Hardrock 100 cancelled for second straight year

Last year, the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run was cancelled because of unprecedented snowfall. The 2020 edition of the event was supposed to be the race’s triumphant return, but for the second year in a row, organizers have been forced to cancel the event, once again due to factors that are out of their hands. This time around, the cancellation is of course due to COVID-19. The race is a 100-mile run through the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, and it is one of the biggest events on the North American ultramarathon schedule, but runners will have to wait another year before they get the chance to tackle the course again.

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2019 cancellation

The Hardrock course sits at an incredibly high elevation, with an average height of 3,352 metres throughout the entire 100-mile route. At its max, the course reaches an elevation of over 4,200 metres. Due to its high altitude, the race site of Silverton, Colo., can see a lot of snow, and in March 2019, close to 230 cm of snow fell on the town. Due to the snow, avalanche debris, high water levels and a lack of road access to aid stations, race organizers decided it was in the best interest of racers and volunteers to cancel the 2019 event.

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Two years straight

Cancelling an event once is bad enough, but having no choice but to cancel again the very next year is a nightmare for race directors. That’s what COVID-19 has been for most of the world, though, and the nightmare has affected races all across the globe, with the Hardrock 100 becoming the latest addition to the list of COVID-19 cancellations.

In a press release announcing the official cancellation of the Hardrock 100, the race organizers said runners already registered for the event will receive information on how to move forward in the coming weeks. Last year, runners were given two options: defer their entries until 2020 or take a full refund. Two-straight cancellations will certainly hurt the race, but race director Dale Garland remains optimistic that there will be a Hardrock 100 Endurance Run next year, stating that they “look forward to seeing every member of the Hardrock family in the San Juans in 2021.”