Anywhere in the world, 100 miles is a long distance to run.

But when those 100 miles include 33,992 feet of climbing at an average elevation of 11,017 feet and are run in less than two days, well, 100 miles can seem like 1,000.
Sunday, Markus Mueller, of Avon, became part of one of most grueling century clubs when he completed the Hardrock 100.

Mueller, who ran in the Salida Marathon and 50-mile races in Fruita and Los Alamos, N.M., as warmups for the Hardrock, came in at 44 hours, 33 minutes and 23 seconds.

“I do ultra races every year, even the Leadville (100-mile) race,” Mueller said “But this is a very big race. I trained really seriously.”

Training, however, won’t get you a spot at the starting line. Before Mueller could begin his preparation, he had to rely on a little bit of luck.

“They only had 130 slots, and 400 people applied,” Mueller said. “They have a very complicated lottery system to make it as fair as possible.”

Previous racers get preference in the lottery, and the organizers also check past race results and entries of all applicants.

On Feb. 2, Mueller, 43, found out he’d been given a spot in the race.

“On that same day, I started my training,” Mueller said. “I ran up Beaver Creek Mountain.”

Mueller would ascend Beaver Creek 11 more times — just part of his training regiment — before he headed to Silverton for the Hardrock.

“The first time down I took the lift,” Mueller said. “(After that) I ran down to get used to the steep stuff.”

A transition
Mueller, who moved to Avon from Nuremberg, Germany, last year, had heard of the Hardrock long before coming over.

“There was another German runner who moved to Colorado and he wrote in a German running magazine, and I always had (the Hardrock) on my list, but it was so far away and so difficult to get into,” Mueller said. “I never really thought about getting in.”

When Mueller came to Colorado, he had little experience running on trails.

“I’m a long distance runner but only on roads,” Mueller said. “It’s a totally different ballgame.”

For Mueller, the uphill sections weren’t as much of an adjustment as the downhill parts.

“I was for sure the slowest on the (downhill),” he said of the Hardrock.

But Mueller did everything he could to prepare for the race, clocking more than 170 miles and ascending about 130,000 feet of altitude.

“I stopped counting miles because it’s difficult,” Mueller said. “You go slow because you are going up the mountain. That was the most important thing — going high up and running down.”

Read more at vaildaily.com

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