My Nutrition Failure and Epic Resurrection at the 2013 Hardrock 100

Jamil CouryRace Report, Ultra Thoughts

Moving step by step along a dusty road winding several hundred feet above a roaring river over 10,000 feet above sea level, I was struggling to keep my pace at a something resembling “running”. I was still hiking strong on the ups, but when the road flattened, it took every ounce of my will to shuffle my feet into a run. I was queasy and not eating. Even water tasted bland and un-refreshing, not a good sign just 30 miles in to the 2013 Hardrock 100 Mile Endurance Run. Three weeks prior I had bounded up this road fresh and fit on a 56 mile dress rehearsal training run. Soon the road gave way to …

First Weekend in Silverton

Jamil CouryUltra Thoughts

My first weekend training in Silverton is now complete and I’ve got a full growler of beer from Avalanche Brewing ready to drink tonight to celebrate a solid 7 hours of running on the Hardrock course. I am constantly blown away by the beauty and ‘epic’ness of the San Juan Mountains. The vast mountains and valley’s make me feel quite insignificant in the larger sense. A lightning strike off in the distance while running along a ridge at 12,600 feet on my first training day sent a shot of adrenaline through my body. Running along a thin strip of “quarter” track trail above 11,000 feet on the Kamm Traverse with a ridiculous drop off to …

Run Steep, Get High

Jamil CouryUltra Thoughts

Ok, so I have a bit of an obsession with the San Juan mountains of Southwestern Colorado and The Hardrock 100. It all started innocent enough. I had run a couple of ultra marathon races in 2005 and I was excited to see how far I could run. Sometime in the summer of 2006 I stumbled across these photos taken by Klas Eklof of the 2006 Hardrock 100 Mile Endurance Run. As soon as I got through the second or third page I knew that I HAD to run Hardrock. It was if it was calling my name. High altitude, steep & unrelenting climbs and descents, unpredictable weather, wildlife and amazing scenery staged through some …

Nutrition Experiments at 100 Mile Races

Jamil CouryUltra Thoughts

I’ve had my fair share of nutritional disasters during ultra marathons, especially during 100 mile races. The nature of a 100 miler magnifies all of the little factors that go into running or racing long distances. Sure you can miss a couple of gels or get behind on hydration in a 50K and still be able to push through to a reasonable finish, but in a 100 mile race, mistakes are sure to catch up with you at some point. While I would like to go into other keys to success in 100 mile races in future posts, today I will focus on nutrition. This will not be an scientific article or a dogmatic preach, …