Courtney Dauwalter has once again defied the boundaries of human capabilities this past month. The American athlete has long been a giant in the ultrarunning community, quickly becoming a household name in the sport.
In the past three weeks, she has outdone herself once again, making us question the abilities of female racers, but the abilities of Courtney herself.
Back in June, Dauwalter made headlines at the famous Western States 100, breaking the course record with an astonishing time of 15:29:34. This time is more than an hour faster than the counter-clockwise record set by Diana Finkel in 2009 and 30 minutes faster than Dauwalter’s own overall course record she set last summer.
Well, just three weeks on July 15th, after her Western States victory in June, she has once again excelled, setting a new course record for the Hardrock 100 in 26:14:08.
These back-to-back records come after an intense few years for Dauwalter. This year was her third attempt at Hardrock after DNF’ing in 2021 and setting her overall/clockwise record in 2022. This makes her the course record holder for both the clockwise and anti-clockwise routes at the Hardrock100.
Courtney confessed before the race she had “unfinished business” with the Hardrock 100. Her 2021 DNF at 62 miles due to stomach issues was a surprise to many. The average elevation at the Hardrock 100 sits at over 11,000 feet.
“My idea for [Hardrock] is to put Western States in a drawer in my brain where it’s not even on my mind that we just did that, and race this like it’s my only race of the summer,” Dauwalter told iRunFar before the competition. “So, going at it like I would any 100-mile race.”
At 38 years old, the former teacher and Salomon athlete has been a pioneer for modern female ultrarunners, often racing the elite men and surpassing the female second at a defining time.
Dauwalter also holds the course record for Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB), which she set in 2021 with a time of 22:30:54. She has become the first athlete in history to set course records for the Western States and Hardrock 100 in the same year.
