Think running 100 miles sounds painful? How about dislocating a shoulder? Now combine the two, and you have anyone’s version of hell. But, that’s exactly what happened to Killian Jornet during the Hardrock 100, an ultramarathon in southern Colorado.
According to The Durango Herald, Jornet, a 29-year-old Spaniard, fell 13 miles into the race on a descent. He popped his shoulder back into place and then made a sling using his running vest.
Not only did he finish the race in 24 hours, 32 minutes, 32 seconds, but he won it for the fourth consecutive year.
This is no 100 miles on level ground either.
The Hardrock 100 has become a regular event on Jornet’s calendar because of the family atmosphere it promotes as well as the challenging course. It features 66,050 feet of elevation gain over 100.5 miles. Runners surpass 12,000 feet a total of 13 times, including the summit of 14,048-foot Handies Peak. It is run at an average elevation of more than 11,000 feet.
Here’s the type of terrain they’re running on:
“At the beginning it was painful, then better, but then as the storm started coming it got very painful,” Jornet told The Denver Post. “It’s not easy.”
If Jornet’s name sounds familiar, it might be because in May, he made headlines when he ran up and down Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen or fixed ropes. With a time of 26 hours, he became the fastest person to ascend and descend the world’s tallest mountain from base camp. Then, six days later, he did it again from slightly higher up on the mountain.
This was part of “Summits of My Life,” a project that had him trekking up and down “the most important mountains on the planet” in record-setting fashion.
So, where will we find Jornet next? Who knows, but if you look up, you may just catch a glimpse.
