Running News Daily

Hardrock 100 extends pregnancy deferral for up to five years

While some runners complained the policy is long overdue, most greeted the news with cheers.

The ultra-trail world is applauding Hardrock 100’s progressive, new pregnancy/parental deferral policy, which the race announced on Instagram on Monday. The new policy encompasses both pregnancy and situations involving adoption and surrogacy.

The new policy allows any woman who has been selected to race (or who gets in off the waitlist) who was pregnant on lottery day (Dec. 2, 2023, for the 2024 race), or who becomes pregnant between lottery day and race day (July 12), or who has given birth anytime during the six-month period leading up to lottery day, to defer their entry for five years. It may also be claimed by the partner of women who give birth during the six months leading to race day, or up to two months after race day.

Further, the policy allows surrogate parents whose due date falls within the six-month period leading up to race day to claim a one-year deferral. This policy also applies to parents who adopt a child during the same six-month period (provided the child is under five years old).

“At Hardrock, we firmly believe that runners of all types shouldn’t have to choose between chasing their dreams on the trails and pursuing the option of becoming parents,” the race posted on Instagram. “That is why we have updated our Pregnancy Entry Deferral policy to provide a more generous deferral period for pregnant women and new mothers, and expanded coverage to include other types of new parents, such as in situations of surrogacy and adoption.”

News of the new policy was greeted with mostly positive comments, though some decried the length of time it has taken for the race to finally acknowledge the realities of life for parents and those who are trying to have children. Canadian ultrarunner Stephanie Case (@theultrarunnergirl), who finished second in 2022, is a Hardrock board member and spoke to Canadian Running about her own fertility journey in a feature in the 2024 Trail Special Issue, commented “Proud to be on this board!”

The policy is somewhat less generous than that of the Western States Endurance Run (as an example of a comparable race), in that the eligibility period begins when a runner enters the lottery, and deferral may be for an indefinite period; however WSER’s policy applies only to pregnant women. The policy at Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), like Hardrock’s, applies to surrogate and adoptive parents and partners of pregnant women, for up to five years (with certain restrictions).