Courtney Dauwalter, perhaps the best mountain runner of all time, has made history again, winning the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) for the third time and winning three major races of more than 100 miles this summer (171 km), the Hardrock and the Western States, in the United States, and this afternoon in which it goes around the Mont-Blanc massif through three countries, France, Italy and Switzerland. No person, neither man nor woman, had achieved it. Dauwalter signed a time of 23h29m14s, 41 minutes less than the second, the German Katharina Harmuth, but one hour more than her best time in Chamonix, 22h30m54s in 2021.
The 38-year-old athlete from Minnesota exudes ease, relaxation and good vibes; Throughout the 171 km and 10,000 meters of slopes, whether day or night, she greets the public, thanks the volunteers and smiles. In France she has a legion of followers, it is nothing, nothing normal, to see French fans displaying an American flag to cheer her on. Last night, as she climbed the steep path at Notre Dame de la Gorge, entire families excited to have her close to her followed her up the mountain and called her an “alien” for her accomplishments. While the male leaders ascended this section super focused, looking at the ground, she raised her head to show off a smile.
But the procession has gone inside. As she commented this afternoon at the finish line, this time she suffered a lot, she wasn't sure she was in a position to finish. In Champex-Lac, at kilometer 127, she felt that she couldn't run anymore, her stomach was not good at all, but the fans and the volunteers pushed her, she commented. Her positivity instills invaluable doses of energy, but her body has been on the edge. The last steps she took painfully and in the end she has confessed that she has deflated, that she has run out of strength.
Dauwalter's victory has further enlivened the American party started by the men's winner, Jim Walmsley, and second-placed Zach Miller. Never before had the United States managed to win in men and in this edition, in addition, it has also achieved second place. In women, the Americans are used to winning: from Krissy Moehl (2003 and 2009) to Nikki Kimball (2007), Rory Bosio (2013 and 2014); Katie Schide, in 2022, and Dauwalter in 2019, 2021, when she took the best female record in history, 22h30m54s, and today.
One of the unknowns this week and one of the topics of conversation in Chamonix was whether Dauwalter would continue to climb the general classification, approaching the marks of the male competitors, and if he would surpass his seventh place in 2021. In the end he finished in the number 25.
It should be remembered that this summer she was sixth in the general classification of the Western States and fourth in the Hardrock, in addition to winning in the women's category. In the ultra-distance tests, women have been closing the gap with their male colleagues.
In fact, after a very intense year it was not very clear that he would participate in the current edition of the UTMB, but at the last minute he made up his mind and jumped on the bike: "Crazy things like this are worth it", he said at the finish line. But the effort of the last few months has been noticed and has ended up investing almost an hour more than in 2021.
The third female and male positions went to the French Blandine L. Hirondel (24h22m50s) and Germain Grangier (20h10m52s). And it is worth noting the fifth position of Maite Maiora, with a time of 25h02m26s.
