A day or two after the race has finished, we thought it rather apt to give a quick run down of what happened, to whom and when. From the sounds of it, this year’s race was an absolute beast of a run, with major weather implications, swollen creeks, diversions and overall, slower overall times than last year as a result. For some great pictures, click here.
The top line is that another Salomon runner, Julien Chorier (post interview here) took out the honours in this one with the third fastest time ever (25:17), beating all comers behind him by over an hour. In second place was Dakota Jones, and you can see Bryon Powell’s post-race interview here too. This makes it a Salomon one-two in the two biggest American races this year, and certainly puts Europe on the map after Kilian’s win at Western States just a few weeks earlier. As some said at Western States, this could mark a ‘changing of the guard’ as far as ultra running is concerned. The Americans have dominated this sport for so long, with names like Scott Jurek, Geoff Roes and Anton Krupicka leading the way. That’s not to say these guys are not still top of their game, far from it. It’s just that Europe has cottoned on, and has taken the sport up a notch.
A massive shout-out has to go to Nick Clark too, a Brit currently residing in the US and who podiumed at both races, a remarkable feat. Nick finished third at Western States, dropping off the pace somewhat in the last few miles, but maybe deliberately so, knowing that his place was secure and that he had Hardrock 10 days later. To then come out and run the race he did at Hardrock is a superhuman achievement. Not only has he run two 100 milers in 10 days, but he has finished in the top three in both, and Hardrock is probably regarded as the toughest 100 miler going, alongside the Barkley marathons. He also knocked 3 hours of AJW’s overall combined double time too. Amazing stuff.
In the women’s race, Diana Finkel and Darcy Africa went head to head for much of the day, but Finkel held on to secure victory and finished fifth overall in 29:27:39 to gather her fourth straight Hardrock 100 women’s title. The ladies are known for doing very well here a Hardrock… maybe they’re just that little bit tougher than the men 🙂