Western States/Hardrock

Was just checking the early entries to the Hardrock & it appears there will finally be a show down..... Scott Jurek is an early entry. So as of early July, there will be an end to the past severals years of debate, Meltzer or Jurek? Unfortunately anyone can win any given day, who's on & who's ever so slightly off. Will be one heck of a race, without a doubt! Jeff

I'm not sure it would end after that race. I would want to see best 2 out of 3 and then you would have a clear winner.

The HR100 lottery isn't until Feb 3, so won't know until then if Jurek is in race, if I've understood their procedures correctly.
http://www.run100s.com/HR/Selection_procedure_2007.html

Now THAT would be a race. I wondered if it'd ever happen (and I guess due to the lottery, it may not). It's like they've purposefully stuck to their own territory. I agree with dirtrunner, it'd have to be 2 out of 3 (or more).

Only fair for Meltzer to run WS in exchange. I'd think! Someone injected the recent success of the new kid from Leadville, Anton Krupicka, into the mix on the RW forum. The last read I thought was promising, any thoughts on the subject or the primal ideaolgy that he was protrayed to follow. Could he be a threat or just a shooting star like
Sweeney in 04 @ HR!

I also do not believe they(the HR leadership) would pass the chance & down play this!
It's not like Jurek hasn't paid his dues & is undeserving. Yes, the lottery does repeat past participation but you would be hard pressed to make me believe that Aron Rolston got into the 05 HR on his previous accomplishments. He did finish very respectably & was a heck of a nice guy, but it would be foolish to drop Jurek or any reason, if for no other reason than the competition aspect alone. Jeff

It would be nice to see the sport with some type of Grand Slam that was equal to that of Golf or Tennis. Our Grand Slam is more about endurance and less about speed. If you had 3 to 5 races that were spaced for enough apart and carried a point system, then you could crown the best. I'd like to see them go at it at HR and Western where each one has owned that race. But you would need neutral ground for the other race(s). I'm not sure which races could be an even test. AC100 is a lot like WS and Leadville is a lot like HR. Are maybe it's better for it not to happen and let the debate live on.

Just checked & Jurek & Meltzer are both running this year's HR. Guess I'll see them about midnight as the front runners drop down into Telluride aid station. (Mile 73) Jeff

This is a bit late, but I thought I'd provide an update for anyone who doesn't know. Scott Jurek won the race and set a course record. Karl Meltzer came in second, with Krissy Moehl coming in 3rd (not far behind Meltzer -- wow).

Here are the results:
http://www.hardrock100.com/index.asp

Jurek had almost a 3 hour lead, unless my eyes are deceiving me. The split times indicate they were close until the very last 20 miles or so, but I don't know the details. I still agree a best 2 out of 3 would decide it. Not that it matters much anyway. They're both incredible runners.

YouTube has some cool videos of the finish:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hardrock+100