Hardrock 100's New Inclusion Policy, Explained by the Board Members Who Wrote It
About this episode
Stephanie Case is a human rights lawyer, founder of Free to Run, Hardrock 100 board member, and the runner who won Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in 2025 while stopping to breastfeed at aid stations. Chris Twiggs is a longtime Hardrocker and fellow board member. Together they wrote the race's new inclusion policy for transgender and non-binary athletes.
In this conversation, Buzz asks the questions everyone else is asking online: why the policy lets athletes register in the category that matches their gender identity, why Hardrock declined to follow World Athletics and the IOC toward gene testing, what the evidence actually says about performance advantage over 100 miles at altitude, and how the race is handling awards. Stephanie walks through the history of sex testing in sport, from the chromosome checks of the 1960s to the SRY screening now being rolled out, and explains why she thinks a lottery-based mountain race has no obligation to import elite track rules.
The Buzz is supported by Arc'teryx.
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