The queen of ultradistance Courtney Dauwalter is set to defend her Hardrock 100 crown

Courtney Dauwalter , the queen of ultra-distance running, will once again put on trail running shoes this Friday to compete in the Hardrock 100 , the prestigious 165-kilometer mountain race with 10,000 meters of positive elevation gain that takes place in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, United States.

The American runner will try to defend the title she won in 2023, when she won the race with a record time of  26h14:08 , although this year, unlike last year, the race will be run clockwise.

"It's a great race, very tough and difficult. I'm coming back because all my participations here have had very tough moments, and I hope to be able to soften those moments a bit and finish the race without so many difficulties," said Dauwalter in an interview with iRunFar.

The reigning Transgrancanaria and Mt. Fuji 100 champion will face her main opponents in Germany's  Katharina Hartmuth and France's  Camille Bruyas , second in the UTMB Mont-Blanc in 2023 and 2021, respectively.

On the men's side, the main figure will be the French runner François D'Haene , who wants to repeat his victory from 2021 and, why not, beat the circuit record belonging to the Spaniard Kilian Jornet (21h36:24).

American Zach Miller is on the roster, although he is likely to miss the event due to recent appendix surgery.

The Hardrock 100 begins and ends in the town of Silverton and passes through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the United States, home to elk, bears and cougars. The highest point is Handies Peak, at 4,200 meters.

The race will start on Friday 12th July at 6am (2pm in Spain) and can be followed live on YouTube .

posted Thursday July 11th
by Matias Camenforte