Happy Hardrock 100 week! We’re sharing stories from the event all week. Be sure to read our in-depth Hardrock 100 preview and follow our Hardrock 100 live coverage Friday through Sunday.

Interviews and Profiles, Races, Video

Chasing Potential: David Ayala’s Pre-2026 Hardrock 100 Interview

A video interview with David Ayala before the 2026 Hardrock 100.

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After finishing fourth last year and learning a few difficult lessons, David Ayala returns to the 2026 Hardrock 100 chasing his potential. In the following interview, David talks about balancing being a father, math professor, and runner, mistakes he made at last year’s race, his love of big mountain adventures, and his experience working with a coach to prepare for Hardrock.

To learn more about who’s racing, check out our Hardrock 100 preview before following our Hardrock 100 live coverage during the race. You can also enter our giveaway to win one of three pairs of LEKI Ultratrail FX.One poles.

[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to watch it.]

David Ayala Pre-2026 Hardrock 100 Interview Transcript

Transcript coming soon.

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Eszter Horanyi

Eszter Horanyi identifies as a Runner Under Duress, in that she’ll run if it gets her deep into the mountains or canyons faster than walking would, but she’ll most likely complain about it. A retired long-distance bike racer, she turned to running around 2014 and has a bad habit of saying yes to terribly awesome/awesomely terrible ideas on foot. The longer and more absurd the mission, the better. This running philosophy has led to an unsupported FKT on Nolan’s 14 and many long and wonderful days out in the mountains with friends.