H1 Hardcore100 Recap with Jonel Mendoza, Nikki Han, Will Hayward & Virginie Goethals

Off the back of the 2023 edition of Hardcore100 H1 Ultra in Philippines, we catch up with race director Jonel Mendoza as well as competitors Nikki Han, Will Hayward and Viirginie Goethals to discuss one of the first and one of the toughest hundred mile races in Asia.

First up we speak with Jonel to discuss:

  • The genesis of Hardcore100 and how Jonel decided to map an Ultra Marathon around Mt Pulag and Mt Ugo

  • How he managed to get qualifying spots for Western States and HardRock

  • How the race evolved over the years

  • Notorious for being on of the hardest races in Asia, Jonel tells us how it has changed for 2023

  • Talks about the partnership with Robert Watson to run the event

  • The plan for 2024 and beyond?

We are then join (35:30) by Nikki, Will and Virginie to talk about how this yeaers event played out from an athletes perspective.

We cover:

  • Recovery after H1

  • Why they all signed up for H1 this year and what has been their history with the event

  • What their expectations were with the new route this year?

  • Their preparation and training block?

  • How everyone prepared right before the event?

  • How the race went for everyone, the high and low points

  • The sleep depravation

  • Organisation and check points

  • Would you come back again?? 

  • What they learned, do differently in future races or H1

  • What’s next for each of them..

Checkout H1 and their other races https://kotm.intrepidspirit.com/

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Ric Stockfis