Because Courtney Dauwalter is THE woman who breaks all the records in Ultra-Trail đđ»!
Because she doesnât really have a training plan or a strict diet đ!
Because she has a real style đ©ł!
âI think Iâm pretty competitive. But on races that long, Iâm not thinking about beating other competitors. Iâm thinking about battling against myself and facing the course. On 165 km (Grand Raid de la RĂ©union), anything can happen.â
Courtney Dauwalter
And we saw it happen!
4th overall!
She started her athletic career on skis. She discovered cross-country skiing in high school, progressed quickly, and earned the title of regional champion. Alongside her Nordic skiing training, she also runs! Courtney even participates in cross-country races at the start of the season.
Originally from Minnesota and living in Colorado, the call of the mountains was stronger. After a quiet period where she focused on her studies and became a biology teacher, she decided to lace up her running shoes again to get back in shape and shed a few pounds. She was 26 years old, in 2011.
An American rocket
Until 2016, despite having good results, she remained in the shadows. But everything would change for her that year!
To everyone's surprise, she won the Run Rabbit Run, one of the most prestigious 100-mile races in the United States. It was a turning point, Courtney realized she could make a career out of it. Ultra-trail running was no longer a hobby; she quit her teaching job and devoted herself exclusively to trail running.
Since then, she has been racking up victories:
- The Javalina Jundred, 100km in 2016
- The Maob 240, 383km in 2017
- The Mount Fuji Ultra-trail, 170km in 2017
- The Western States, 100mi in 2018
- The Tarawera, 100km in 2019
- The Madeira Island Ultra trail, 115km in 2019 and 2022
- UTMB, 170km in 2019 and 2021
- The CapeTown ultra trail, 100km in 2021
- The HardRock 100mi in 2022
- The GrandRaid, 165km in 2022
The Grand Raid 2022, the consecration!
The 2022 Grand Raid was a memorable moment for Courtney Dauwalter! She not only competed with the best male athletes but also claimed first place, an impressive feat. Even Benat Marmissolle, the winner, admitted that he feared the return of the American to battle for the top spot.
This victory at the Grand Raid in Reunion Island allowed Courtney to complete a Grand Slam in the Ultra-Trail world. Before her, only Kilian Jornet had achieved this feat by winning four major races on the Ultra-Trail circuit. A true triumph for Courtney, who is now a legend in the world of long-distance running!
No training plan! No diet!
Courtney is a machine. Yet, she doesn't follow a training plan (well, at her level, because we're still talking about 175 km on average per week).
"I donât force myself to do a long run if my legs tell me to take it easy when I wake up! I adapt my runs day by day, and that allows me not to stress about preparation!â
âI donât have a training plan. So sometimes, I leave the house with a hydration vest stacked for a long run, and then I end up only running for an hour that day or maybe just a mile, and then I call it a day for some reason. So sometimes, my race preparation doesn't match the reality of the race. I just try to listen to my body, my brain, how all the systems are functioning, and then I let my feet dictate much of what I do for training.â
While some people eat grains and follow a vegan diet exclusively, the champion doesn't follow any specific diet: " I eat whatever I like, from hamburgers to M&M's! I never count calories. I'm not interested in eliminating foods from my diet ."
© Photos: Salomon
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To sum it up, we love her because she runs out of passion, driven by instinct, one might say.
Running by feel, enjoying herself, and being the most accomplished female athlete: a role model to follow!
