We're live from the finish line at UTMB 2023 with Merrell and two American runners are in the lead for both the men's and women's race.
After we reported Zach Miller was in the lead this morning, Jim Walmsley sped past him around 10 a.m. local time and carved out a lead of more than 10 minutes. He passed us at the Vallorcine station at 11:30 a.m. looking practically as fresh as a daisy and he has just completed the final climb of the 106.2-mile race, continuing to run most of it at an impressive pace.
Barring any unfortunate circumstances, he's looking set to become the first American male to win the UTMB, but as we keep saying, literally anything could happen between now and the finish line.
Miller passed us around 15 minutes later looking a little worse for the wear, followed by Germain Grangier another 10 minutes after that who barely stopped for fuel and left the tent looking confident that he might still be able to take second place.
In the women's race, another US runner is still dominating. Courtney Dauwalter blasted the Gran Col Ferret in the fastest time ever and is now 25 km away from completing Triple Crown of the Western States 100, Hard Rock 100 and UTMB in a single summer, something that has never been done before.
There's loads of unbelievable talent in this race, but for now, our eyes are on the US runners.
