Kilian Jornet won, for the second time in a row, Hardrock 100, one of the hardest races in the world. Jornet managed to repeat last year’s performance and win with a time of 23h28’10’’, setting a new record for the race.
 
“I am very happy for the result, it is very special to run on the same track but counter-clockwise, as well as being able to set up a new record. I like the ambiance of this race, the animals and the nature that you discover along the route. There has been tough moments but this is what makes this race even more special to me”, said Kilian Jornet
 
Jornet arrived to the race without much race training, but having spent long hours in altitude while climbing mountains around the Alps. This acclimatization might have been one of the reasons of Kilian’s performance, in a race that is famous for being tough and technical.

The Hardrock is a 100-miles race (160km) with a total climb of 20,722m, which runs across the San Juan mountain range in southern Colorado. Conditions there are harsh for athletes. On one hand, there is the altitude: athletes must climb up to peaks over 3,700m up to 13 times, the highest summit along the route being Handies Peak at 4,218m. On the other hand, the route can become very technical in remote areas and also weather conditions can be adverse, with frequent snow and thunderstorms.
 
One of the peculiarities of this race is that each year's race is run in the opposite direction of the previous year's event. 2014 was run in the clockwise direction, 2015 has been counter-clockwise. Last year Kilian set up a new record of the race, and so he has this year being counter-clockwise. He beat by over one hour previous record, set by Seb Chaigneau in 2013 with 24h25’.
 
As for this year’s race, it started Friday at 6am local time. Kilian Jornet took the lead together with Canadian runner Adam Campbell, who finished third last year. During the first hours, they both shared the first position. Around the 50th kilometer, Jornet took a few minutes advantage over Campbell and arrived to the highest point of the race, Handies Peak, with a 6-minute gap over the Canadian runner. From there, he started to increase the distance with a fast and constant rhythm.
 
Halfway the race, a pacer joined Jornet. This figure, which does not exist in European races, is a runner that is allowed to follow an athlete throughout a part of the race in order to keep him motivated and cheer him up. Salomon teammate Rickey Gates was Kilian’s pacer, and they arrived together at Telluride (km 115) after 15h30 of the departure. Jornet was feeling good, and explained: “Around the kilometer 50 I started to get a bit of advantage over Adam. I’ve felt very well during the race and had good feelings all along the day”
 
Once again, bad weather was one of the elements of the race. Rain, strong wind and even snowfalls were on the menu, as well as some parts of the track that were covered in heavy snow.
 
Darkness and bad weather made Jornet took a wrong way around the kilometer 132. He lost over 40 minutes on the scheduled time. However, Jornet was going fast and strong around the San Juan mountains: “I had some troubles during the race. I got lost next to Oscar’s pass, and we had bad weather, even a 20-minute snowfall! But this is what actually makes those races so special, when you have to fight against the odds”
 
Finally, around 5h15am a smiling Kilian was back in Silverton, winning the race for the second time. Once he arrived, he kissed the mandatory “Hardrock” and celebrated the victory.  Mike Foot and Adam Campbell were second and third.
 
Once he arrived, Jornet declared: “It’s very special to do the race both ways, and also to be able to beat the record. This is definitely one of my favorite races, wild and technical, and that forces me to give the best of myself as a runner”.