Looking for the results of the men's race? Head to this article for all the details.
Ruth Croft has snatched a commanding victory at this year's UTMB in tough conditions after surging ahead with around 25 miles (40k) to go.
The New Zealand runner, who came second in last year's race behind Katie Schide, was always a favorite for a podium spot, but with Courtney Dauwalter in the mix, we thought first place was all but settled when the pair took off from Chamonix on Friday evening in their first-ever face-off. However, the Adidas Terrex athlete's proven skill as an excellent closer allowed her to move into first place by the halfway mark and hold that spot with a comfortable lead for almost seven hours.
The runners battled challenging conditions overnight, including rain, hail, and snow, which caused a last-minute modification to the route to bypass the exposed Pyramides Calcaires section. Undeterred, Croft says she realized she had to be more aggressive from the start this year, and quickly moved into the lead, with Dauwalter just behind her, and this year's Western States winner Abby Hall taking up third position.
By the time the runners reached Notre Dame de la Gorge in torrential rain at the 33k mark, a bigger gap appeared to have opened up between Croft and Dauwalter, though the Colorado-based runner still had a big smile on her face at that point, and Zimbabwe's Emily Hawgood had moved into third place.
Just over five hours into the race, Dauwalter had moved to the front, and Poland's Katarzyna Dombrowska had taken up third place, a position she held onto through the Lac Combal aid station.
At the halfway mark at Courmayeur, Dauwalter was still in the lead, stopping at the aid station just long enough to put in some eyedrops, but she was moving slower than usual and not looking happy. Moments after she left, French runner Camille Bruyas arrived in second place, followed closely by Croft in third, setting up a new formation of front runners that would last for the remainder of the night and into the morning.
A UTMB Triple Crowner
At Champex-Lac, onlookers were expecting Dauwalter to come through first, but Croft surprised everyone by coming in six minutes ahead of Bruyas, while Dauwalter brought up the rear, seeming to be battling an injury. Croft moved further and further ahead, arriving at the finish line in 22:56:23 where she was met with a hug from men's winner Tom Evans, with whom she shares coach Scott Johnson.
Croft's win makes her a UTMB Triple Crowner, after she won the CCC in 2015 and the OCC in 2018 and again in 2019, and she celebrated at the finish line with a shot of peanut butter whiskey.
"It's taken 10 years to get to this point," says Croft, who explains that her DNF at this year's Transvulcania race in May due to hypothermia helped her deal with the conditions overnight.
Bruyas, who finished second in last year's Hardrock 100, came along over half an hour later in 23:28:48, and Germany's Katharina Hartmuth passed Dauwalter after Vallorcine to round out the podium in 24:16:39. Despite appearing overjoyed at the finish line, she admits she struggled with the weather conditions.
"I've never experienced such weather before," says Hartmuth.
"Trying to not get too cold and changing clothes all the time, it was just a logistical challenge."
Dauwalter digs in
Dauwalter hasn't had the day she was expecting, but where many elite athletes would have DNFd in order to maintain their UTMB Index, Dauwalter has shown us all what she's really made of by battling it out against the odds.
Despite her physical condition forcing her to walk most of the course over the past few hours, Dauwalter pulled off a top 10 finish, 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."
"It was a privilege to get to race against her, finally, she's the GOAT. Always has been, always will be," says Croft of her opponent.
