It wasn’t long ago that 24 hours spent running, paddling or riding through the wooded wilds meant something had gone very awry. Now, it’s considered a race, even fun.
Ultra-endurance events, once the niche pursuits of athletic masochists, now are commonplace and often crowded. Marathons are merely training trots for a race like the Leadville 100. A 10-hour grind up 15,000 vertical feet on a mountain bike is not even half of the race called Montezuma’s Revenge. A daylong triathlon is barely 1/10th of what’s expected at Primal Quest.
The progression of human athleticism has led the strongest outdoor athletes into sleepless hinterlands of extremism.
“Everyone is always looking for some kind of edge, something a little different than the 5K, 10K, marathon thing,” said event organizer Mike Heaston, who three years ago created one of the first 24-hour footraces, in Frisco. “You will always get more people looking for more interesting runs and rides.”
If your idea of “interesting” is continuous motion while the Earth notches a rotation, here’s an abbreviated list of truly core endurance events. Also included is a list for the aspiring endurance athlete looking for something shy of absolute suffering.
RUNNING
Truly core: Hardrock 100
Little in this world is more demanding than the Hardrock 100. This year’s ninth annual 101.7-mile race courses through the San Juans, from Silverton to Ophir to Telluride to Ouray to Lake City and back to Silverton. The 33,000 feet of elevation gain typically sheds more than half of the 125 runners before the finish. The average elevation is a lung-bursting 11,186 feet, with the highest point reaching the 14,048-foot summit of Handies Peak. Finish before 48 hours or you’re disqualified. Amazingly, the waiting list for the opportunity to race the famed and formidable Hardrock is almost as long as the starting list. The suffering begins July 14. Visit www.run100s.com/HR for more info.
Considerably core: Boulder 100
A 100-miler is a long way to run regardless, but this race circles the non-technical trails around Boulder Reservoir as opposed to the backcountry scree of the San Juans. Where the speediest Hardrockers log their 100th mile in 28-plus hours, the Boulder 100 racers have 26 hours to bag at least 14 laps around the reservoir. The elevation gain of each 7.14-mile lap is roughly 700 feet, and aid stations are manned every 3.5 miles. The May 20 race runs simultaneously with the 24 Hours of Boulder race, lending a festive feel to the whole gig. Get the lowdown at www.geminiadventures.com.
CYCLING
Truly core: Montezuma’s Revenge
This year the ultimate mountain bike race – which never has been completed – turns 20. There is no invite list, just a swarming of top-tier cyclists who happily sacrifice a postrace week of walking funny for 24 hours in the saddle. These are not easy, head-down, brain-off hours, either. The Revenge crosses the Continental Divide 10 times on its 240-mile route. It climbs 37,000 vertical feet, including a midrace, midnight ascent of a 14er. Last year Breckenridge’s uber-rider Josh Tostado came as close as anyone ever has to finishing the race, logging 156 miles and 32,350 feet of vertical. This year’s race is under a full moon, Aug. 11-12. Sign up for the pedal pain train at www.montezumasrevenge.com.
Considerably core: 24 Hours of Erock
This is the Front Range’s only 24-hour mountain bike race, and it shadows the 19th annual Elephant Rock Festival, a massive road cycling festival that heralds the start of cycling season. The first Elephant endurance race follows a 8.25-mile loop along wide, non-technical trails in Douglas County’s Greenland Open Space south of Castle Rock. The trail gains a mere 500 feet of elevation per loop, making it a sweet entree into the world of all-day-and-all-night riding. Click over to www.elephantrockride.com for more info.
ADVENTURE RACING
Truly core: Primal Quest
Billed as “the world’s toughest expedition adventure race” and the “ultimate test of human endurance,” the international Super Bowl of adventure racing comes to the Rocky Mountains this summer. Although the exact route for the Primal Quest will not be announced until the June 25 start of the 10-day race – the only official description thus far is the American Mountain West – race organizers have told teams to prepare to fly into Salt Lake City and then drive south for a few hours. With organizers describing “dramatic landscapes” and “rugged terrain stripped bare by the powerful forces of nature” and daytime temps more than 100 degrees, many racers are expecting the 500-mile course to revolve somewhere around Moab and the mighty La Sal Mountains. This year’s unsupported, nonstop race will require teams to excel in mountaineering, trekking, horseback riding, canyoneering, mountain biking, whitewater swimming, paddling and nighttime navigation. A $250,000 first-prize purse lures the world’s top adventure racers, making Primal Quest a global showcase for the extreme limits of human endurance. Click over to www.ecoprimalquest.com for more info.
Considerably core: Moab Xstream Expedition
While it would be wrong on many levels to consider this a “beginner race,” the Durango-based course designers have created several “adventure” course options for aspiring teams that fail to make the several cut-offs for the grueling pro course. The four-day race travels through 250 to 300 miles of the Moab region’s most spectacular canyons and the La Sal range’s highest mountains. The course demands skills in navigation, mountain biking, whitewater, flatwater and ropes. Where Primal Quest teams pay $8,000, the Xstream racers pay only $395 per person, making it a popular expedition race for budget-minded (read: unsponsored) amateur teams seeking the Primal Quest-esque experience. The race runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 8. Visit www.gravityplay.com for more info.
