How can a physically destroyed person, without a drop of energy, finish a 171 kilometer race with 10,000 meters of slopes, and also win it? Courtney Dauwalter, 38, crossed the finish line of the Ultra Trail of Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in first position on Saturday, September 2 in Chamonix, exhausted but with the courage to respond to the claps and signs of affection from a public that idolizes her. , after 23h29m14s of walking. Everyone assumed that the athlete from the United States would win this ultra-distance event for the third time. And she did it herself, but reaching an extreme situation, “trapped in the depths of the cave of pain, trying to trust my mind.”
This summer Courtney achieved the triplet of the Western States, the Hardrock and the UTMB, three events of a minimum of 100 miles (161 km), which no other woman or man has achieved. She was able to finish them all with victory and, in the case of the first two, in record time, rising to the top positions in the general classification, increasingly closer to the results of the men. The athlete from Minnesota, based in Colorado, has done the impossible. She is devoted to challenges and madness, she is motivated to go further and further, to explore unknown terrains. But she is human and the UTMB culmination completely deflated her.
“From the second half of the race it has been very hard; In Champex-Lac (km 127) I had stomach problems, I was on the verge of vomiting, and my legs didn't respond. Right now I feel completely destroyed, when I crossed the finish line my brain was not working at all well,” he confessed a week ago in Chamonix.
Although in the last section she could be seen advancing painfully, something normal on these wild routes, her smiling face did not reveal the ordeal she was going through. Addictive ordeal in that for her it means continuing to investigate how her body and her mind respond to these types of challenges. “I'm hooked on exploring, it's great to see our response when we go down... I enjoy going into the cave of pain to try to see what is possible.”
The thousands of fans who followed the UTMB day and night; Her husband, Kevin Schmidt, and also her parents, played an important role in her emotional state. When you climb a very steep hill at night and you have already accumulated a few kilometers on your legs, the public's spirits act like a battery that recharges your batteries. Just like when you arrive at a refreshment point and the couple welcomes you with food and gives you a generous dose of confidence.
“I have never asked my body or my brain so much, I have never run three 100-mile races so often... My motivation is curiosity, to see what I am capable of, how far I can go,” he explained while affirming that your objective is not to go below a certain time or sneak into the first positions, but to reach the goal.
Dauwalter already made a splash on June 25 at the Western States in California, finishing sixth overall and winning the women's race with a record time of 15h29m33s, 49 minutes behind the winner, Tom Evans, and ahead of great athletes such as Mathieu Blanchard, who in 2022 placed second in the UTMB, only behind Kilian Jornet. Three weeks later, Courtney repeated his victory at the Hardrock in Colorado, also with a record, and achieved fourth place overall.
Two legendary events, two titles and two brands at home. He did not have to prove anything else, but a few weeks before the UTMB he confirmed his participation, which gave more luster to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of this test. He states that he started with the sole purpose of finishing, that by completing the 171 km he was already satisfied. The challenge was more than met, although this time he stayed in twenty-fifth position overall, almost four hours behind the winner, fellow American Jim Walmsley.
Courtney hopes her successes will encourage more runners to take up ultradistance. Of the 2,689 people who started on Friday the 1st to travel the alpine itinerary through three countries (France, Italy and Switzerland), a total of 1,757 managed to cross the finish line, of which only 10.7% were women .
Over the next few weeks he will rest and process what he has achieved. And he will surely taste the occasional beer, the drink with which he usually celebrates his triumphs. “I haven't taken any yet, I felt very sick when I finished.”
