and difficult creek and river crossings. I felt that my mountaineering experience would allow me to deal with the terrain ok, and that I could acclimate in one week. I just hoped that I wouldn't get lost and that the second night would go ok.
Elena and I arrived in Silverton exactly one week before the race. The next day we joined the course marking crew and experienced Virginius Pass, the steepest and most difficult snow on the course. We rested the following day and enjoyed the very worthwhile July 4th celebration in Silverton. Highlights included several F-18 fly over during the parade and an awesome fireworks display. The next two days I would cover from mile 84.6 to the finish, then I rested until race day. The rest of our crew, Bill and Lisa arrived late the night before the race after some travel difficulty.
At the trail briefing, it was stated with pride that there are less trail markers than they have ever used. It was the runner's responsibility to know the course. I had seen less that one quarter of the course, and not getting lost would be a big concern. I packed my topo map, compass, and the ten-page course description.
Race day dawned clear, and at 6am in the daylight we were off. After about two miles, we crossed Mineral Creek with the help of a fixed rope. My feet would be wet for the rest of the race. I gradually found my pace as we cleared tree line and headed into the high country. Here visibility was good and I could see runners already miles ahead. After cresting a couple of saddles, I headed down into the valley. Course marking was sparse here and I had to wait several times for someone who knew the way to catch up. Once I was caught, I followed rather than lead. I reached the first aid station about 10 minutes ahead of the 48-hour pace.
Leaving this aid station and heading across the Kamm Traverse, I realized it would be difficult to just follow someone. Everyone seemed to be moving at varying speeds up and down the hills, and nobody was matching my pace. I didn't have a lot of time to spare, so I went my own pace but tried to keep a runner in sight as much as possible. Soon came another unmarked junction, I followed a runner uphill. After a while, I was back above tree line and could see the runners stretched out for miles ahead.
I was climbing well, and actually caught a few runners near the top of Grant Swamp Pass. I picked up a rock and placed it on the Joel Zucker Memorial Plaque here and paused to read it. Joel was a three-time Hardrock finisher who died shortly after his third finish. When I looked up, everyone was gone. I quickly traversed the ridge to the chute where everyone was speeding down the steep talus. I plunged over the edge and almost immediately fell, sliding about 15 feet down before I could stop myself. I was not hurt, but I would have to be more careful. I hustled to try and catch someone and fell one more time, but I did manage to latch on to one runner as we traversed down toward Chapman Gulch. Soon we joined a trail and continued quite a while to an unmarked junction. Fortunately I had someone in sight and just followed.
I left the Chapman Gulch aid station two minutes behind 48-hour pace, and headed up the steep jeep road toward Oscar's Pass. I passed a few runners on this section, crested the pass, and walked down the delicate snow traverse toward the trail. The steps were good and this section was not a problem. As the trail improved so did my pace. It was a long descent with some steep sections along cliffs but it passed quickly as soon I arrived in Telluride to meet my crew for the first time.
I left Telluride 8 minutes ahead of 48-hour pace by myself. The route out of town was surprisingly well marked. I headed up toward Mendota Saddle, and once above tree line I could again see the runners stretched out for miles. Arriving at the Mendota Saddle, one runner asked where is the aid station? I pointed up to Virginius Pass and he was very disappointed. I hurried to the pass, rested a moment, and put on my gloves, rain jacket and pants. I used the fixed line to do a sort of rappel down the steep part and then sat down and glissaded. I was happy to get through this before dark. The rest of the snow sections went quick and easy and soon I was running and walking down the jeep road.
I eventually reached Ouray well after dark and crammed as much food in as possible. This was a victory of sorts to at least make it to the pacing part of the course. I left with Elena just 5 minutes behind the 48-hour pace. Once out of the aid station area, we could not see any course markings. Elena ran a block in two directions but no luck. We got out the course description and were able to follow it to leave town on the correct path.
The next obstacle was the Uncompaghre River, which we waded hip deep in the dark with a flashlight and bottle in one hand and the fixed rope in the other. The current was surprisingly strong. We headed up the Bear Creek trail, probably the most dangerous part of the course. The trail is cut out of the side of the cliff, and the footing is not great in many places. One slip here could be fatal, but we survived it fine. Well above the dangerous section, I slipped and fell, hitting my knee. It was difficult to get up and walk, but after 15 minutes all the pain was gone. I needed to pay better attention.
The Engineer aid station was crowed with runners. I scored a great chair next to the fire and had some oatmeal and hot chocolate. Soon we were bound for Engineer Pass, where it was windy and cold. I put on the rest of my night clothes and tried to hurry down, but my strength was beginning to fade. We managed some running, but mostly walked down to Grouse Gulch.
This was low point of the race for me. I was surprised that as lousy as I felt and as slow as the last section seemed, I was now over an hour ahead of the 48-hour pace. I ate more oatmeal and hot chocolate, plus some boost. I stripped down to shorts, shirt, and jacket. Elena commented that I would soon feel better and fortunately she was right. I left the aid station with my next pacer Bill and headed toward Handies.
After about 10 minutes of climbing, I started to feel much better. Bill was getting some great photos, and I was holding a reasonable pace into American Basin. Here we encountered a backpacker who played a stirring rendition of "Jammin" (like the Hardrocker's can) on his guitar. Soon we were on the summit, where we took a few photos and headed down the other side. I was slow at first, but as the trail improved my pace quickened. We ran long sections of this trail, eventually reaching Burrow's Park and the jeep road. There we no markings here, but there were other runners to show the way. Bill read the course directions just to make sure.
Lisa was waiting at the Sherman aid station as planned. It was just a few minutes after noon, but I wouldn't see the crew for another 10 hours, so I needed my night supplies. I got everything together, grabbed some food, and Lisa and I left still one hour ahead of 48-hour pace.
We followed the course markings across a creek and onto a good trail. After traveling one hour between markings, I asked Lisa to read the course description. One runner caught us and said we were on the course, and another pair soon followed so we must be ok. All five of us stayed together to the next pass. As the trail started down, I was the only one who felt like running so Lisa and I went ahead of our group. I felt like I was only jogging, but I couldn't see anyone behind us or ahead of us in the open countryside. I knew the next aid station would be difficult to find from the comments of others and the trail briefing. I switched to walking and hoped we would be caught. A runner and pacer soon passed us, and I quickened our pace to match. We were running quite fast now, but I wanted to be following someone. The pace did eventually slow to a fast walk, and we followed this pair to the Pole Creek aid station.
The next section was relatively flat and uneventful. I walked most of it until the drop into the Maggie Gulch aid station. This was a significant achievement, as I was now on familiar territory. We were 2.5 hours ahead of the 48-hour pace and my confidence was growing. I new dark would catch us on the next cross-country leg, but I felt we had the time cushion to deal with this. We left the aid station quickly and tried to cover as much ground as possible by dark.
The first climb went well, followed by the steep descent to the Stony Pass jeep road. After we crossed the road, the sun dipped below the horizon. We stopped to don tights and ready our lights. I tried to push here but there wasn't much left in the tank. As darkness fell, it seemed like runners were streaming past us. We reached the next pass and part way down when darkness caught us.
At first we followed the markings fine, but then lost them. Two other runners were with us and four lights scanned the hillside looking for markers. None were found. The two others wanted to just head toward where the course was going and not worry about the markers. This was a tough decision, but I decided to follow them. My race hung in the balance. If we were lost, I might not finish. I felt we were heading in the right direction and Lisa and I struggled to keep up. After a long time, we saw course markings! This was a big boost and we still struggled to match the pace. After another long stretch, the route was improving tremendously and we were losing the other runners. I fell three times in quick succession, and it was clear that I couldn't maintain the pace. Lisa suggested a break and I sat for perhaps five minutes. The markers were easier to follow now and we could see the aid station below. Soon we met Elena who guided us into the maze of the Cunningham aid station.
I rested and fueled up for the final stretch. The problems with the previous section cost me all but one hour of my cushion, but I knew the last leg was all on trail and fire roads. With Elena now pacing, I knew that I would likely finish. We slogged up the last pass and started down at a fast walk. Elena was keeping a close eye on the time, and I didn't really feel like running. We walked fast this whole section, even passing one runner. Our experience on this section paid off and we did not make any errors in course following. Eventually we could see the lights of Silverton, and then the ski lodge. We jogged the last half-mile through the streets of Silverton and finished at 3:52am for a time of 45:52:16. I made it.
A big thank you to the people that make Hardrock a reality. Everything was wonderful. The scenery is unbelievable. Also a big thanks Elena, Bill, and Lisa. I couldn't have made it without your help.
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