Ouray 100 miles Ultra marathon - Trail Running in the High Colorado Mountains
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ส.ค. 2023
- 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!
Curious about trail running gear? I've created a list with all the gear I personally use when racing. You can have a look here, or below are the individual links. Those are all product I use and recommend.
www.amazon.com/shop/ultramara...
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: inaudio.org/
Track Name: DIRTY AND DEAD (ROCK)
inaudio.org/track/dirty-and-d...
Music from #InAudio: inaudio.org/
Track Name: CITY BEAT (ELECTRONIC POP)
inaudio.org/track/city-beat-e... - กีฬา
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OK - full disclosure. After the race, I was adamant I'd never do this again. ... But, I really only needed a nap. Now, I don't know, let's think about this one! It's seriously one of the most epic adventure I've ever had!
Excellent decision to include all the dogs you met.
NICE WORK SIMON!!!!! Excellent film> It was an honor running this with you.
Likewise! And Nora adds it was great spending time with Jorie and Shad (and Crosby).
The sprinkler incident was in retrospect one of the most surreal experience I've ever had in an ultra...
I love your adventures. You don't sugarcoat the hard parts, so we can see that sometimes it sucks but it can get better. You're inspiring me to my first 50k
That's awesome! Good luck :)
That's some amazing scenery but yikes what a sufferfest! Nice job Simon!!
Seriously! The most scenic yet painful race I've ever done...
I guess I'll have to do it again some day!
So cool to see you and Nora at the top of that final climb just as the sun is rising. You do such a great job of capturing and sharing the magnificence of this event, but also it's incredible difficulty. Thank you!
Thanks! Being there EXACTLY when the sun pierced the horizon was magical, and made me feel a little less bad about my naps on the way up! Wouldn't miss it for anything!
I love your honesty about the difficulties and your fears. Honestly, it helps me more to hear that then if you said you were Superman or similar.
Thanks - that's exactly what I'm hoping to do by being transparent! Ultrarunning is for normal people doing incredible things - which is accessible!
I’m halfway through the movie btw and have to say this is so well done. It’s terrific to have a document of this event, I’m sure I’ll be watching many times in the next 51 weeks 👍
Hey Howard! It was nice meeting you and Hilary. Does that mean you'll be back next year? I already thought Ouray 100/ Chris and his team were fantastic. But how you pushed through and what they did earn my respect forever!
ps: is it OK to say I was a little worried when I heard you were still up there for that long in this blasting sun?...talk about resilience!
For sure we will be back in 2024 - I hate to wish my life away but I know I can get under 52 hours - I reached the top of the last climb wi 1h 45m to get down, quads were complete jelly however, couldn’t take any weight. It was just slow on the way down, I was fine. Was a bit frustrating but it gives me a big target for next year and I cannot wait to try again as I’ll be almost 53 then, a bit too old really. Was terrific to meet you, I’ll be sure to follow your awesome films from now on 👍🏴🦄😸
I'd love to see you do Fat Dog 120 in Manning Park (British Columbia). We need a good video for that one and it seems right up your alley being as awesome as you are.
Yup, it's up there on my "to-do" list! It's often too close to Leadville but I'll certainly come up North soon for it!
Congratulations on your awesome race! I love the San Jaun mountains and their yellow bears!
Thank you! Is that common? I had never heard of that (and have yet to see one myself) but they saw one at Governor Basin A/S during Hardrock!
@runningwithsimon it's common that far west. On the east coast, the black bears are brown or black.
Simon, I love all your videos but this one tops them all. I love Nora! Thank you for taking us along on this epic journey!
Thank you! It was also an incredible experience - makes it easier to make a nice movie about it :)
And yup, Nora is the best!!!
@@runningwithsimon Awww
Great race video. So much climbing. Made me tired just watching it. Congrats on the performance. Truly inspiring 💪🏃♂️👍🏻
Thanks!
great work, what a grind
Thanks! ... seriously, what a grind!
If your ever back in CO… plan your own send! Lots of untouched ridges in CO! See you out in the mountains 🏔️
For sure! I spent a fair amount of time soloing most 14ers, which is for me just the right amount of challenge but also safe enough. It’s easy to research the route, and on the more technical, you have a few folks but no crowd. The Chicago basin group, and the Wilson group - wow! Some of my favorite time ever in the mountains!
"Can I take my buckle now?"... "Activating GPS trackers to that HQ can track which bear ate us."... too funny! What a gnarly race! You just leveled up completing this race! Great video! I enjoyed ALL of it ;-)
Thanks! Being in Colorado and running in the mountains here is always awesome - obviously I don't need to convince you of that!
@@runningwithsimon It is pretty amazing if I do say so myself! Haha
Way da grind it out, Simon. Great doc as away.
Thanks Kevin!
Hey man, just watched the movie again - felt like I needed to begin the total immersion process once more wi the race only 9 weeks away. It’s so exciting, cannot wait to get into that unique Ouray pain cave once more 🏴🦄😸👍
You go get it man! That one hurts but is so rewarding. Bummer I won't be sharing the trails with you again this year.
Did you see the race is sold out this year ??? There’s a waitlist too. Your movie is definitely adding to the races popularity I’d say. I’m thinking this will be my last try at the race whatever way it goes… Hope the body recovers fast, and I’m sure I’ll see you at a race sometime - hey, Scotland has races man 🏴👍 - even possibly in Fellin Park once more - Keep on grinding man 😸👍🏴🦄
@@HowardWortonjb71 Yes I heard about the waitlist! I'm very happy to the RD - they deserve it, it's a great race. Maybe my movie helped (probably to be honest), but that only works if it's a good race to begin with. I've seen it with some other races too, and any time I race the same place, you always hear quite a few people saying "hey I signed up for this because of you!". Which is great to hear - my goal wth these is to share my passion for those, so if it inspires people - great! ... Of course, it'd be great for RD to see the impact of those movies and waive my registration or something - but that's fine. It's my way to give back to the community, and my way to say thank you to a great race is to say nice things about it.
I'm not against racing in scotland! That'd be absolutely amazing, and I'm sure I can convince Nora to tag along!
Yeah man, they need to be showing you some love ! Your content is such positive promotion for the sport that I’m sure many RDs would be happy to waive race fees - it must be quite an expensive habit you have ???!
!!
Scotland probably has only a couple of races that would interest you - ones you’re aware of I’m certain(The Race Across Scotland is 215 miles - single stage, Cape Wrath Ultra is a stage race over 200 miles with very rough footing, often off trail). You’re always welcome here my man 🦄🏴😸👍
Thank you for sharing. Your videos are always spot on.
Thanks :) Glad you appreciate them!
You ROCK. 💪💪💪
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing
And thanks for watching! It was a fun race for sure :)
you beat Sigma and his evil cyborg dog, great work!
And his beam saber, which is not - I repeat, it's NOT - a light saber (just in case any Disney/Star Wars lawyers are reading)
@@runningwithsimon i've beat megaman x in under 70 minutes before. i've also beat final sigma with the regular blaster. does this qualify me for ouray 100??
@@thedogoftears lol
Fantastic!
Thanks for your videos. Inspiring, real... and hilarious
And thanks for watching :)
Sooo gnarly, great work by you and your team. KEEP GOING!
Thanks! Not planning to stop any time soon :)
Congrats dude. You've had a great season
Thanks! Yup crazy season for sure :)
Incredible, congratulations!! What breathtaking scenery, and a brutal course. I can't believe you accomplished this two weeks after another epic challenge. Loved all the cute pups too. I missed your funny clip inserts, but you kept the humor going with the text. The quality was amazing, with all the graphics and footage. You're as great at making race videos as you are at races!
Question: I'm volunteering for the first time, at night, at the brutal Jigger Johnson 100M/KM in NH, and I want to do the best I can for the runners. What makes aid stations awesome for you? I'll take anyone's advice whose had memorable aid station experiences.
Thanks! I'll for sure have more clips in the future, but honestly, I think I just got frustrated with having to edit/re-edit/re-re-edit Badwater because of the lord of the rings clips/copyrights - it's such a frustrating process (and time consuming). I think it was just bad luck, but I needed a break from it just for this one time!
Aid station - that's a good question. I guess everyone is different. For me at night, espeically if cold, having warm options is important, like instant ramen, instant mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, quesadilla. Obviously just being friendly and smiling is great. Doesn't need to be overly enthusiastic but of course, don't be a downer by saying "wow you look like s***!" "take some rest because next segment is the worst". Everyone is "looking strong" "doing great" and "getting there". "how can I help you" "anything to eat? we have [list]". Nice to have chairs, and depending on weather, protection from wind or cold. Maybe some camping chairs and blankets because if you sit down, as a runner you get cold very quickly. Ideally you don't want to sit as a runner, but sometimes you have to. And then you'll have read the room - does the runner want to be left alone or wants company? Oh, and something that is most often not needed, but if it is needed, you'll make someone's day are extra batteries or light options. It's pretty rare and unlikely, but if someone comes in with a dead headlamp, you might just save their race. It's also good to have some knowedge of what's ahead if they have question (is it technical ahead? how far to the next? elevation? how far is the next runner). It's the kind of thing as a runner you probably read, but also, you probably forgot.
Thank you so much!! The first night, where it was just the 100 milers who came through during/after a monsoon rain, a couple had headlamp malfunctions, so it was nice knowing I had a spare. The chairs and blankets all got used. The second night it was all 3 distances, but the aid station had no chairs or blankets available! (The blankets were huge because it was low 50s and the trails were literal knee deep rivers and bogs in places due to the rain. ) Thankfully I brought 2 of each. All of your tips worked great, and I learned so much from the runners and pacers. I'll absolutely do it again!
@@Kelly_Ben That's awesome! So glad you were able to help them wow! Building up some good karma for sure! I'd personally be eternally grateful for anyone helping me with these, so by extension, thank you!
Congrats on the finish. This one scares me with all the vertical. Did you go out there early to acclimatize to the altitude?
Thanks! It's a very difficult one for sure. And weather can be absolutely terrible (we were very lucky this year)
Yes, I arrived in Colorado about 10 days earlier. But I was still healing from Badwater and was busy with work, so I hardly did any training at altitude while there, and hardly went above 11k. If I could, I'd try to be there a full 2-3 weeks ahead of time, and hike as many 14ers as possible.
wow! thought I knew that area somewhat well...guess not. Fucking impressive!!! and great footage as well.
Thanks!!! It's absolutely gorgeous over there! I don't know if you've done the Chicago Basin + Eolus Group (Sunlight, Eolus, North Eolus and Windom?) - my favorite hike ever!
Super Awesome ! What are your choices of socks and shoes for trails?
For socks, I typically wear an inner layer thin sock (liner socks from fox River). Main sock I try to wear smart wool like darn tough. Particularly helpful if it’s going to be wet.
As for shoe, extremely variable and depends on terrain. For this one, I believe I used some altra lone peaks.
Great footage, are you carrying a drone with you too? Awesome
Thanks! And no, not during the race. It’d just be impractical and too time consuming. So I did some pre-shooting while scouting the course
Simon, what drone do you have and where did you film some of those amazing shots? I've been chatting with Matt (from Wisconsin) who ran it last year with you. I'm signed up for 2024 so looking forward to giving Ouray everything I've got.
Cool, good luck for 2024!
I use a DJI mini 3 so I have to make sure wind isn't too bad otherwise that may be an issue at this altitude. The where was a bit all over the place to be honest. The red mountains in the background is around ironton. The view from Richmond pass is great. But it's great anywhere really!
@@runningwithsimon Thank you
Why there a people with running bibs? Was there another race? What race are they in? In reverse course or in opposite direction?
They are all part of the same race, but we see them in reverse direction because most of the course are 5-10 miles in-and-out so you do them in both direction. That makes it interesting too because you can see how your friends are doing.
I'm curious how you take the footage of yourself from the distance. I assume for some of it you just ask some random fellow runner for a fovour but some of it looks like it was taken by a drone.
95% of the time, it's my pacer. Some of it is me going on the course for B rolls ahead of the race (i.e., drone). It's a LOT of work to do this, and with a 50h/week job, 15h training and 10-20h to manage the channel, I typically don't have enough time. But when I do, I think it's worth the effort to bring you all a more 'scenic' movie, and capture more of the landscape (it's much harder than it looks to capture good footage in the middle of a race like that). Hope the effort is appreciated.
Asking strangers to film is a no-go for me - I really don't want to disturb others. The only time it ever happened (in ~40 races) is because someone else asked ME to film them, and we simply traded. But otherwise, I want others around me to enjoy their race experience, not be asked for favors.
@@runningwithsimon No doubt! This must require a tremendous amount of dedication! Even just filming and talking to the handheld camera during the race, in the later hours especially. Going back or ahead of the race for B rolls sounds just outright crazy. Thanks for your hard work!
Love watching but do you have to belch while filming so much 😂
This is the mostly censored version lol
With the amount of coke I drink, it can get really bad after aid station!
@@runningwithsimonhaha might need winding after an aid station 😂
The opposite: "I hate when people run on my 4X4 road" Not a good attitude towards the Off Road Community which does a lot to maintain and repair those routes, as well as the only supply transport available to some of the residences in the area.
Oh of course, please don’t get me wrong. My point isn’t that the car don’t belong there, but rather than I find it unfortunate that the course/race makes us go through a fairly active road pass, creating uncomfortable situations for both drivers and runners. Imogen pass is just extremely traveled (I heard they want to restrict cars too with permits) vs. Ironton (can’t remember the name of that pass) that was much more reasonable so we could coexist easily.