Tuned in to Hardrock

After seven years of negotiations, the 2019 Silverton Ultra Marathon is on course.

Colorado-based Race Director Megan Finnesy has a unique specialty: She conceptualizes a handful of the most challengingmountain-ultra-trail running races in the country. A decade ago, Finnesy founded the infamously tough Golden Gate Dirty 30, an annual 31-mile race in Golden Gate Canyon State Park with 7,250 feet of vertical gain. Finnesy introduced the concept for the Silverton Ultra Marathon four years ago—but her original vision for the race was finally approved last fall. The loop-shaped course will now finish or start (the direction alternates each year) on 11 miles of the elite Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run. “This section is amazingly spectacular. I am so incredibly excited to bring this course to our running community,” Finnesy says. “Hard just got harder.” The 62-mile route follows singletrack—for a whopping 97.3-percent of the race—and climbs a total of 16,993 feet including three 12,500-foot high points. To earn land access, Finnesy adopted the Rico-Silverton Trail and organized trail work for five years. Now, for the easy part:  Let’s race.  —Morgan Tilton