TopStory
In it to win it Two-time Hardrock womens winner Sabrina Stanley unapologetic competitor by John Livingston
S
ilverton’s Sabrina Stanley had given all she could for more than 100 miles. For the final few hundred feet to the finish line, she gave even more. The 31-year-old ultra runner claimed her second win in the women’s division of the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run on the morning of Sat., July 17. She was the first woman to kiss the finisher’s rock in Silverton in 27 hours, 21 minutes, 48 seconds, which was sixth place overall. Her time was only 3 minutes, 24 seconds behind the women’s course record set by four-time winner Diana Finkel in 2009. Stanley has lived in Silverton since 2018, when she earned her first victory on the 100.5-mile course through the San Juan Mountains. Her first win came running the clockwise direction of the course. After two years of race cancellations, Stanley was back this year to defend her 2018 title and set out to earn “true Hardrocker” status by completing the loop in the opposite direction. But Stanley wasn’t out only to finish. Like every race she enters, she was there to win. “Sabrina embodies that ‘wild and tough’ thesis we abide by,” Hardrock 100 director Dale Garland said. “She’s such a great competitor, and she has so much strength. Her living and training in Silverton, knowing the course and what it takes, she knew exactly what she had to do to finish and win again. Even when she hit her lowest point, she knew how to keep going.” After a 6 a.m. start in Silverton on Fri., July 16, Stanley ran to Lake City and then to Ouray. From there, it was off to Telluride before a return to the finish in front of the Silverton School. Along the way, she and the 145 other runners were tasked with 66,100 feet of elevation change on a course with an average elevation of 11,186 feet and a high point of 14,048 feet atop Handies Peak between Lake City and Silverton. “My No. 1 goal was to win this race in both directions,” Stanley said. “Mentally I don’t think there was ever any question; just physically could I go as fast as I thought I could? I wish I could have run faster at times, but I was also running faster at times than I thought I was going to.” Stanley said she knew during the last 2 miles that she wasn’t going to be able to break Finkel’s record. But that didn’t stop her from pushing as hard as she could to the finish. “I still wanted to get as close to it as I possibly could,” Stanley said of the record. “I ran as hard as I could, and that’s all you can ask for. There’s a lot of things that went
Sabrina Stanley cruising through Maggie Gulch, outside of Silverton, Fri., July 16, en route to her second Hardrock womens win. She finished in 27 hours, 21 minutes, 48 seconds, sixth overall and only 3 minutes, 24 seconds behind the women’s course record set by four-time winner Diana Finkel in 2009. /Courtesy iRunFar.com wrong, but there’s a lot of things that went right, so I don’t know if things had been different if I could have gone any faster that day. My time is my time, and it’s what I have to accept, and I am really proud of my time.” Along the way, Stanley passed ultra running superstar Courtney Dauwalter, of Golden, who was the overwhelming favorite to win in her first career start at Hardrock. Stanley said she ran hard at the start of the race before dialing back her pace. Dauwalter passed her a little more than 15 miles into the loop and built a 32-minute lead after 31 miles. But Stanley was able to make up the time and pass Dauwalter and build her own 30-minute lead. Dauwalter dropped out after 62 miles because of stomach issues that wouldn’t allow her to keep down food or fluids. Stanley also had stomach issues along the way, especially around the 80th mile. But she refused to give up at a
"
" #
Proudly serving Fahrenheit Coffee Roasters - Come by and grab a bag!
# !
10 n July 22, 2021
race that has repeatedly chewed up and spit out the best in the world. “As tough as you think you are, there are going to be moments where you physically or mentally can’t push past certain barriers but you just have to keep going forward,” Stanley said. Stanley burst onto the ultra running scene with her first Hardrock 100 win in 2018. It capped a year in which she had put together podium finishes at races such as the HURT 100 in Hawaii and Western States Endurance Run in California. She has continued to strive for greatness in a sport where athletes are regularly celebrated for cheering on rivals rather than approaching races as fierce competitors. Stanley has done it her own way, with throwback competitiveness that is no longer a norm. 4
telegraph
1099 Main Ave., under the big clock Mon.- Thurs., 7:30am-3pm and Fri., 7:30am-1pm
