Other Sports Catch-All

In 2023, Courtney Dauwalter became the first person, male or female, to win the Triple Crown, the three most iconic 100-mile races in the world, in a single season.

Ultrarunning, with races ranging from 50km to 250 miles, is defined by type-A personalities: meticulous, rigid, detail-oriented, even obsessed. Courtney Dauwalter, 38, is the exception to the rule.

Dauwalter does not have a coach or a strict training plan. She’s never been on Strava and doesn’t plan races far ahead of time. She runs in long shorts and baggy clothes because, she says, they are more comfortable. She eats candy while training and drinks beer afterwards, because that’s what makes her the most happy.

“My diet is to eat the things that look good in quantities that feel good,” said Dauwalter. “My fuel tank is based on joy. If I’m happy, the engine works way better.”

While her philosophy may sound casual, the results say otherwise. In the last decade, Dauwalter has won more than 50 ultras, often in dominant fashion, and is widely considered the greatest of all time.

Over the summer of 2023, Dauwalter became the first person, male or female, to win the Triple Crown in the same season. The triple consists of Western States 100, Hardrock 100, and UTMB, three of the most grueling, competitive and iconic ultras in the world. Only one other athlete, Kilian Jornet, has won all three in the span of an entire career.

Yet, despite a barrage of accolades, Dauwalter says winning the Triple Crown didn’t change her outlook at all. “I don’t think of it as an inflection point. I don’t think about any of my wins that way. No race is perfect. There is always something to do differently next time. I always hope to finish a race knowing I gave everything I had that day, but be able to tinker. I’m motivated by the puzzle.”

The puzzle, so to speak, is her secret to success. Like most highly successful people, Dauwalter is motivated by the process, not the results. However, her process is anything but traditional.

“After I wake up, I have two cups of coffee and go through an informal full body assessment,” Dauwalter explains. “Where’s my head? How are my feet? How are my lungs and what is my stress level? I listen to what my systems are saying, before I do anything else.”

Without a coach or set training plan, Dauwalter trains entirely on feel. Her days are structured loosely, which allows for adaptability. She makes decisions intuitively, like how many hill repeats to run or how big her loop should be that day. “After checking in, I make an idea of what workout I’m going to do. As I head out on my run, I keep doing the system checks to see how I’m feeling as I start moving. If I feel good I may hit the gas pedal, if I don’t I might hit the brakes.”

Dauwalter started this year with a win at Transgrancanaria 126k in February and followed it with a win at Mount Fuji 100 in April. In July she won Hardrock for the third year in a row, but claims that none of these races were as easy as she would have liked.

“After last summer I was more tired than I’ve ever been, so I took a lot more time off than usual. I usually take about a month, but I took a lot of months to chill,” says Dauwalter. “I was exhausted physically and mentally.” The longer break meant she lost more fitness, which made her return more challenging.

“I ran Transgrancanaria in 2023, so it was easy to compare the two races. It was a lot harder this time,” says Dauwalter, despite winning by more than an hour.

After winning Mount Fuji, Dauwalter felt like she was back on track. “Training was going well and I felt good going into the race, but Hardrock was one of those days that the gears didn’t line up. In the first few hours I knew it wasn’t going to be smooth. Everything took a little more effort than it should have, so I just kept reminding myself to be patient and to let time be our friend.”

Still, Dauwalter broke her own course record by two and a half minutes. She hopes to race again this fall, but doesn’t know which race it will be. “I’m just enjoying as much as possible right now, not thinking about what comes next. Instead of trying to predict the next chapter, I just want to live in this one.”