Courtney Dauwalter’s golden hat-trick – AW

Adrian Stott writes about an extraordinary trio of race wins which have moved the ultra distance runner to a new level

Under normal circumstances, Courtney Dauwalter securing her second victory at the classic Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) race at the beginning of September would have been noteworthy enough on its own. Placed in the context of her year, however, the achievement becomes truly remarkable.

This was the American’s third 100-mile event in 10 weeks and her third victory. To top it off, two of those wins came about thanks to course record breaking performances.

Before 2023, the 38-year-old from Colorado had already established herself as one of the best of the current generation of ultra runners. This summer saw her move into new territory.

The first race in the treble was the Western States 100 on June 24. The course, in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, is by far the most runnable of the three, with 5500m of climb. Western States is a well-established ultra with 328 entries and 311 finishers in 2023, 68 of them women.

Dauwalter had run 17:27:00 when winning in 2019. Illustrating just how much she has progressed since, this time she improved by over two hours to 15:19:33. In the process, she lowered the 2014 mark of 16:47:19 set by former Comrades and World 100km champion Ellie Greenwood by one hour and 18 minutes.

The second race on Dauwalter’s list was the Hardrock 100 on July 14. Of the three races, it is the smallest with a family feel and only 146 entries and 111 finishers in 2023. It is also arguably the hardest as not only does it feature a massive 10,360m of climb, but going up to a high point of 4281m (14,048 feet) – over three times higher than Britain’s tallest mountain Ben Nevis – means that altitude is also a factor here. 

Dauwalter had broken Diane Finkel’s long-standing 2009 record of 27:44:35 with 26:44:36 when winning the 2022 race. Three weeks after her Western States record, she lowered her own mark by 30 minutes to 26:14:12.

The UTMB, meanwhile, is the longest event of a week-long series involving over 10,000 runners in over seven races. It has 2814 entries. At 171km/106.5 miles, it is the longest of Dauwalter’s treble and involves just under 10,000m of climb.

Her mental race plan was to erase the previous two 100 milers and let the race unfold. She had company in the early stages but, once she took the lead, she was never overtaken. 

It was not all plain sailing. In…