2026 Hardrock 100 Results: Ludo Pommeret and Courtney Dauwalter Set Records – iRunFar

Ludo Pommeret and Courtney Dauwalter got their respective third and fourth Hardrock wins. Read our 2026 Hardrock 100 results article for the full race story! Be sure to enter our contest to win LEKI running poles!

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2026 Hardrock 100 Results: Ludo Pommeret and Courtney Dauwalter Set Records

Courtney Dauwalter and Ludo Pommeret ran away from their competition, history, and smoke to set records at the 2026 Hardrock 100.

By

Robbie Harms

on July 11, 2026 | Comments

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For the third year in a row, the now-50-year-old Frenchman Ludovic Pommeret  (pre-race interview) defied time to dominate the 2026 Hardrock 100 , completing his clockwise loop of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in a new overall course record of 21:11:36, breaking his own overall course record by nearly 22 minutes. American ultrarunning star Courtney Dauwalter   (pre-race interview), meanwhile, continued to assert her position at the top level of the sport by winning the women’s race in 26:03:10 and breaking her own clockwise course record by more than eight minutes.

Ludo Pommeret led almost the whole 2026 Hardrock 100, including here, at the top of the first climb, just seven miles into the race. Photo: iRunFar/Gabe Joyes

Both runners led nearly wire-to-wire and won by wide margins, making it a compelling case for experience over youth at Hardrock. Pommeret has entered his sixth decade, and though Dauwalter is younger at 41, in a sport that continues to get faster, both have not only remained competitive but also dominated one of the most storied 100-mile races on the calendar.

At 6 a.m. local time on Friday, July 10, they were among the 147 runners setting off in the predawn dark from Silverton, Colorado. Famous for its striking beauty, altitude, and rugged terrain, Hardrock has become one of the most breathtaking and selective 100-mile races in the world. It’s a 102-mile (164 kilometers) lap of the San Juans, featuring more than 33,000 feet (10,060 meters) of elevation gain with an average altitude of 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) above sea level, peaking at Handies Peak at 14,048 feet (4,281 meters) mid-race.

Courtney Dauwalter making haste of the first aid station at mile 11 of the 2026 Hardrock 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell

The course, which alternates direction each edition, was clockwise this year, so after starting in Silverton, runners passed through or near the historic mining towns of Telluride, Ouray, and Lake City before returning to Silverton, where they got to kiss the iconic rock to stop the clock. The clockwise direction is known for its steeper, shorter climbs but longer, more gradual downhills — earning the playful designation “walls up, ramps down.” There were a couple of minor course changes this year — the race brought back the traditional Grouse Gulch Aid station to replace the Animas Forks station that had been used for the past few editions, which made it a half-mile shorter than in 2025. The course, which is often covered with snow in some areas, was snow-free this year.

The Gold Mountain Fire outside Ouray, along with several other fires across the Intermountain West, burned throughout the week and had the potential to disrupt this year’s race, but a midweek rain helped limit the smoke. The race organization met early Friday morning and announced that the race would go on as planned.

Read on for the full race details.

Thanks to LEKI for supporting iRunFar’s Hardrock 100 coverage! You can still enter our giveaway to win one of three pairs of LEKI Ultratrail FX.One poles.

The start of the 2026 Hardrock 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell

2026 Hardrock 100 Men’s Race

Asked during his pre-race interview what drew him back to Hardrock after back-to-back wins, including a course record in the clockwise direction in 2024, France’s Ludovic Pommeret chuckled.

“Why not?” he said, smiling broadly. “Because I have a bib.”

A train of men runs on the Rainbow Trail, near the start of the 2026 Hardrock 100. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks

It was with this seemingly carefree attitude that Pommeret, who turns 51 in less than two weeks, toed the line of the race he’s come to dominate in recent years. But don’t let his lighthearted approach fool you. As he did in previous years, Pommeret spent a month in Colorado preparing specifically for this race and its unique demands, completing two-and-a-half full loops of the course across multi-day trips known as “Softrocks.”

Pommeret was not the only contender training in the San Juans before race day, though. The U.K.’s Tom Evans   (pre-race interview), the 2025 UTMB and 2023 Western States 100 winner, and Jimmy Elam   (pre-race interview), who had won six ultras in a row entering Hardrock, also came to Colorado several weeks before the race to train and acclimatize. Those three, plus last year’s...