Ouray 100 miles ultra marathon is the hardest trail running race I’ve ever competed in. It took me nearly 50 hours to run 100 miles in the high mountains of Colorado – climbing up an astonishing ~42,000 feet. Honestly, I didn’t think I would finish with thin air from the altitude, this running documentary brings you along the adventure of a life time – Ouray 100 miles!

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Congratulations to all who dared line up – it’s an intimidating one and for good reason. Also, a big thank you to Nora for crewing and pacing, also Richard and Julie for crewing. Finally, we met amazing friends and are grateful to have met y’all (Brian, Ryan, Katie, Eva, Pete, Mason, Jorie, Shad, Esther, Crosby)!

What a scenic course! What an epic adventure! What a race! What a challenge! While I’m still waiting to be lucky and win the Hardrock 100 miles lottery, I’ve set my sight on Ouray 100 miles ultra marathon – a trail running race in the same mountain range – the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Whereas Hardrock is an epic 100 miles loop at altitude, the Ouray course instead focus on bringing you to the steepest trails in the area! And it shows with almost 42,000 feet of climbing (9k more than Hardrock), the Ouray 100 miles course is absolutely insane. I know it’s a little longer than my typical ultra running documentary, but I’m sure you’ll understand why.

This is one of those “graduate course” ultra marathon where anyone lining up at the start has tremendous ultra trail running and wilderness experience. You can expect mountain lions, bears, snow and ice patches, thunderstorm at 13k feet of altitude – are you ready for this? Can you navigate safely the treacherous, technical and sketchy trails – even 38 hours within a race? The trails are often so steep that running isn’t an option for the uphill – obviously – but also often the downhills are just as slow, particularly Twin Peaks and Richmond Pass.

With only 2 weeks since Badwater 135 miles – I didn’t feel fully prepared to run Ouray 100 miles. My altitude acclimation was a little shorter than I’d have wanted, and although my body was mostly recovered – it’s still cutting it short. But surprisingly, I had a (relatively) good day. Staying strong (almost) until the end, and (mostly) avoiding sleepwalking (almost) until the end. That was surprising because I feel that lately, I only have ‘bad race’. But this time, I need to be 100%, and somehow, someway, that’s what happened. It’s difficult to express just how insanely challenging this race is – with an average of 2 miles per hour, you might think I was slow. But no, the course is simply THAT hardcore. The toughest 100 miles I’ve ever raced…

But the juice is worth the squeeze, or as we say, the view is worth the climb (or…viewS are worth the climbS). The San Juan Mountains are my favorite in Colorado, and I’m sure you will appreciate the views. An amazing race, great organizer and wonderful volunteers


Next stop, Leadville 100 miles – August 19! Big trail family there, so excited about it!

As always, thanks for watching!
Simon




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Music credit: Songs by Infraction – No Copyright Music
• By Infraction : Over the Mountains, City Beat, Dreamy, Future Me, Distance,
• By Mokka Music: Leaving Home, Sunny Walk, Energy Wave, Journey, One Soul, Dirty and Dead, Dark Lord Mystery
• By FortyThr33: Bay Breeze
• By Ikson: New Day
• By Silent Partner: Spring in my Step
• By Nicolai Heidlas: Pacific Sun
• No Copyright: Angry Background
• Megaman X: Ending, Password

Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/'>https://inaudio.org/
Track Name: DIRTY AND DEAD (ROCK)
https://inaudio.org/'>https://inaudio.org/track/dirtyandd...

Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/'>https://inaudio.org/
Track Name: CITY BEAT (ELECTRONIC POP)
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