Mother Lode Award Winners
Each year the Hardrock Hundred recognizes an individual or group who contribute greatly to the success of our run. The Mother Lode Award is the highest award the Hardrock Hundred gives so if you see these people be sure to congratulate them!!
1992 Kris Maxfield
Former co-run director. Back when no one was sure this run couldbe completed or organized, Kris convinced the townspeople of Silverton that thisrun was something special. She was instrumental in the initial organization andadministration of the run. Now she is spending her time being a mom; don't besurprised if you see her on the streets of Silverton.
1993 Jan King
As one of the original radio operations, Jan helped immensely inestablishing the radio network that now is the backbone of our run. These daysyou can catch him operating a ham radio or helping pace Gordon Hardman toanother Hardrock finish.
1994 Christine Bass
As Kris Maxfield's "boss" Christine allowed Kris to spend the timenecessary to fine-tune this run. She thought it was so cool that she volunteered asan assistant run director. Christine was also the first Silverton artist to paint herinterpretation of the course, a painting we used to help start the tradition of the"finisher's print" that has become a HRH trademark.
1995 Who Else??? Mother Nature
She dumped a "lode" of snow on our course andruined all the fun for that year!!
1996 John Cappis
As the only course director this run has ever had John has providedall the runners with more than their share of up's and down's. Seriously, thedevelopment of a course such as the Hardrock is no easy task and John hascontinually worked to improve and refine your tour of the San Juan Mountains.
1997 Jim Scott
Jim who?? Another one of the behind the scenes people that we couldnot do without. Jim is a former communications director and was responsible forfurthering the communications network and developing the strong cadre of radiooperators that you see at every aid station. He now is involved in making sure allthe radio equipment is in working order.
1998 Charlie Thorn
Course marking director, hotel proprietor and one of the keypeople in the Hardrock organization!! His generosity and commitment tomountain running in general, and his run in particular, cannot be overstated!! Ifyou get lost on the course, don't blame Charlie!
1999 Carolyn Erdman
As the "unofficial" ambassador and hostess of the HRH,Carolyn has welcomed many a runner to the San Juans. Her enthusiasm and caringspirit epitomize what ultrarunning is all about. Carolyn also acts as an integralHRH link to the Silverton community.
2000 Jim and Maryanna Cusick
You may not know these two by name but if you havebeen on the Hardrock course you know their reputation! As the proprietors of theGrouse Gulch aid station, the Cusick's have developed a reputation for having anaid station any hardrock miner would die for. Be sure to check out the menu andask them about the annual specials!
2001 Lisa Richardson
Making sure the HRH aid stations are organized, staffed, and stocked with goodies is no easy task, yet Lisa approaches the challenge as she doeswith most everything else: with a huge smile and an infectious, positive outlook. Not only does she serve as aid station coordinator, she also is pretty good at passing out hugs to the male finishers every year at the awards ceremony.
2002 Mother Nature again.
This time for the extreme fire danger and forest fires in thearea.
2003 The Hardman Family & Dale Garland
In 1991, Gordon's idea started theHardrock. His family, Molly, Ryan, and Maria have been important componentsand hard workers for 12 years. Ryan and Marie have literally grown up with theHardrock. Dale has been Co-RD and RD from the beginning. His enthusiasm,dedication, and hard work have been instrumental in success over the years.
2004 Blake Wood and Rebecca Clark
As the Hardrock Hundred has moved into thedigital age Blake was instrumental in helping develop, maintain and update ourcommunication with the rest of the ultrarunning world. Rebecca, meanwhile, hasconsistently been one of the key people in helping organize the check in forHardrock and her smiling face and knowledge of the event is one of the first thinga Hardrock runner sees when they get to Silverton.
2005 Greg and Ilse Hine
The Hardrock was very fortunate when the Hine's decided tojoin us. Greg is our co director of communications and has been instrumental inbringing to our communications an increased sense of professionalism andorganization. We can also thank Greg for helping develop "Hardrock Live", whichallows your friends and family to monitor your progress even if they aren't here towitness it firsthand.
2006 Ben McGaha and Harley Murray
Solar panel batteries, digipeaters, etc. You maynot know what these are for but these two men do! Keeping track of all of youwould not be possible without the tireless efforts of these two men. Harley and Bencoordinate the placement and upkeep of our communications hardware and system.
2007 Rick Trujillo
The mountain running exploits of Rick Trujillo are legendary and noone knows the San Juan Mountains better than Rick. So when we conceived theidea of Hardrock he was one of the first people we called to help design the course.Since then he has remained active with Hardrock as a HRH liaison in Ouray aswell as serving on the HRH Board of Directors.
2008 Lois MacKenzie
Lois has brought her energy, passion and organizationalexpertise to Hardrock as our Aid Station Director. Many a runner has benefitedfrom Lois's unwavering commitment to making sure our aid stations are wellstocked and well organized. As a diehard supporter of Hardrock Lois has been agreat ambassador for our run among runners and community members alike.
2009 Steve Blaylock
Helping with radio repeaters, helping set up Hardrock Live,transporting communication equipment to aid stations or taking a turn in thecommunications center-whenever and wherever Hardrock communication isneeded, Steve is there. Steve's energy and commitment to our run is somethingthat has become integral to the success of Hardrock's communication network.
2010 Heidi Schutt
If you have a t-shirt, sweat shirt, coffee cup or any othermemorabilia from Hardrock you have Heidi to thank. Heidi is our merchandisecoordinator and has applied her marketing and merchandising skills to make surewe have a wide variety of memorabilia for you to choose from. Thanks to Heidithe Hardrock logo can proudly be seen wherever runners, families and crews wantto show it off.
2011 Eric Schmidt
One of the longstanding aid station captains of Hardrock, Eric hascaptained and organized the Governors Basin aid station for many years. Eric andthe crew that he personally puts together every year epitomize the care, concernand enthusiasm that the Hardrock aid stations have become known for year in andyear out.
2012 Leo Lloyd
Leo has organized and directed our aid station medical activities formany years. As a physician's assistant, he brings requisite medical knowledge tohis organizational skills. He has dealt with innumerable medical emergency andnon-emergency situations with expertise and good humor and the Hardrockfamily is a lot safer.
2013 Rodger Wrublik
Rodger moved to Silverton about 10 years ago after buying theWyman Hotel. Over the years Rodger, drawing on Wyman Hotel resources andhis own ingenuity, has set up the Hardrock start/finish, provided the multinationalflags, set up and taken down the circus tent used by Hardrock many time, andmade himself and the Wyman available on short notice for any emergency.Unfortunately, Rodger has also been relentless in pursuit and removal of blowdowns on the Hardrock course, causing many runners' times to decreasesignificantly.
2014 Shauna Blaylock
Shauna's tireless efforts (literally she is up at all hours) to make sure the communications network is staffed and operational are integral to the annual success of Hardrock. She can be found at all hours at HQ monitoring comm traffic, assisting in search and rescue operations as well keeping track of the run director. Hardrock is very fortunate to have someone with Shauna's skills, attitude and personality in such a critical part of our organization.
2015 Jigger and Paul Staby
If you've ever been at Grouse Gulch aid station you probably have seen and heard Jigger Staby cheering on runners, interacting enthusiastically with crews and generally being a positive presence. While Jigger mans the aid station, Paul spends countless hours making sure communications at Grouse are clear concise and up to date. This couple embodies the spirit of Hardrock and they are both great ambassadors of our run!
2016 Chris Depuy and Scott Brinton
Chris has helped keep the Hardrock digital communications network viable and in good repair. As Hardrock communications continue to evolve and keep up with technology, Chris has been at the forefront of keeping our packet radio system functional and reliable. Scott Brinton's cooking and culinary skills at grouse Gulch aid station are legendary. Scott has developed the cooking at an aid station into a fine art and is a key part of why Grouse Gulch is known for its hospitality. In addition, Scott is always one of the last ones to leave on Sunday morning, helping the run committee clean up and put up everything that needs to be organized and stored.
2017 Mike Hirschman and Pete Lewis
If you've never met Pete and Mike, it may be a good thing. As long time members of the medical crew, Pete and Mike help ensure that when and if there are runners with medical needs there is a qualified and positive medical crew member there to help. Their professionalism and caring personalities have comforted many a runner, whether out in the field or at the finish line. Hardrock is very grateful and fortunate to have not only Pete and Mike's medical and emergency services knowledge available but also their engaging and positive energy every year.
2018 Brent Hite
Brent has been with Hardrock since 2010. He is instrumental in making sure our communications equipment and network is operable and fully functioning. This means Brent spends a lot of time driving and hiking to remote repeater sites to work his magic on our radio repeaters and internet modems.
2019 Mother Nature Strikes Again!
Massive late snow and tremendous avalanche damage. As we say, she always bats last!
2020 COVID
Global pandemic took out not only our run, but nearly all of our qualifiers as well. We'll be back!
2021 Dave Pearson
As Hardrock switches direction each year, aid captains typically have alternating "easy" and "hard" years. Over 24 years as an aid captain, Dave has never had it easy, always taking the next-to-last station in whichever direction is run, taking shifts over a day long every time. Plus he's the master craftsman for the trophies received by our first finishers!
2022 Brad Bishop
Hardrock is known for our aid station menu, hospitality and concern for runners and justifiably so! As aid station director, Brad Bishop has elevated the art of what a quality aid station can and should be like. In addition to that, Brad has been our webmaster as well as managing and coordinating the ever growing and ever evolving deployment of volunteers that are the backbone of the Hardrock Hundred.
2023 Mark Oveson
Since joining Hardrock, Mark has been involved with Hardrock on a variety of levels-Putnam Basin aid station captain, Hardrock Hundred Board of Directors member and creator of OpenSplitTime, our official timing software. We are lucky to have a man of so many talents sharing them with us.
2024 Doug Hart
Doug is one of those unique individuals that has served both on the operational Hardrock run committee as well as it's more policy focused Board of Directors. As a communications volunteer at Grouse Gulch/Animas Forks, Doug could be counted on to help make sure the communication system kept track of our runner. As BoD president, Doug was instrumental in guiding the Board in a professional and strategically focused manner. Hardrock is lucky to have such a volunteer with such a wide array of talents in our organization.
2025 Betsy Kalmeyer
Betsy has given back to the Hardrock community currently coordinating the course clearing as well as serving on the art selection committee. She also served numerous terms on the Hardrock Hundred Board of Directors. Athletically, no woman in Hardrock history has had as much success as Betsy. Her 21 finishes ranks 1st among all women finishers and her 5 first finishes puts her in the elite group of Hardrockers who have come in first at least 5 times.