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Hardrock 100

Demand

5 out of 5

How much it asks

Worth

5 out of 5

Whether the ticket is worth it

Silverton, Colorado, United States

Molas Lake, Silverton. Hardrock country, not an official race photo. SFC H / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Scorecard · is it worth it?

A name that still means something after the expo lights go off.

The card

Hardrock is the American mountain 100 that the other American mountain 100s are measured against, and the measurement is not kind to most of them. The course is a loop through the San Juans linking Silverton, Telluride, Ouray, and the Sherman ghost town. Runners cross above 12,000 feet thirteen times and summit Handies Peak at 14,048 feet. The published sheet is blunt: about 102 miles, 33,441 feet of climb, average elevation over 11,000 feet. Direction alternates; 2026 is clockwise.

Demand is not a puzzle. You are racing at altitudes where a Boulder training block is still a story you tell yourself. Snow can sit on north faces in July. Afternoon lightning is a course feature. The terrain mixes 4WD, trail, and genuine cross-country. Finishers kiss a painted rock. The cutoff is 48 hours, which is an honest number about how slow this gets when the air runs out.

Worth is the harder score only because scarcity has become part of the brand. The lottery is real, the field is small, and a slice of internet mountain identity is built on not getting in. We are not scoring the lottery. We are scoring the weekend if you do: remote towns, a volunteer culture that still looks like a mining-community event rather than a circuit stop, and a course that cannot be faked by a jeep-road 100 with a famous name. The entry fee is not the expensive part. The expensive part is the year you spend waiting, and the week you spend in Silverton when the ticket finally lands.

The public record is thick: course notes, RD materials, finisher reports, and a results culture that treats 48 hours as a mountain problem. Organization confidence is high because the event has been iterating since 1992 with unusually stable community ownership.

If you want a first 100, this is the wrong first 100. If you want the San Juans and you can tell the truth about altitude, it is the right expensive weekend. Leadville is in the same state and is not a substitute. Ouray is the nastier neighbor. High Lonesome is the one you can more realistically enter.

Who it is for

Mountain 100-mile runners who already know altitude, snow, and a 48-hour clock, and who want the San Juans more than a buckle photo.

Who should skip

First 100s, heat specialists who hate cold nights, anyone who needs a polished expo, and anyone treating Leadville as a Hardrock rehearsal.

Gate

Next race: Fri, Jul 9, 2027hardrock100.comretrieved 2026-09-03
Format: Loop, direction alternates yearly. Lottery with Never Finished and Finished pools.
Lottery: Yes
Entry: Lotteryhardrock100.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Qualifier required: Yes. A finish from the RD's list within the window list ↗hardrock100.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Other requirements: 8 hours service (organization, aid, trail work) in the 12 months ending June 15 of the race year; Service Requirement Form due by the date on the RD form.hardrock100.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Registration opens: RD unpublishedultrasignup.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Registration closes: RD unpublishedultrasignup.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Draw: 2026-12-05ultrasignup.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Results notified: RD unpublishedultrasignup.comretrieved 2026-09-07
Last draw: 2026 draw: 2,745 applicants, 147 lottery pickshardrock100.comretrieved 2026-09-06
Odds: Two weighted hats: Never Finished vs Finished. Not a pro multiplier. Named entries can skip the draw.hardrock100.comretrieved 2026-09-06
Bib economy: WSER qualifierwser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Entry fee: $450ultrasignup.comretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)

Official site ↗Didn't get in?Hardrock vs Western States scorecard UTMB vs Hardrock scorecard Ouray vs Hardrock scorecard Hardest 100 scorecard: HURT vs Hardrock

Elevation

Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft

Dark from 20:34 to 05:56 local. The median finisher is in the dark from Engineer onward (12:30am+1d).

Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 11.5 mi.

Shape from public terrain data along the RD's course line. Gain per the RD: 33,428 ft (10,189 m).

Course line from official GPX. Dots are aid. Tap or hover for mile, elevation, and clock.

Finisher pace

Not yet sourced.

Where the cutoff bites

Least margin: Silverton, 84 min for the back of the field.

Station	Cutoff	Back	Margin
KT 11.5 mi	6.8 h	3.7 h	183 min
Chapman Gulch 18.1 mi	10.0 h	6.5 h	210 min
Telluride 27.8 mi	14.0 h	10.1 h	234 min
Ouray 43.9 mi	21.3 h	16.5 h	285 min
Grouse Gulch 58.2 mi	28.5 h	23.9 h	276 min
Sherman 72 mi	34.0 h	30.4 h	216 min
Cunningham Gulch 92.5 mi	44.0 h	41.2 h	168 min
Silverton 101.8 mi	48.0 h	46.6 h	84 min

Finishers only. DNFs are missing, so the real back of the field is slower.

Hardest stretch

Hardest stretch: Chapman Gulch to Telluride, 4,693 ft in 9.7 mi.

RD total gain 33,428 ft (10,189 m) remains the headline. Segment gains are terrain-sampled along the RD line.

From	To	Mi	Gain	Loss
Start	KT	11.518.5 km	4,034 ft1,230 m	2,363 ft720 m
KT	Chapman Gulch	6.610.6 km	3,031 ft924 m	2,516 ft767 m
Chapman Gulch	Telluride	9.715.6 km	4,693 ft1,430 m	4,283 ft1,305 m
Telluride	Kroger's Canteen	4.97.9 km	963 ft294 m	2,335 ft712 m
Kroger's Canteen	Governor Basin	3.65.8 km	0 ft0 m	1,848 ft563 m
Governor Basin	Ouray	7.612.2 km	2,549 ft777 m	1,036 ft316 m
Ouray	Engineer	8.012.9 km	2,721 ft829 m	1,999 ft609 m
Engineer	Grouse Gulch	6.310.1 km	3,705 ft1,129 m	2,634 ft803 m
Grouse Gulch	Burrows Park	9.615.4 km	2,551 ft778 m	2,464 ft751 m
Burrows Park	Sherman	4.26.8 km	320 ft98 m	968 ft295 m
Sherman	Pole Creek	9.515.3 km	2,859 ft871 m	2,264 ft690 m
Pole Creek	Maggie Gulch	5.08 km	2,548 ft777 m	3,534 ft1,077 m
Maggie Gulch	Cunningham Gulch	6.09.7 km	40 ft12 m	1,770 ft539 m
Cunningham Gulch	Silverton	9.315 km	0 ft0 m	0 ft0 m

Start: 9,310 ft2,838 m
Finish: 9,309 ft2,837 m
Net: −1 ft0 m
Longest climb: 5,162 ft1,573 m
Above 10,000 ft: 70 mi112 km

Start and finish are within 400 ft. Treat net as a loop.

Weekend

Official handbook facts

Start: 06:00
Crew: 18.1, 27.8, 43.9, 58.2, 72, 92.5 mi
Drop bags: 18.1, 27.8, 43.9, 58.2, 72, 92.5 mi
Pacer from: 43.9 mi
Tracker: Open
Course file: Open

Printable cutoff card

Hardrock 100 2026 clockwise course / about · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)

Required kit

2026 edition · RD list

Rain Jacket (Hard Shell)
Listed under Recommended Gear in the 2026 Runners Manual; RD may hold runners who lack gear appropriate for conditions.
Rain Pants
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Emergency Blanket
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Gloves
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Running Hat/Cap
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Whistle
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Sunglasses
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Sunblock
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Headlamp (+backup)
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Spare Batteries
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Fluid capacity
Capacity to carry 80 oz of fluid
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
Calories
500 calories
Recommended Gear, 2026 Runners Manual.
GPS Tracking device
Run-provided MAProgress tracker
Required. All runners must carry the run-provided GPS Tracking device from start; training at packet pickup.

The 2026 Runners Manual (bit.ly/HRHRunnersManual → Google Doc, retrieved 2026-09-06) labels the clothing/fluid list as Recommended Gear and separately requires the MAProgress GPS tracker. Aid captains may hold runners who are not carrying gear appropriate for weather. Same Recommended Gear list appears on hardrock100.com/hardrock-course.php.

docs.google.comretrieved 2026-09-06

Full kit page

Field

Last editions · 100M scored distance

Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.

DNF over the years

DNF 21% in 2026, 21% the year before.

2026

Starters: 147
Finishers: 116
DNF: 21%
Win: 21:11:36
Median: 42:02:39

2025

Starters: 145
Finishers: 114
DNF: 21%
Win: 22:21:53
Median: 41:00:46

2024

Starters: 146
Finishers: 119
DNF: 18%
Win: 21:33:06
Median: 41:49:33

2023