By winning two of the most iconic ultra trail races in the United States, Western States 100 and Hardrock 100, just three weeks apart, Courtney Dauwalter proves once again that she is one of the greatest ultrarunners in history. Let’s take a closer look at the journey of this extraordinary athlete who keeps reaching the very top of the sport. Her unconventional path shows that durability and mental toughness are the two biggest weapons you need to perform at the highest level in ultra endurance running.
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Courtney Dauwalter’s journey
Courtney Dauwalter grew up in Minnesota, USA. As a kid she played a lot of sports, including cross-country skiing at a solid level. In college, she stepped away from training and chose to focus on her studies. She became a biology teacher. It wasn’t until 2011, at age 26, that she decided to get back into sport to stay fit and lose a bit of weight.
That’s when she started running, first on the road. Very quickly, the mysterious world of long-distance endurance captivated her. She signed up for a 50K near San Antonio. That race made something click, she realized she genuinely loved running for hours. So she kept going, gradually trading pavement for trails and moving deeper into ultra trail running, with longer and longer distances.
Often near the front in most races she entered, she still flew under the radar until 2016. That year she raced Run Rabbit Run, a famous 100-miler in the US. She won it with a jaw-dropping performance, finishing more than 75 minutes ahead of the second woman…
Everything changed for Courtney Dauwalter. Over the next year, she steadily moved toward going pro, leaving her teaching job to become a full-time ultra trail runner with Team Salomon.
An ultra trail runner fueled by passion!
Year after year, Courtney Dauwalter keeps delivering bigger and bigger results. She holds multiple women’s course records on major international ultra races and became one of the first to truly go head-to-head with elite men. She has won races overall and led from start to finish, like at Madeira Ultra Trail in 2019, or at the Moab 240 in 2017, a trail race of over 380 km through the Utah desert, where she finished more than 10 hours ahead of second place.
Courtney Dauwalter has proven it can be done, and she’s a powerful inspiration for women runners worldwide. For example, she placed 4th overall at the Diagonale des Fous on Réunion Island in 2022 on her first attempt. She also turned heads at the UTMB® in 2021, finishing 7th overall.
She races a lot and lines up for many events every year. And yes, in case you’re wondering, she performs in almost all of them. It’s even more impressive when you consider that a well-prepared amateur typically needs around a month to recover from this kind of ultra endurance effort.
In the same league as Kilian Jornet, Courtney Dauwalter is basically an ultra-human, the longer it gets, the more she seems to enjoy it. Which sounds crazy when you know the pain and suffering these efforts demand. She says she retreats into her mental “pain cave” when moving forward becomes truly difficult. She loves the challenge and, more than anything, she runs with her head rather than her legs (even though strong legs definitely help!).
In fact, along with Kilian Jornet, she’s the only athlete to win the four most famous ultra trail races in the world (UTMB, Diagonale des Fous, Western States 100, and Hardrock 100). She also holds the women’s record at three of them. The fourth record next?
Her unique training approach
A gifted endurance athlete, she trains alone and relies heavily on feel. She knows how to listen to her body and prefers to adjust her training day by day. Her athletic background and experience allow her to do it brilliantly. She’s one of the only, if not the only, pro ultrarunner who doesn’t build her training around sports science and coaches. Of course, she piled up years of knowledge before being able to train effectively this way.
Above all, Courtney Dauwalter is also known for being down-to-earth and approachable, a true trail running fan who races in basketball shorts. She explains that ultra trail running isn’t only about performance for her, she genuinely has a blast out there. And she does it without obsessing over food or counting every calorie.
Now, if you also want to (try to) be a bit more like Courtney, we’d recommend starting with a structured training plan before switching fully to “by feel.” With the RunMotion Coach app, you can get a personalized training plan from trail running to ultra trail. It adapts to your availability, your level, your perceived effort, your goals, and your training terrain. Kind of like Courtney Dauwalter’s approach in the end, just with a bit more guidance!