Hardrock 2023 - Jason

I love running. Especially on trails, often long distances and most particularly on alpine ridges. All are included in the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run, which I started for the third time on Friday. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish. Hardrock is a running event but this year’s story is not entirely about the running. Here are my thoughts written Sunday afternoon – any factual errors are mine.

People

My family: 

• Thanks to Meggan and the girls for putting up with all the hours I spend running on the trails, driving to/from trails, tired from running, or planning my next run. Meggan is the best ultra-spouse in the world. I cannot write words to explain how amazing she is and how lucky I am to have her support. Thanks for hearing my request for bright, fun shirts to remind people that trails welcome everyone. The shirts were great conversation starters and brought many smiles! And thanks for reminding me I was well-training and prepared when I lost confidence the week before the race.
• My sister Karen, her husband Sean and their 3yo daughter, who came out to crew and loaned me their car for two weeks so I could try to make it as dusty as possible in the San Juan Mountains. They managed to juggle the heat, dryness and altitude while helping me prepare.
• My mom, who traveled to help with my girls while I was gone. Maybe someday I’ll stop doing adventurous things that make you worry about me, but probably not anytime soon. 

My crew:

• Elliot, thanks for spending part of your summer in the Rockies, jumping in Hematite Lake with me, and coaxing me through the night. Your enthusiasm and patience for all things Hardrock was awesome! I hope you enjoy your adventures all week and good luck at Speedgoat.
• Brooks, you were the first person to reach out in December after the lottery and ask if I needed a pacer. Thanks for driving down, sleeping in your car and in the Ouray Park and managing a confused runner (me) in the Ouray aid station for way longer than I should’ve been there. I’m so sorry we didn’t get to share any trail miles!

Friends

• Roger, thanks for letting me stay near Flagstaff. Set me up well for a Humphrey’s Peak run and beautiful day on the trails there. Next time we'll catch up more!
• Erin, Andy, and Luna dog: thanks for the welcome in Mancos at your beautiful new place! I loved exploring with you, watching fireworks and crashing a second time when I needed a break from my crazy campsite!
• Everyone at the race. I love my Hardrock family.

Hardrock 100 pre-race

• Aid Station Prep: Brad is amazing as the Aid Station Director. I enjoyed testing folding chairs, cleaning and assembling water jugs, checking tents and other random prep.
• Trail Work: two days of mountain time with new friends, making the trails and course safer for runners and others. Some snow shoveling (but not as much as the crew that cleared the Cunningham road!), some rock movement, some vegetation clipping.
• Evening chats, trail exploration, shared meals, trivia night (Thanks Tori!)
• A dip in Hematite Lake: is this becoming a tradition?

Elliot and I at Hematite Lake (pre-dip!)

Fundraising

• I’ve been fortunate to run in many countries this year and recognize this privilege. I was fundraising to support Girls on the Run of San Diego. Karen is a passionate longtime supporter and a board member, and I am inspired by the efforts to build leadership and confidence in so many girls! Thanks to many of you I was able to raise over $2600. If you’d still like to donate, please visit here: pinwheel.us/donate/JasonOliver.

The run (and why I dropped)

After a beautiful clear night, we started at 6:00am from Silverton. The amount of excitement in the Silverton gym is unbelievable, and it’s always fun to greet friends. This year after checking in I sat down next to a family who had traveled down to watch the race with their kids. I don’t remember them having a specific connection to the race, and chatting with them was a great way to pass time without building anxiety.

Heading through town I was struck by how warm it already was, and I knew the clear skies would be hot (for Silverton/alpine) before too long. A quick wave in the Kendall parking lot from Randy and Lori made me smile. Climbing toward Little Giant I enjoyed catching up with Barb and Scott and making several new acquaintances. Up top, the trail work crew had built a safe path around the cornices but also left a fun snow arch to run through! Felt good to get the first climb out of the way and I enjoyed comfortably running down the switchbacks to the aid station. Food and drink were going well and I happily splashed across the creek. Stopped for a hug full of love for Eric on my way into the aid station.

Climbing up toward Little Giant

Half a burrito and quick change into white long-sleeve under my t-shirt to help with sun and I was on my way. I was really focused on fueling well over to Sherman since I knew it would be hot through Maggie and Pole Creek. I took more food than I ever have and more water and both worked great. I was able to move well and enjoy the comforts of knowing the trail and what was coming. 

It was fun to run down into Maggie after helping along that section during trail work the previous weekend. I was alone for a while, with podcasts, eating and drinking moving me through the miles. After Pole Creek I shared some miles and conversation with Andy, which helped pass the time. Before the race I spent significant time reviewing the Cunningham-Sherman section so I could move efficiently and fuel well through this open area with little tree cover. I felt confident coming down through the trees into Sherman even though I noticed how much warmer it was at lower elevations! 

At Sherman I was lucky to find Pat (endless stream of positive talk for me) and Eric (love and otter pop for the road) willing to help despite being there for other runners, which was awesome. Rick and I left the aid station together and quickly agreed that neither of us planned to run the next section, the relatively flat but sunny, open road. Due to the heat, we decided to stay calm, hydrate, and walk a steady pace up to Burrows, ignoring the dusty traffic and other runners passing us. I arrived in the aid station and was aided by an extremely helpful Eloise, who I guessed was somewhere between my daughters in age, so that gave my spirits a lift as I headed off to Handies.

During the climb to Handies, I chose ignore my watch and instead focus on moving upward at a consistent pace. This worked well as I slowly moved out of the heat and toward the alpine. I leapfrogged with several other runners as we made our way up to the ridge and finally the summit of Handies Peak, the highest point on the course. It was beautiful up there in the evening, and several spectators had a small dance party going on. Beginning the descent into American Basin I felt a bit emotional. When I broke my leg in 2017 there was talk that I might not run again, but there was a picture of American Basin in the operating waiting room. I knew I’d be back on the Hardrock course someday. As soon as I let myself think about that too much, I slipped on the snow and coated my right leg in mud and snow! I felt pretty good heading down into Animas Forks.

American Basin view from Handies Peak

It was fun to get lots of cheers from crew cars passing as I made my way into Animas Forks just as it was getting dark. I hadn’t clarified which jacket I’d be wearing, so even though the crew was watching vigilantly they didn’t see me come in. I didn’t want to walk up the road looking for them but thankfully a super-helpful aid station volunteer found them using the description I gave! 

In hindsight I didn’t eat enough in the Animas Forks aid station and I was kind of disorganized. The aid station was adamant that only one crew member could be in the aid station at once, so Elliot and Karen swapped. I asked for help to clean my leg (mostly to get the mud off), which led to a hilariously gentle volunteer attempt to clean it before I took the cloth and scrubbed my leg vigorously. Much better! It might be a bit sore but at least it’s not covered in mud.

Elliot was super stoked to get moving, and I was excited to have company for the next 40 miles! We started off through the awkward parking area and then up the road to Engineer Pass. After a few miles of climbing I needed a bathroom stop, but unfortunately the road is bordered by steep hillsides on both sides. Searching with our headlamps while walking we eventually found a large bush a bit off the road. This left Elliot standing awkwardly on the road pointing his headlamp in the opposite direction as a few other runners passed. I felt better and we continued on up the road but I didn’t feel very strong. Before the race we had talked about trying to jog some of the ‘flatter’ sections if the opportunity arose. It did not. I felt like we would never see the red light at the top, and even once we did I thought we’d never get there. In my head about 30 runners passed but it was actually 10. I couldn’t move uphill with any pace.

Eventually we made it to Oh Point and then down to the Engineer aid station, where we were greeted by fun lights, a portable speaker with tunes and enthusiastic volunteers. I downed some broth but my stomach didn’t feel like eating much else. This got worse as we descended into the Bear Creek drainage. I like this section of the course even though it’s nearly always in the dark. I think it’s fun to hear the water rushing through the canyon, sometimes only a few feet away and sometimes hundreds of feet below the old mining trail. I’d also helped with trail work on this section so I was pleased to see that I hadn’t missed any nettles with my clippers! I struggled to eat on the way down and that slowed us down quite a bit. Elliot was really patient and continued to suggest I eat even though I kept telling him I didn’t want to. We both enjoyed running over the the ‘piano keys’ tinkling rocks on the lower switchbacks just before we crossed the highway on the roof of the tunnel. I remember wondering if I could take a nap when we got to Ouray.

I was so thankful to follow Elliot through the twisting trails and into Ouray. The last few miles into town are a confusing mess of side trails, ups and downs, and loose rock, but we eventually found ourselves running along the road. We loved the flashing LED lights and chalk arrows making the path through town obvious. Unfortunately we missed it, but the runner who arrived in the aid station ahead of us saw a bear walking through town!

Karen and Brooks greeted us as we arrived, and Chris and Kari were glad to welcome us to the Ouray aid station. My first Hardrock experience was volunteering at the Chapman aid station with them in 2012! In the aid station, I could not make decisions, so the crew kept offering and bringing me different items. Macaroni and cheese: nope. Noodles: nope, the sauce tastes weird. Something from the grill: nope. I don’t want to go uphill. I did enjoy taking off my socks and putting my feet on the clean, dry blanket for a few minutes before putting on clean socks and shoes. I was briefly excited about having new footwear and knowing that I’d completed more than half the course! But I really didn’t want to go uphill. I drank a lot of water to rehydrate, which felt good while sitting down.

Karen was a fantastic crew leader and kept trying to get me going with Elliot and Brooks’ help. I remember some parts being almost comical how I was unable to choose or figure out what to do next. Finally I pulled it together and we shuffled out of the aid station. I think our assigned volunteer was glad to see me finally moving. We made it about 100 yards out of the aid station and across the bridge and I threw up most of the water I’d drunk and some noodles. I decided to walk back into the aid station, then needed to go to the bathroom again. Eventually we started up the road again but then realized we needed spikes for Virginius Pass so Elliot grabbed those!

So excited to leave Ouray aid station...

Walking along the flat road out of the aid station I couldn’t breathe properly – short, shallow breaths almost like hyperventilating. I stopped many times as we made our way through the box canyon, trying to get in a full breath despite the wheezing. I was coughing lots and my eyes were watering a lot, which made it tough to move along the trail as we climbed through the woods. Thankfully Elliot was leading the way! When we turned onto Camp Bird Road it felt like the steepest thing I’d ever ascended. I stopped after a few steps, then told Elliot I needed to sit down. Every time I tried to take a full breath, I triggered a crazy coughing fit. Eventually I asked him to call Karen and see if they could bring a medical person up. I was afraid of ascending with a deteriorating lung condition. 

I remember other runners passing and Elliot talking to Karen, eventually telling me that she’d be coming up in a few minutes. Karen arrived with Erin, who was awesome. She took my pulse oximetry which registered 74. Whoa. That’s a really low number, even for altitude (about 7600 feet in Ouray, which is the lowest point on the Hardrock course)!

The team was very kind and let me make my own decision after some discussion. While a bunch of emotions swirled in my head, I didn’t feel safe going higher (with less medical access) with clearly compromised lung health. I wanted to run again another day, with my family and friends. Maybe this sounds dramatic but it’s what I felt at the time. 

There was lots of time left on the clock. Could I have waited it out and continued later in the day? Possibly finished the remaining 46+ miles? Maybe, but that’s not what felt safe at the time. I love running but not more than hugs from family and friends. I’ll see you out there on the trails.

Thanks for your concerns so many of you shared. Your love means so much to me. I was glad to wrap up this year’s Hardrock journey by watching runners cross Mineral Creek, cheering at Golden Hour for the first time, and catching up during breakfast. Congratulations to the 111 finishers of Hardrock 2023 and thanks to all the staff, crew, volunteers and fans. 

 

Crew at the breakfast (Brooks missing)