 The Rock
Until Thursday night. We opened the windows in our suite and the smell made me poke my head outside. It was hazy from a fire in Gunnison most likely. I only slept a couple hours that night, the night before the race, constantly checking the AQI (155 in Telluride), convinced the race would be cancelled like UTMR in 2019. I kept the windows open because it was hot, but in doing so exposed my lungs to the smoke for even longer. In the morning the air quality was in the orange so the race offered deferrals to anybody who was sensitive to the smoke but nobody took them up on it. After all the hard work and money that went into this, and the fact that finishing would mean a finish in each direction for me, no way was I going to defer to next year!  Hazy race start  Lobo Photo NM Silverton to Cunningham (miles 0 to 9.3)I have to admit I didn't have the best start to the race. I kept telling myself not to worry about the smoke, that it would blow off in no time, but I couldn't help it. In the back of my mind I was worried. It made me feel terrible on top of only sleeping for 2 hours. My nose was cracking, running and bleeding and I felt like crawling back into bed. I wondered if I'd be able to finish the race if it didn't go away or got worse. The line of people I ran with was pretty quiet in that first 10k. Heads down, we missed the turn onto the single track and had to do some back tracking. This made me realize my watch was not doing the Hardrock course like I thought it was. Whoops. Little Giant was so beautiful though, and quite warm! It wasn't as windy as I expected. During the descent into Cunningham I decided I couldn't wait to use the bathrooms at the aid station and while squatted on this steep mountainside my foot slipped and I peed all over myself. I had to laugh at the ridiculous start to this race. "Bad start, good finish. Bad start, good finish..." I attempted to manifest. I came into Cunningham 15-25 minutes slower than I had hoped and was 28th female out of 31 (though I didn't know this). Cunningham to Sherman (miles 9.3 to 29.8)In the aid station I followed my plan (I use a cheat sheet with instructions for what to do at each aid station since my brain stops working) of getting my nutrition and I started putting on sunblock while I began the climb to Green Mountain. The smoke seemed to be improving and I felt good on the climb but was careful not to push it too much. I ran with Josh from Boulder for the first time here- we would share many miles together off and on until Burrows where he took off and finished strong. I had only done the Green Mountain section in the dark before so it was so exciting to see it in the day time! It was beautiful!  The flowers! The mountains! □  Looking at the tiny people climbing up in the distance
 Lobo Photo NM The day started to get hot, but the smoke was gone and such a relief. Josh and I clicked the miles off just chatting and keeping the effort low. At Pole Creek I had to get some extra water and they sprayed us down with cold stream water. Nutrition was going fairly well- my goal was a 500 mL bottle an hour of my custom Infinit mix. I had bought some bags online that you use to make your own Otterpops and put the mix powder into those so they were easy to empty into my bottles. I'd try to do that while I approached an aid station so I only had to fill with water, shake, and then top off. I had measured these out to the gram using my kitchen scale leading up to the race, but I think my kitchen scale may be broken. I started to notice that some bottles were extremely concentrated and some tasted like they barely had anything in them. Weird.  Heart shaped snow bank While slow, I ran a lot in the section to Sherman and was stoked about it. In 2016 I felt like I barely ran a single step the whole race, but maybe I ran more than I think- I don't have any watch data past 46 miles. This section had a ton of water and mud crossings and The Sherman aid station volunteers were awesome (well, they all were the whole race) and I had my own personal volunteer who got me watermelon and helped me with my bottles and grabbing my overnight stuff (really just my headlamp- I carried a down jacket the whole race).  A lot of mud and water crossings left the feet wet almost the entire race Sherman to Animas Forks (miles 29.8 to 44.6)I had some food to eat while I walked out of the Sherman aid station and decided to turn on my phone for the first time. I smiled at some messages I had and then saw the press release about Elaine Stypula passing away early in the race. I immediately put my phone back in airplane mode and processed the information. It made me incredibly sad obviously, and I thought about her periodically throughout the remainder of the race. Her daughter posted things online after the race about her mother who sounds like an incredible person, her impressive running resume aside. On the road up to Burrows I met Edward for the first time and we hiked a bit with Josh before he decided to take off, never to be seen again haha. Edward pointed out that I was super sunburned on the back of my knees so that I'd be better about sunblock on day 2. I was applying sunblock throughout the day but obviously was missing some of my legs. Sigh. Very glad I decided to wear the calf sleeves for sun protection, even though I don't like wearing them. It was here that I started to realize I was having trouble taking deep breaths. A lot of cars drove by leaving us in their dust, literally, which didn't help. I arrived at Burrows hot, tired and coughing but the medical person that greeted me said I was "actually looking great."  Heading towards Handies I think the next section up to Handies is the lowest low I have ever experienced in a race. I was CRAWLING slower than I ever have and was starting to have trouble getting nutrition in. I had to stop and rest on rocks a couple times and was passed by many people. It's so hard to keep the positive thoughts flowing as I fought the negative. "Why do you even try?" "You're so bad at ultra running, maybe it's time to find another hobby." "This is embarrassingly slow." "All that hard work for this." But I just kept trucking. I have never once thought about quitting in an ultra. I did think "I could make this all stop if I wanted" but I knew I wasn't going to stop, nor did I actually want to. The people around me were struggling too but I knew they were from sea level and had an excuse that I didn't. We encouraged each other though and put one foot in front of the other. At the very top of Handies I promptly started uncontrollably dry heaving. For some reason I rarely actually vomit, but the dry heaving was violent and I felt like my head was going to explode. After about 6 or 7 bouts my muscles were shaking and I had to catch my breath- but I felt sooo much better. Matt from the Netherlands asked if I was okay and we started the trek down to Animas together, stopping part way to get headlamps out.  Heading up Handies  Nearing the Handies summit  Very close to the summit  Handies!  Made it!  About to start the descent  Top tier sunset The next section was one of my best- and I was reminded exactly why you don't give up when it's hard. I was able to drink my nutrition again and while I was still slow up American Grouse Pass at just over 13,000 feet, I was in high spirits chatting with Matt and I was able to run well down to Animas Forks where I was excited to see my pacer Michelle!  The start of Night 1 Animas Forks to Telluride (miles 44.6 to 74.7)Animas Forks was so fun! Michelle had met a bunch of people while waiting for me and they became my own little crew, helping with my bottles and even offering to clean my feet for me when I changed my shoes and socks (I didn't let them lol). The aid station volunteer brought me some potato soup, which I demolished since I was a bit behind on calories. I also changed my sports bra and shirt here and took off all my feet/toe taping that was completely bunched up from all the water crossings. It was my second longest aid station stop at 14 minutes. Michelle and I took off and headed up Engineer but I couldn't run uphill at all, still so short of breath. I was pleasantly surprised to learn I could still run downhill however, so just tried to keep moving and eating as we chatted. I ate some mashed potatoes at the Engineer aid station and we were on our way again. At the Ouray aid station Simon and Cameron met us (at 4am, bless them) and had some cup o noodles and mashed potatoes prepped and ready, along with some pre-made bottles. I felt bad about how much food of my own I had brought when the aid stations are so baller, but I knew I'd want those specific snacks. To keep moving we said goodbye to Simon and Cameron and took the food to eat while we walked.
I feel bad for Michelle for the next section. Before the race I had wanted to run at least a LITTLE of Camp Bird road since it's such a gradual, non technical uphill, but I couldn't even hike fast. It was a complete slog. I couldn't take deep breaths and just struggled bussed the whole way. My back injury felt the worst of the whole race this morning and it burned with no relief. For some reason I do better when it's dark out and now that the sun was up again for day 2 I was desperately sleepy. I had Michelle time a 4 minute dirt nap for me, where I fell asleep twice but promptly woke up both times. It seemed to help though, and I didn't sleep the rest of the race.
We began the steep ascent up to Kroger's Canteen. I had been hoping to hit this section for sunrise but I was at least glad it wasn't too hot out yet. This is one of those sections that can be a little nerve-wracking when you're tired. I'd take a step and slide and just hoped I wouldn't slide down too far. See below for some short clips on how tough it could be to get good footing. There were steps in the final snowbank and we found ourselves on a fairly crowded Kroger's! I ate a delicious pierogi, we took some pictures and then started the sometimes treacherous loooong descent into Telluride. Again, I was happy that I could run downhill even if I was barely moving uphill.  Michelle on the climb  A little scrambling  Michelle and I at Kroger's! Telluride to Chapman (miles 74.7 to 84.2)I was excited to see my mom and aunt at the Telluride aid station. It was my longest stop at 16 minutes, but I re-taped my feet and toe after getting blisters on the previous section, got my shoes and socks changed again, had more noodles/potatoes (though not as much as I should have) and we filled 4 of my bottles with pre-made Infinit from a 2L platypus. After I left the aid station for a solo section to Chapman, they drove Michelle back to Silverton for a hard earned shower and nap!  Getting ready for a long section
Soon after leaving Telluride I ran into Shelby and her pacer and chatted with them for awhile. Shelby was having similar breathing problems- but again, had the excuse of being from sea level. I enjoyed passing some time with them before slowly pushing on ahead. The next section was a brutal never ending uphill, but the wild flowers were ON POINT. Just incredible. I continued doing my shallow breathing slog uphill and found myself with Lee, Edward and Doug. They were faster than me but I took fewer breaks so we saw each other often. Near the top of the pass was this huge steep snow pack we had to slide down (I didn't want to but there was no way around it) and I had welts from snow burn on my butt cheeks after.
The downhill part into Chapman was brutal for me. I'm not good at downhill to begin with but trying to go down this "road" with huge rocks to balance on that would rock and smash into your ankles wasn't happening. Edward, Lee and Doug were light years ahead of me in no time, I don't know how they do it. I came into Chapman having lost over an hour from my predicted time but there was no way I could have gone faster. I think there was just so much climbing in this section and that's what I was struggling with the most with my lungs.  Down this rock and scree to Chapman  Sure. Easy peasy Chapman to the Finish! (miles 84.2 to 102.5)Coming into Chapman I saw Emily Hawgood cheering and waiting for her runner, Hilary Yang (which I know because I love the Trail Network podcast, check it out!) which was so cool. Every time I saw Emily that weekend I wanted to congratulate her on Western States but I was just too shy. Simon was waiting for me in the aid station and we headed out for the part of the course I was most nervous for- Grant Swamp Pass. We slogged to the base and began what would be a 66 minute mile lol. The top was the sketchiest and I think both of us were a little nervous. The view of Island Lake is iconic and being up there close to sunset was magical (and cold)!  Pacer Simon and crew Cameron
 Here we go. Spot the runner at the very top of the pass  Simon with Lee, Doug and Edward ahead of him  I think I was stopped to take photos lol  Scree for days  Simon waiting for his slogging runner (hi, it's me)  I believe the exact words were, "we're alive!!"  Island Lake Coming down the top of Grant Swamp is also slow going at first (read: sketchy on tired legs) but not long after we were running/hiking to KT where we saw Stephanie, my other pacer from 2016! The sun was starting to set for night 2 and I made sure my headlamp was out and ready.  Heading into KT As usual the hallucinations were flowing. Mostly I had been seeing people that were just rock piles but as the sun went down I started to see dinosaurs, a tiny gorilla, and random household items in the trees. A big, twisty tree was a house-sized teapot. I could not wait to be done so I could go to sleep. Simon kept reminding me there was just one more climb to go and it wouldn't be as bad as the last few. What we both forgot however, was that when we got to the top of the mountain we had to run down and go up another climb, which caused me to think we were a little lost. We weren't but I cost us some time back tracking and taking out the map. It was here that Hilary Yang and Emily Hawgood trucked past us- I was so happy to see Hilary was able to finish strong!
At some point before Putman we saw Lee, Edward and Doug again. Lee was asleep in the middle of the trail standing up. Doug encouraged her to latch on to us but I think she was just too sleepy, which I can relate to! With most of the climbing done, Simon and I picked up the pace, ready to get to our friends at the finish. I felt bad for keeping them up so late. Mile 102 (I got 103 miles total with getting lost) was 13:48 and I literally thought we were running a 9-10 minute pace. I'm so grateful my body held up to allow me to run in that final stretch. As we came into town, Katie Jo, Michelle, Cameron, and Man Cam were there with my dog Finn and ran me in the last stretch. Finn was SUPER amped up and confused and dragged me down that finishing chute lol  Lobo Photo NM
 Bonnie, Diana, Ellen, Simon, Cameron, Michelle and Finn in front. Lobo Photo NM Final ThoughtsFirst of all, a HUGE thank you to Simon and Michelle for pacing, Cameron, Diana and Bonnie for crewing, Eric for getting Michelle to Animas, Katie Jo and Cam for watching Finn a couple times so I could train longer days and bringing him to Silverton, my coach Laura, and ALL THE AMAZING VOLUNTEERS. I and we couldn't have done this without all of you.  Hardrock is super special. While I didn't have the race I wanted it was never lost on me how lucky I was to be there and to get to the finish line under 48 hours. Just getting to the starting line was a huge win as well. I wish I knew for sure what caused my shortness of breath- I'm just assuming it was the smoke, but maybe it's long covid (I haven't had a good road race since getting covid in January 2024 mainly due to an elevated heart rate) or just the prolonged high altitude exposure that is difficult to replicate in training. My best guess for the dry heaving was the occasional obviously over concentrated Infinit bottle, despite using a scale to measure it out. I expected to be much stronger on the uphills than the downhills and I know I left a lot of time on the table with that. I did much better this time in aid stations, 79 minutes total, but that can always be improved upon as well. When I turned my phone on I had a bunch of texts from people talking about my placement in the race- apparently I was in 10th for a hot second. Not once did I think or care about my placement in the race. I enjoyed running with other women (and there were almost twice as many as when I ran in 2016!) and when they passed me it was a celebration. Hardrock for me (and most I think) is a battle against the mountains, elements and clock and nothing more. I'm so proud of all the women that gutted it out and came here to shoot their shot. Well done to you all, no matter how the race went. I need to get my back injury figured out (I paid for some out of pocket PT appointments so I could get seen quicker, but now I have a string of appointments made through my insurance next month) and reassess my nutrition plan as well (because one reason I don't want to run trails right now is I don't want to have to drink that carb drink again for awhile). I will likely take next year off 100s but despite telling Amanda that I was never running Hardrock, trails, or 100s ever again the day I finished, I would like to give this race another try. I know I can do better. But for now- I'm thrilled I finished 2:46 faster (and it was 2 miles longer) but more importantly- in one piece. It was a completely different experience this year than in 2016 when I was younger but less experienced. Some training stats: 15 weeks of training (week 16 was taper week, week 17 race week, I didn't include these), averaged 66 miles and 11,362 feet of climbing per week. Biggest week 81 miles with 23,500 feet of gain in 25 hrs 38 minutes. Week 1 was the shortest (which yay! Means I didn't miss anything for injury or illness) 53.5 miles, 6,752 feet of gain, 10 hours. I spent January through March on the roads to stay/get fit through the winter and lifted weights. I did a half marathon in March that was rough because my heartrate spiked and I realized I really do have long covid. Recovered from that for a week or two and then started getting the long mountain runs in on the weekends I didn't work, increasing distance and getting more vert and higher up into the mountains as the snow allowed. January through May I was studying for a certification exam for work, which added some extra stress so super proud to have gotten through that. All the little niggles that popped up I was able to rehab myself (except the weird back injury) and didn't miss any runs! It was a great training block, but I did get burned out from the stress of it all. I think if I get to do Hardrock again soon it won't seem as big a deal and maybe I'll be able to chill a little (my anxiety just laughed at me).  Simon and Cameron with Finn at the awards ceremony  Constant eating for the next week I loved walking around Silverton on Sunday- everybody in the town was so interested and congratulatory, and Finn was a hit. Silverton on Hardrock weekend is such a fun place.  I'm a "true" Hardrocker now!
2 Comments
Stephanie
9/4/2025 02:48:33 pm
Congrats, Ellen! It was so good to see you at KT. You looked strong and motivated, so I knew you'd finish under your 2016 time. Your photos are beautiful, and I love your dog!!!!
Ellen
9/6/2025 03:40:48 pm
It was so good to see you Stephanie!!! Finn says woof lol Leave a Reply. |
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