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Hardrock 100 2001 Report(CO): Peter Bakwin

Just back from Silverton.  This was my second year pacing there, so
now I have covered the whole course (HRH is a loop course that alternates
directions each year).  Some impressions follow.

The Hardrock course is truely amazing.  It is not just extremely difficult
and unbelievably beautiful.  The design of the course is a remarkable
achievement!  A 100 mile loop through the remote San Juan mountains linking
forgotton old mining tracks, dizzingly steep jeep roads, hiking trails, and,
when no trail is available, simply bushwacking in many sections.  To get all
this cleared past the various land-holding agencies (mainly USFS and BLM)
has to be monumental.  And yes, it is exceedingly difficult.  There are at
least 10 climbs on the Hardrock course that are each harder than anything at
Leadville or Westerns States, the descents are mostly steep, rocky and
very difficult to run even with fresh legs, and this is all done at
altitudes frequently topping 13,000 feet.  To run/walk this course in 2 days
is really a great accomplishment.  To finish it in 26:39 is super-human!!!

The Hardrock course scares the hell out of me, which is why I am determined
to sign up next year.

Betsy Kahlmeyer's time would have won the race OVERALL every year except
the last 2!

Kirk Apt and Ulli Kamm each finished their 8th Hardrock.  Apparently Gordon
Hardman dropped (he was the only other entrant with 7 finishes).  Kirk is
the Tim Twietmeyer of HRH.

Hardrock is mercilous.  As several people have pointed out there were
plenty of great runners & veterans of HRH on the drop list.  A little
early exuberance will kill you ("early" means any time before mile 80 when
you still have 2 huge climbs to go).
Lots of things can end your race up there.  Consider that for the top
runners it takes about 5 hours to run from Grouse Gulch to Sherman (over
the top of Handies Peak at 14,000 feet) -- 5 hours without any aid station
and certainly no place to call it quits.  Consider that if you make it to
Sherman and then drop its a long and difficult 4WD ride back to
civilization (if you can find a ride).  Then you can understand why Grouse
Gulch is a popular place to drop.

I ran with Sue Johnston for a while and was really sorry to see her drop.
Sue is a great runner and amazingly strong hiker.  She has 2 previous HRH
finishes and one win (last year).

I had a great time running with Scott Eppelman and Tyler Curiel.  These
guys are really strong & smart runners & have a great attitude!  They
certainly know how to get the job done.  How they do this coming from Texas
less than week before the race I don't know.  Tyler lowered his HRH PR by
about 2 hours & got 10th place.  Scott had a little trouble after 75 miles
but still got an excellent finish in around 34:40.

There are rumors that HRH may be cancelled due to permitting problems with
the course going over Handies (which is now a Wilderness Study Area).  At
the pre-race meeting the RD (Dale Garland) assured us that the show will go
on with or without Handies.

Congrats to everyone who gave it their all out there on Friday, Saturday
and Sunday!  Thanks to the amazing volunteers & organizers.  What an event!

Peter
Boulder, CO