Hardrock is my favorite race in the whole world. It embodies the reason I run ultras: for the challenge, the adventure and the camaraderie between all the runners, volunteers and crews. This past weekend I had the privilege of being a part of the race for the third year in a row. The overpowering current of Hardrock swept me into the sport at my first exposure and has continued to inspire me ever since.

I didn’t run the race and so I don’t have a report to post. But suffice to say that anyone who can run 100 miles in the San Juans is impressive. Most of these people aren’t there to win or to set records, but to live the experience of being up high in Colorado pushing themselves to their limits. Every runner at Hardrock is an intense athlete with maximum aspirations for success, no matter their goals, but a few runners stood out this weekend as stunning examples of hardened endurance. Diana Finkel led the race for more than fifty miles, nearly winning outright and setting the women’s clockwise course record. She has raced Hardrock several times before and always stands out as someone who can kick ass in the face of the toughest extremes. Her achievement this past weekend was downright incredible and should definitely be considered as the performance of the year.

Jared Campbell won the race and nobody has ever deserved it more. This was his sixth time running Hardrock and while he has always run fast his times have never been quite enough to win it, until this year. Jared is quite possibly the nicest person I have ever met, and together with his wife Mindy they make a great race even better. Thanks for the ride Mindy!

And finally Darcy Africa ran through pain and hardship to secure an unbelievable fourth place overall on her first Hardrock attempt. Running with her allowed me to see what running fast on the Hardrock course is really like, and seeing how she dealt with fatigue and suffering was positively incredible. The kind of success Darcy has had throughout her career says a lot about the kind of person she is, and I was privileged to get to run with her. Congratulations to Diana, Jared and Darcy, along with every other person who participated in this awesome race, for their stunning performances in the San Juans this weekend – you make Hardrock look like fun.