This weekend is the midpoint between the 2 hottest ultramarathons in North America. With the Western States 100 happening final weekend and Hardrock 100 happening subsequent weekend, that is the time of 12 months when all ultrarunners look to California and Colorado.
I’ve been privileged to run each of those iconic occasions, and lately, I’ve traveled to Auburn, California, and Silverton, Colorado, every year to spectate and volunteer. I’ve had the chance to look at and expertise what makes these occasions so completely different from one another and but, on some stage, very a lot the identical.
Kissing the rock on the finish of the Hardrock 100 is likely one of the extra iconic scenes within the ultrarunning world. Photograph: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Vibes
I like to check the vibes of Hardrock and Western States to rock concert events.
Hardrock is that live performance that takes place in a modest venue with just a few thousand seats, suppose the Beacon Theatre in New York Metropolis. Consider the final live performance you attended that introduced you near the artist and allowed you to work together socially with different concertgoers. That’s Hardrock.
Western States, then again, is the huge stadium present, suppose Kenny Chesney at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. These concert events tackle a competition environment and produce 1000’s of individuals out lengthy earlier than the live performance is scheduled to start out. Loud, chaotic, and celebratory, Western States shares the vibe with these massive stadium reveals.
Full stadium seating across the observe of Western States 100 provides to the stadium-concert vibe of the occasion. Photograph: Michael Lebowitz
Observe Versus Cross Nation
In my earlier skilled life as a highschool principal I attended greater than my fair proportion of observe and cross-country meets. Through the years I made some observations that remind me of the distinction between Western States and Hardrock.
Observe meets are slick and fancy. Observe athletes put on crisp kits and glossy footwear. Western States is observe.
Cross-country meets are free and within the woods. Cross-country runners are a ragtag group with unkempt hair and outsized kits. They know learn how to run they simply do it somewhat in another way. Hardrock is cross nation.
Tempo
Hardrock weekend strikes at a tempo akin to a small city. Positive, the runners up entrance want to maneuver quick, and people on the again could really feel the stress of assembly the cutoffs, however by and huge, the race strikes at a laid-back tempo. Runners spend time regrouping at help stations, volunteers linger to talk and share tales, and race officers and veterans of the occasion make everybody really feel welcome and embraced by the neighborhood.
The tempo at Western States is extra like New York Metropolis throughout rush hour. Intensely aggressive on the entrance of the pack and difficult with tight cutoffs on the again, there’s little time for dilly-dallying for anybody. It’s an intense, fast-moving tempo, the rewards of that are a shiny belt buckle and massive metropolis recollections to final a lifetime.
Group
Each occasions have a good time and embrace neighborhood. In reality, they each endeavor to nurture a way of neighborhood within the many actions surrounding their occasions. Moreover, the phrases “Western States household” and “Hardrock household” are a part of the language round every race.
As you would possibly anticipate, Hardrock is a close-knit household — the type the place many nonetheless stay in the identical space, get collectively usually, and share many frequent traits. The Western States household is an enormous prolonged household that’s unfold around the globe, getting collectively solely sometimes and with disparate targets, attitudes, and temperaments. Each households share frequent connections however achieve this in very alternative ways.
A volunteer path work crew earlier than Hardrock 100. Each occasions have path work occasions to offer again to the native space. Photograph courtesy of iRunFar/Bryon Powell.
No matter their variations in vibes, kind of race, tempo, and neighborhood, each Western States and Hardrock have earned their locations on the highest step of North American ultrarunning tradition. Despite, or maybe due to, their distinctive traits, these two occasions have been in a position to stand the check of time, doing so in their very own distinctive methods and on their very own impartial phrases. Because of this, they proceed to be the 2 of essentially the most sought-after occasions in American path working and ultrarunning.
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Ska Brewing in Durango, Colorado. Pink Vapor Stew is a bitter ale brewed with beets, carrots, ginger, and apples, producing a wealthy, earthy taste that tickles the palate. At 5.0% ABV, Pink Vapor stew is accessible, crisp, and one of many most interesting bitter ales I’ve had.
Name for Feedback
- Have you ever had the possibility to expertise both of those iconic races as a participant or volunteer? What was your expertise like?
- Do you favor the slower tempo of an occasion like Hardrock or the frenetic vitality of Western States?
The Western States 100 and Hardrock 100: A Metaphorical Comparison
