Looking for the write up on the women's podium? Head to this article for all the details.
Stories of elite runners in the UTMB finals can often be divided into two narratives: those who triumphed, and those who DNFd. Yesterday, Courtney Dauwalter managed to write a new version of what success at the iconic race can look like, pulling off a top 10 finish despite a rare bad day on the course.
Dauwalter was back in Chamonix for the first time since 2023, when she won the race for the third time. Last year, her record fell to Katie Schide and ultra running fans were looking forward to seeing her try to settle the score this year.
Dauwalter started out in the lead, bringing up the front in a pack that included Ruth Croft and a rotating cast of other runners such as Abby Hall, Emily Hawgood, Camille Bruyas and Katarzyna Dombrowska. In torrential rain, climbing Notre Dame de la Gorge, she still had her characteristic smile on her face.
She looked more serious as she hunted for water at Lac Combal, but that was no surprise, given that she'd just endured snow, hail and winds at high altitudes. At the Courmayeur aid station, she looked more serious than usual, and soon it was clear the day was not going to plan.
On Saturday morning, we stood around the lake at Champex-Lac waiting for Dauwalter to come through first. Her family gathered nearby. Instead, the first female figure to make her way along the lakeshore was Croft, followed by Bruyas. When Dauwalter appeared a few minutes later, she was moving more stiffly than usual and her smile had been replaced by a grimace.
Over the next seven hours, Croft seemed to get faster, increasing her lead by 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour. Bruyas held her steady pace, and Dauwalter was doing more hiking than running by the time she reached Trient.
By 3pm, Croft's win looked all but settled, Bruyas a shoo-in for second, and while Dauwalter held third place for a couple more hours, it became increasingly clear that a podium spot was out of reach.
Many elite athletes would have chosen a DNF in order to preserve their UTMB Index, but Dauwalter instead showed us all what she's really made of by battling it out against the odds. She hiked, she ran, she stopped to pick up young fans and give them a hug.
In the end, Dauwalter finished what she started, crossing the finish line in an impressive tenth place in 25:50:38, grabbing a young fan by the hand and sprinting over the finish line with him.
"It was a really, really tough day out there," says Dauwalter, who says the support of her fans and team is what kept her going.
"I continued because a race this special is worth doing the full loop."
When asked what it was like to race against Dauwalter, this year's winner Croft says: "It was a privilege to get to race against her, finally, she's the GOAT. Always has been, always will be."
