Started this morning. Arguably the hardest 100 in the states, and one of the hardest in the world. I'm sure some would argue Barkley, but I put that race in a category of its own since its not even marked. Hardrock spends the majority of the race over 10K feet and goes over 14K. I'd love to do the race one day, but its essentially impossible to get into if you've never run it before. Yes, that sounds weird, but read up on the race. Its easier to get in once you've run it before, which mean every year, it gets harder to get in.

Anyway, one of my Spectrum teammates finally got in this year after years and years of trying and A LOT of luck in the lottery. Steven Moore, who is a pretty quick "local elite" type guy is on the course. A couple other texas ultra running staples are out there too, Scott Rabb and John T Sharp. If you guys run ultras in Texas, those three names might be familiar.

Up front on the men's side, Killian lined up a again, as well as Jason Schlarb, the two winners last year. If you remember, they finished holding hands. On the women's side Anna Frost, Darcy Piceau, and Caroline Chaverot will likely all be in the mix. The front runners are about 9 miles in so far and its all been climbing.

here's the link to the live satellite tracking:

http://hardrock100.com/live.php

Thanks for the link.

Hardrock was on my bucket list of races a long time ago, but now that I actually have a few 50k's under my belt and I'm training for my first 100k, I have a sense of how difficult that race would actually be for me. I'm not really interested any more. Maybe several years down the line, but man the climbing in that race is insane.

33,000 ft of climbing isn't much.

Schlarb already out. Dropped at ~7.5 due to stomach issues.

That's disappointing.

It looks like Caroline Chaverot is mixing it up with the men's leaders. And Kilian has dropped back to about 1 mile behind the leaders.

Kilian has been sling-shotting all morning. He's been a couple miles a head, then drops back, then surges. I'm sure some of that has to do with his insane ability to descend.

Good to see Steven running up with some of the big "second tier" names. He was running with Wardian for a while, and is now up there with the two Courys. Its still really early though.

Yep, Kilian is back in the lead heading up Handies.

Is Jamil Coury actually a good runner, or does everyone just know his name because of his youtube channel?

he's what i'd consider a "second tier" guy. he's finished as high as about 11th or so at hardrock. He can and will compete for the win at less competitive bigger races, but you won't ever see him (or his brother) truly competing for the podium at races like hard rock, western, etc.

He's good enough that people know him, which helped kickstart the youtube stuff. Obviously much more known for youtube at this point. But he's definitely a "legit" fast runner, unlike Ginger Runner, who is a GREAT personality, but only a mid-pack runner.

Glad to see Steven is doing well.

Currently running right behind Karl Meltzer.

The Pilot said:

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That look's fantastic. I gotta move out of Texas.

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i toy with the idea every day.

another course shot from mile 15

AggieOO said:

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The Pilot said:

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That look's fantastic. I gotta move out of Texas.

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i toy with the idea every day.

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Come on out west, H&F bros!

I'd love to, but kind of hard when i'm in the process of accepting a brand new job here.

i was wondering why he'd fallen back to 3rd male/4th overall

How the hell did he manage to do that?

no idea, but he's already back with the leaders.

I was in Silverton several years ago on a family vacation before the start of this race. Pretty awesome drinking beer and talking strategy with these elite runners.

It's great out here, really don't miss much of Texas anymore

Kilian leading through 70...with a separated shoulder.

guess i'll check the status when i wake up to run in the a.m.

Kilian with the win, with one arm strapped down. That guy is incredible.

Damn freak of nature

And to not ignore the women's field, Caroline Chaverot, absolutely destroyed the women's field.

Incredible racing from both of them.

As a side note, the Tahoe Rim Trail 55k, 50 mile, and 100 mile run is today. We have lots of folks from our running club that are running and I'm heading up to volunteer the night shift at one of the aid stations tonight. Do y'all know anyone running this year? I could give a shout out as they pass through the aid station.

This thread.

Steven finished 22nd OA and 18th male.

this is 30+ minutes. If you dont' feel like watching the entire thing, just skip around and look at the scenery. The hardrock course is ****ING gorgeous.

AggieOO said:

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this is 30+ minutes. If you dont' feel like watching the entire thing, just skip around and look at the scenery. The hardrock course is ****ING gorgeous.

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While I don't really want to run Hardrock any time soon, I have spent some time camping and hiking in the Silverton/Ouray area, including summiting Handies Peak; I really need to go back and hike around there some more.

Agreed. Looks like a good 3-4 day trip.

Aggietaco said:

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Agreed. Looks like a good 3-4 day trip.

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technically the race is a 2 day trip.

Billy Yang film on Timothy Olson's 2016 hard rock.

Anyone ever volunteered for this race? I just signed up. Not sure what I'm getting myself into. I assume they'll just stick me at one of the drive-in aid stations since I don't have any experience.