CourseRecon
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Trail Running · Colorado

🇺🇸Hardrock 100:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

158km with 9,353m of climbing and 9,355m of descent across 14 climbs, topping out at 4,240m. Relentless up-and-down at altitude that rewards durable legs and confident, sustained descending.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Hardrock 100 — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

158 km
Distance
+9,340 m
Vertical Gain
−9,340 m
Total Descent
Jul 10, 2026
Last Edition · Past
Check YOUR readiness
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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 158 km / 98.5 mi and 9,340 m / 30,640 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 158 km / 98.5 mi and 9,340 m / 30,640 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Terrain summary
Claimed vs GPS-Measured
Claimed · Organizer
158km
Distance
+9,350m
Gain
+0.0 km−10 m
GPS-Measured
158km
Distance
+9,340m
Gain
Climb & Gradient
+9,340 mTotal Gain
−9,340 mTotal Loss
Gradient Distribution
21%
Flat
≤3% grade
23%
Run-Climb
3–15% up
13%
Steep Climb
>15% up
43%
Descent
downhill
Steepest Sustained Sections
1
Climb
KM 144.0–147.0 · +786 m
+26.2%
2
Climb
KM 29.3–33.6 · +906 m
+20.9%
3
Climb
KM 43.7–50.7 · +1,289 m
+18.4%
4
Descent
KM 140.0–144.0 · −778 m
-17.7%
Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

Reference finish times from past results — use them to set a realistic goal pace.

22h 22m
Winning time
25h 49m
Top 5
28h 26m
Top 10
41h 00m
Median finisher
48h 00m
Back of pack
What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Descending carries 50% of the scoring weight on this course — the terrain makes that the deciding factor.

Weighting shows where readiness is won or lost at this distance — not whether you need each pillar. An aerobic base is a given for a race this long, so it carries little deciding weight even though it's essential — the gaps open on the climbs, descents and the back half.

AerobicSustained engine
Foundational
Sustained aerobic effort over 158km spent largely above 2,841m and up to 4,240m.
ClimbingVertical power
20%
14 climbs and 9,353m of gain, including a 1,588m ascent and long, very steep pitches.
DescendingEccentric / braking
50%
9,355m of loss across 13 descents, with a 1,613m drop and long, very steep downhill.
DurabilityLate-race resilience
30%
Repeated 14 climb–descent cycles at altitude demand legs that hold up deep into the race.
The Profile in One Line

A high-altitude 158km loop with near-equal gain and loss, dominated by very steep grades in both directions.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 20%Descending 50%Durability 30%

Here's how CourseRecon reads a course and an athlete

Sample Readiness Analysis

What a readiness result looks like for this course

This is a worked example for a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete — not your score. Connect your own training and the same analysis runs on you.

Sample
49
OUT OF 100
QUESTIONABLE
For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

This is a sample — connect your Strava to see your own result.

Pillar Breakdown
Aerobic
71
The full 158km unfolds between 2,841m and 4,240m, forcing sustained aerobic work where thin air compounds every climb and level stretch.
Climbing
80
Fourteen climbs totaling 9,353m of gain, with a single 1,588m ascent and pitches reaching 26% grade, demand strong, patient climbing legs.
Descending
25
With 9,355m of loss over 13 descents and 18.6% of the course on very steep downhill, controlled, sustained descending is the decisive skill.
Durability
69
Fourteen climb-and-descent cycles and near-identical 9,353m gain and 9,355m loss punish the quads late; leg integrity must survive the full distance.
Km 43.7–50.7
The 1,289m Sustained Climb
A 7km grind gaining 1,289m at 18.4% is the longest sustained ascent, forcing early pacing discipline before the course's steepest work.[
That was a sample

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