Woman dies during 100-mile ultramarathon through Colorado mountains

A -year-old Michigan woman died Friday morning during a -mile ultramarathon through rugged Colorado mountain terrain San Juan County administrators commented San Juan sheriff s leaders and Silverton Biological Rescue crews were called to the Little Giant Trail near Gold Lake at a m when members of the Hardrock safety organization started CPR on a participant experiencing an unknown health issue Silverton functionaries mentioned in a news release Rescue crews took over resuscitation efforts after hiking into the area but the woman identified as Elaine Stypula was pronounced dead at a m Additional information about what happened before event crews started CPR was not straightaway available revealed San Juan County spokesperson Deanne Gallegos Event organizers endorsed a runner had died and offered condolences in a post on the Hardrock website Our hearts are with their family friends and fellow runners as we grieve this tremendous loss event organizers wrote We are committed to caring for runners crews supporters and all members of our district through the event s duration and beyond The Hardrock is a -mile program through the San Juan mountains starting in Silverton and looping through Telluride Ouray and the ghost town of Sherman Runners traverse mountain passes including the -foot summit of Handies Peak and cover feet of elevation change according to the event s website The average time to finish the unit is nearly hours and runners must expedition through steep scree climbs and descents snow packs river crossings boulder fields and trails near sharp dropoffs during the day and at night Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter