Excitement is building ahead of this year’s Hardrock 100, the 30th edition of one of the world’s most legendary trail races. This weekend, many of trail-running’s brightest stars will be putting themselves through the wringer in an attempt to emerge victorious on the infamously brutal course high in the San Juan Mountains. Separating them from the finish line is 102.5 miles (164km) of technical trails, dirt roads, surprise mountain hazards and 33,197ft (10,118m) of elevation gain.
There’s no Courtney Dauwalter this year, while American ultrarunning’s current golden boy Jim Walmsley will be pacing rather than competing. Nevertheless, a glance at the names on the start line suggests that there’ll be plenty of drama and more than a few stories to come out of the 2025 race.
If you want the see the action as it unfolds, you can follow runners via the live GPS tracking and live aid station splits, as well as by following the Mountain Outpost team’s live YouTube steam.
Women's race: Schide's Hardrock debut
In the women’s race, all eyes will be on American Katie Schide following a stellar 2024 in which she won both the Western States and the UTMB. This will be her Hardrock debut and many consider her to be the woman to beat, particularly as her great rival Courtney Dauwalter – winner of the last three women’s races – won’t be on the start line this year.
Reports suggest Schide, who calls the village of Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage in the French Maritime Alps home, has been training in the US since mid-May. It’s clear her focus has been well and truly on this race.
However, there’s a glut of talent among her competitors, including Stephanie Case, the Canadian who finished second at Hardrock in 2022. She made headlines in May this year when she romped to victory in the women’s race at UTMB’s Ultra Trail Snowdonia (UTS) 100k. It’s a story reminiscent of Jasmin Paris’ legendary win on the brutal Winter Spine Race in 2019, as Case stopped to breastfeed her six-month-old daughter Pepper while at the aid stations.
Case – who is the founder of the charity Free to Run, which seeks to empower women from all cultures to take up the sport – had struggled to race at an elite level during a challenging, three-year fertility journey, during which she suffered miscarriages and IVF failures. However, her victory at UTS suggests a remarkable return to top form from an individual who clearly possesses spades of resilience.
Another athlete to watch is German runner Katharina Hartmuth, who finished 3rd last year and was 2nd to Courtney Dauwalter at 2023’s UTMB. This will be her first race since an incredible win at the 2024 Tor des Géants. Then, she set a new course record of 79:10:40, becoming the first woman in history to finish the TOR330 in under 80 hours, beating the previous record held by Britain’s Sabrina Verjee. She’s had her injury battles since but comes into the race looking sharp once more.
Men's race: can anyone stop Ludo?
French athlete Ludovic (Ludo) Pommeret appears to be the man to beat in the men’s race. He set a course record of 21:33:06 on his way to victory last year and, despite turning 50 this year, will take some stopping – especially considering he’ll be paced by the last two winners of the legendary UTMB: Jim Walmsley and fellow Frenchman Vincent Bouillard.
As well as winning last year’s race, Pommeret was the 2022 winner of the gruelling Ultra-Trail Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie (TDS), a 92-mile (148km) race that’s held as part of the wider Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc event. In April this year, he finished 2nd at the Grand Raid Ventoux by UTMB (GRV) 100-mile race, behind countryman Matthieu Simon.
Another Frenchman, Mathieu Blanchard, is expected to mount a challenge, however, fresh from finishing second in Wales at the UTMB’s Ultra Trail Snowdonia (UTS) 100k. This UTMB veteran was in great form last year, winning three major races, including the 100-mile Le Grand Raid De La Réunion – La Diagonale Des Fous, though he recorded a DNF at UTMB. Meanwhile, yet another Frenchman, Germaine Grainger will be looking to build on his success at the Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB 100k race.
There’s an emerging story in the form of Kenyan-born elite American runner Zach Miller, who had to pull out last year due to an emergency appendectomy just a week before the race. (He had still been willing to give it a shot but race organizers decided against it.) This was following a fruitful 2023 where he’d won the 100-mile Tarawera Ultramaraton in New Zealand and finished 2nd to Jim Walmsley at UTMB.
His do-or-die approach to racing means he’s one of the less predictable competitors in the field. Will he power to victory, as he did when he became the first American to win the Ultra-Trail Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) in 2015? Or, will he implode, like at the 2018 UTMB when he pushed too hard in an attempt to overcome eventual winner Xavier Thévenard and ended up in a rescue helicopter?
Only time will tell…
What is the Hardrock 100?
Officially known as the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run, the Hardrock 100 is a 102.5 mile (165km) ultramarathon that takes place in Southern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. It’s a region renowned for its high, rugged peaks and mining heritage. In fact, the run salutes the toughness and perseverance of the hardrock miners who once lived and worked here. It was first held in 1992 and featured just 18 participants, but has since grown to become an iconic event in the world of trail running.
It’s not a run for the faint-hearted. It entails in the region of 33,000ft (10,000m) of elevation gain on dirt roads, tracks and cross-country trails. Runners will move through several climate zones and remain at altitudes between 7,700ft and 14,000ft (2,350 and 4,250m) throughout.
By no measure is it your average run. Official course description guidance states: 'There are many hazards on the Hardrock course! Including but not limited to; falls on snow, scree, talus and cliffs, fast moving water, wildlife encounters, rock fall, altitude sickness, lightning, cold and heat'.
The route is a loop linking the historic mining towns of Silverton, Telluride, Ouray and Lake City. Just to keep the runners on their toes, the direction is reversed each year. Finishers won’t cross a standard finish line either, instead they’ll plant a kiss on a mountain goat-emblazoned hunk of rock to end their race.
Hardrock legends
Many of trail running’s most legendary characters have been victorious at the Hardrock 100. Widely regarded as the greatest mountain runner in history, Spaniard Kilian Jornet shares the record for most male race wins with Utah-based ultra runner Karl Meltzer. Both have won five times: Jornet in 2014, 2015, 2016 (tied), 2017 and 2022; Meltzer in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2009.
The last three women’s races, in 2022, 2023 and 2024, have been dominated by one runner and one runner alone: the great Courtney Dauwalter. Her 2023 victory was her second step towards her historic Triple Crown, winning the prestigious trio of Western States, Hardrock and UTMB in a single year.
However, when it comes to course legends, she’s still got some way to go to top fellow American Betsy Kalmeyer’s haul of five victories in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2006. US runner Diana Finkel also enjoyed a period of dominance, winning the race four times on the bounce between 2009 and 2011, before another American, Darcy Piceu Africa, won three in a row, in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
How to stream the race
You can watch the live broadcast throughout the event via the three videos below. Each covers a different section of the race:
