On Friday, August 29, the runners of the 2025 UTMB will head out from the Place du Triangle de l’Amitié, or the Triangle of Friendship Square, in the heart of Chamonix, France, to start their 100-mile loop around the Mont Blanc Massif.
According to the race organization, the final statistics of this year’s Mont Blanc lap come out at 174 kilometers (108 miles) with 9,900 meters (32,480 feet) of elevation.
Previous course record holder, three-time UTMB winner, and arguably the most dominant woman on the ultra circuit today, Courtney Dauwalter, will be on the start line. Joining her is last year’s second-place finisher, Ruth Croft, back for her second attempt at the event, as well as Lin Chen, who finished fourth.
Behind them seems to be the who’s who of the pointy end of this year’s Western States 100, with a little bit of Hardrock 100 thrown in for good measure. From the Western States 100 field, women’s champion Abby Hall is hoping to ride her wave of fitness from the canyons of California. Joining her from the Western States 100 top 10 are also Emily Hawgood and Heather Jackson. It’s worth noting that Hawgood finished sixth at UTMB last year as well. Coming straight from the Hardrock 100, where she finished third, with two weeks less recovery than those attempting the Western States 100-UTMB double, is Katharina Hartmuth, who finished second at UTMB in 2023.
While it’s tempting to think that Dauwalter will run away with the victory, Hall has shown that she’s in fine form after coming back from injury, and there’s no reason to think she can’t keep pace at the front of the field. And it would be unwise to think Croft won’t return even more ready this year. Then there’s the simple fact that anything can happen in 100 miles, and if last year’s men’s race was a lesson in expectations, then it’s good to step back and realize that on a good day, there are at least half a dozen, if not more, women in this field who have the experience, speed, and tenacity to challenge for the win.
For those who may be confused by the various acronyms thrown around during the event, the 100-mile UTMB is the queen race of the week-long UTMB Mont Blanc festival, the biggest trail running party on the calendar with eight adult races and a mini-UTMB for kiddos. With UTMB starting in Chamonix, France, and visiting Italy and Switzerland before returning to Chamonix, the circuit generally follows the Tour du Mont Blanc trekking trail, one of the most popular routes in Europe. Most people walking the route take one to two weeks to experience the spectacular trails and scenery as they make their way around the highest peak in the Alps. Runners will hopefully pause at some point in time during their journey to look up and appreciate their stunning vantage point in the mountains.
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Follow our UTMB live race coverage starting at 5:45 p.m. CEST (9:45 a.m. MDT in the U.S.) on Friday, August 29, right here on iRunFar!
Be sure to also check out our in-depth preview of the 2025 UTMB men’s race.
The start of the 2022 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Kirsten Kortebein
2025 UTMB Women’s Favorites for the Win
After taking last year off from the event, the UTMB winner from 2023, 2021, and 2019, Courtney Dauwalter (U.S.), is back for another lap around Mont Blanc, perhaps in an attempt to reclaim her course record that was taken by 2024 winner, Katie Schide. After a massive 2023 where she won the Western States 100, Hardrock 100, and UTMB in a single summer, setting course records at the first two, Dauwalter followed up with another big year in 2024 with wins at Transgrancanaria, Mt. Fuji 100 Mile, Hardrock 100, Swiss Peaks Trail 70k, and the Nice Côte d’Azur 100 Mile. In a rare falter, Dauwalter dropped from the Cocodona 250 Mile earlier this May after only 100 miles, but came roaring back with a win at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail in June. Given her dominance both at UTMB and nearly every other ultra she’s entered, combined with a relatively light 2025 race schedule, one can expect some really fast running from Dauwalter this year.
Courtney Dauwalter, 2023 UTMB champion. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
If there’s a master tactician for pacing UTMB, the title would have to go to Ruth Croft of New Zealand. Croft placed second at the 2025 UTMB, having moved up through the field steadily throughout the entire race and only claiming the position on the final climb. It was Croft’s first attempt at the race, and as she’s an astute student of the sport, one can only assume that she’s coming back with more course and pacing knowledge and a hope to improve her placing to the top spot. Although she had to drop from the 2025 Transvulcania with hypothermia during horrendous weather, Croft has had an otherwise strong start to the year with wins at the Tarawera 100k and Maxi-Race Annecy 60k. The build-up seems very similar to her 2024, where she won the Tarawera 100k and also won Transvulcania. For those unfamiliar with the Kiwi, Croft also has wins at the 2022 Western States 100, 2017 and 2021 Les Templiers 80k, 2019 OCC, and 2019 and 2018 Marathon du Mont-Blanc.
Ruth Croft running toward the front of the field near Champex-Lac during the 2024 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
If American Abby Hall was flying a bit under the radar earlier this year after coming back from a horrific leg injury in the spring of 2023 that left her sidelined from the sport for over a year, her dominant win at the 2025 Western States 100 put her squarely on the list of favorites for UTMB. Hall knows the UTMB course too, having placed second in CCC in 2022 and third in 2023, and 31st at the 2024 UTMB, which was her first major race back after her injury. Since her comeback, she’s also won the Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100k in 2024, placed fifth at the 2025 Black Canyon 100k, and fourth at the 2025 Chianti Ultra Trail 120k, where she earned her Western States 100 Golden Ticket.
Abby Hall at Red Star Ridge on her way to winning the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Lin Chen
After a fourth place at last year’s UTMB, Lin Chen of China is back with more experience. Earlier this year, Chen took fourth at the Black Canyon 100k and won the Canyons 100 Mile. However, she was a late DNS at Western States in June when she was unable to recover from a severe reaction to poison oak contracted during the Canyons 100 Mile. Chen only started racing outside of mainland China in 2023 and quickly found success, winning the Doi Inthanon 100 Mile and the 2024 Hong Kong 100k. She had a series of DNFs in 2024, including Western States 100 and Ultra-Trail Ninghai 100k, but if she can get to the finish line, the chances are it will be with a fast time.
Emily Hawgood, originally from Zimbabwe but currently living in the U.S., is known for having a consistent race schedule year after year, and her performances generally follow an upward trajectory. She’s one of several women racing both the Western States 100 and UTMB this year, and she’s done the double three times before. In her five consecutive runs at the Western States 100, from 2021 through 2025, she placed seventh, fifth, fifth, fourth, and 10th, respectively, with her time getting two and a half hours faster between her first and her fourth run. She started her relationship with UTMB at about the same time, placing 10th at the event in 2021, sixth in 2022 and 2024, and placing second at CCC in 2023. While her finish at this year’s Western States 100 may have been less than what she was hoping, she showed strong fitness in April when she won the Canyons 100k.
Emily Hawgood running through Courmayeur on her way to another top finish. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Katharina Hartmuth, originally from Germany but now living in Switzerland, has had an injury-filled couple of years involving bike crashes, bruised bones, and knee surgery this past winter. While a third-place finish at the 2025 Hardrock 100 was a bit of disappointment for her, as she dealt with vision issues and coming back from an injury that didn’t allow her to run for much of the spring, it showed that even if she’s not at her best, she’s still a force to be reckoned with. She also knows the UTMB course, having finished second at the event in 2023. Her recent strong results include wins at the 2024 Tor des Géants and Trail 100 Andora 100k, a third at the 2024 Hardrock 100, as well as a second-place finish at the Trail World Championships Long Trail in 2023.
Katharina Hartmuth running to second place in the 2023 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Kirsten Kortebein
Camille Bruyas of France has taken an extended break from UTMB, where she placed second in 2021, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been racing at the front end of competitive fields. In 2022, she won Les Templiers 80k and Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k. In 2023, she placed second at Diagonale des Fous, and 2024 saw wins at the Maxi-Race Annecy 90k and a second place at Hardrock 100. She’s had a good start to her 2025 season with a third place at Grand Raid Ventoux 90k.
Camille Bruyas taking second at the 2024 Hardrock 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Claudia Tremps
Claudia Tremps of Spain returns to UTMB after finishing eighth place at the event last year and ninth in 2021, and she was second at TDS in 2022. She’s shown strong form this year with a win at the Mozart 100k and a second-place finish at Transgrancanaria, a race where she was second in 2024 as well. She also won the KAT 100k in 2023.
Claudia Tremps running through the night at the 2023 Transgrancanaria. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Jordi Saragossa
Maite Maiora of Spain has third-, fifth-, and 12th-place finishes to her name at UTMB in 2019, 2023, and 2024, respectively. She was eighth at Transgrancanaria earlier this year, and her 2024 season saw her consistently at the front end of fields with third-place finishes at the Chianti Ultra Trail 74k, Madeira Island Ultra-Trail (MIUT), and Val d’Aran 100k.
Spain’s Maite Maiora racing the 2023 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Kirsten Kortebein
Other Top Women at the 2025 UTMB
Lucy Bartholomew finished 10th at the 2024 UTMB, the same position she finished in 2023. The Australian is no stranger to the UTMB Mont Blanc festival races, having won YCC in 2016, placed fifth at TDS in 2017, and finished 11th at OCC in 2018. Even after growing her focus from just running to triathlon in recent years, she still has a set of strong recent results, including a win at the 2023 Tarawera 100 Mile and second places at the Ultra-Trail Australia 100k in both 2023 and 2024. She was also third at the 2018 Western States 100.
American Alyssa Clark finished just outside of the top 10 at UTMB last year, with an 11th place at her debut at the event. She followed up that race with a win at the 2024 Puerto Vallarta México 100 Mile and a second at the 2025 Lavaredo Ultra Trail to none other than Courtney Dauwalter. In 2023, she won the Val d’Aran 25k as well as the Canyons 100 Mile, showing that she has both speed and endurance.
Alyssa Clark, 2023 Canyons 100 Mile champion. Photo: Patrick McDermott – Getty Images for Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB
Heather Jackson of the U.S. is probably best known for being an ultrarunner who has found a way to maintain both running and cycling fitness at a very high level. Coming from a triathlon background, Jackson only entered the ultrarunning world in 2022, when she placed fifth at the Javelina 100 Mile. The following year, she placed second at the Black Canyon 100k and won the Canyons 50k. Since that debut year, she placed fifth at CCC in 2024 and won the Javelina 100 Mile in 2023. She has a seventh-place finish at the Western States 100 in 2024 that is bookended by DNFs at the event in 2023 as well as earlier this summer.
Heather Jackson runs the early miles of the 2024 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
After a DNF at last year’s UTMB, Ekaterina Mityaeva, who races as a neutral athlete, showed a string of strong performances in slightly shorter distance races in the second half of 2024, including a win at Chiangmai Thailand 93k and a second-place finish at Ultra Pirineu 100k. She started off this year with a second-place finish at Transvulcania, and in June, she took second in the Maxi-Race Annecy 60k behind Ruth Croft, and she placed third at the Mont Blanc 90k, showing she’s got form.
Ekaterina Mityaeva looking relieved to take second at the 2025 Transvulcania after a difficult weather day. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Katarzyna Dombrowska of Poland has finished as high as sixth at UTMB during her 2023 run, her second of three finishes at the event. Her 2024 finished strong with a win at the Lemkowyna Trail 150k, and her start to 2025 points to good form with third-place finishes at the Transgrancanaria 85k, Tenerife Bluetrail 24k, and Pieniny Ultra-Trail 43k. She was also fourth at the 2025 Lavaredo 80k.
Henriette Albon of Norway has had a strong start to 2025 with wins at Transgrancanaria and the Trail Du Saint-Jacques 80k. Her 2024 was also solid, and she won the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 55k and placed third at the Trofeo Kima 52k. She was sixth at OCC in 2021 and sixth again at CCC in 2022. This appears to be Albon’s debut at the 100-mile distance.
Slovenia’s Martina Klančnik Potrč is another prolific racer with seven ultras to her name in 2025, including a second place at MIUT and third at Trangrancanaria. Also amongst her 2025 races are wins at the Krabat Trail 36k, Tour de Hvar 66k, and Podbrdo Trail Running Festival 100k. In 2024, she finished fourth at the Transgrancanaria 85k and third at Istria 70k.
Martina Klančnik Potrč , the 2025 Transgrancanaria Classic third-place woman. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Miguel Travieso
Poland’s Paulina Krawczak finished 11th at the 2022 UTMB and fourth at the 2023 TDS. While she has a handful of DNFs at bigger races like TDS in 2024 and Lavaredo in 2023, she’s on a string of strong results, including wins at the 2024 Julian Alps Trail Run 120k and 2025 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100 Mile.
Johanna Antila of Finland placed 17th in her first attempt at UTMB in 2024, but her other results indicate that she could improve on that position. Earlier this year, she placed second at the Chianti Ultra Trail 120k and 12th at the Western States 100. She’s had strong runs at other competitive ultras, including a second at the Transgrancanaria 85k in 2023, 10th at the 2022 CCC, and second at the 2022 Lavaredo 80k.
Anna Carlsson of Sweden placed fourth at the 2019 TDS but failed to finish UTMB in 2021. While she has several DNFs at competitive races, she also has a series of results that suggest that she can put a good day together. In 2025, she’s won the Trail Alsace Grand Est 100 Mile and placed second at the Trail Verbier St Bernard 77k. Other notable results include a third place at the Diagonale des Fous in 2022 and a win at the Val d’Aran 100 Mile in 2021.
Carlsson on a training run with her dog Scout. Photo: albindurand (@_albin_)
Stephanie Howe of the U.S. started 2025 off with a seventh place at Transgrancanaria 85k, fifth at Chianti Ultra Trail 120k, and a win at MIUT 60k. Howe’s impressive running resume stretches back to 2010 and includes a win, as well as a third, 12th, and sixth at the Western States 100 in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018, respectively. She’s also finished eighth and 16th at UTMB in 2015 and 2017.
Kimino Miyazaki of Japan finished 24th at her debut UTMB in 2022 and moved up to 15th when she came back in 2023. In the past half-decade, the 100-mile distance seems to be her specialty. She won and placed second at the 2025 and 2023 Tarawera 100 Mile and also won the Istria 100 Mile in 2023. Most recently, she placed third at the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100k.
Yuan-Yuan Wu of China has failed to finish UTMB in her two tries in 2023 and 2024, but her results suggest she could post a fast time if she can put a solid race together. She most recently placed second at the 2025 Val d’Aran 145k and fourth at the Trail 100 Andorra 75k. In 2023, she was third at the Doi Inthanon 100 Mile and second at the Trail 100 Andorra 105k.
Antonina Iushina, who races as a neutral athlete, had a strong 2024 with a second place at the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k in December, which seems to be her first race outside of Russia. She immediately followed that with a win at Chiangmai 100 Mile about three weeks later, and another win at the G.O.A.T. Ultra Trail Race 100k less than two months after that. She placed seventh at Val d’Aran 50k earlier this year.
In 2024, Magali Mellon of France finished what appears to be her first 100-mile race with a win at the Swiss Peaks Trail 100 Mile. She has a series of strong results at slightly shorter distances, including a win at the Maxi-Race Annecy 100k in 2025, a fifth place at TDS in 2023, and a third at the 2024 Trail Verbier St Bernard 61k.
After doing a few ultras between 2013 and 2017, it seems that Maëlle Deruaz of France took a break, only to return to the sport in 2024 with a lot of fitness. Her first 100-mile race was the Trail du Saint-Jacques 100 Mile, which she promptly won. So far in 2025, she’s placed eighth at Chianti Ultra Trail 73k and second at the Maxi-Race Annecy 100k.
Kerry-Ann Marshall of South Africa appears to have only raced outside of her home country once, in 2015, when she did the 268-kilometer Transalpine Run stage race in Germany. Since then, she’s only been outside of the top three of ultras a handful of times. She placed first and second at the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile in 2024 and 2022, respectively. She raced the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k in 2023, 2021, 2018, and 2015 and placed sixth, fifth, second, and first, respectively.
Kerry-Ann Marshall takes second at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile. Photo: Neville Sharwood
This will be Nancy Jiang of New Zealand’s fifth visit to the UTMB Mont Blanc festival. She placed fifth and eighth at OCC in 2018 and 2019, and has completed both CCC and UTMB since then, so she knows the course and the area. Jiang won the Tarawera 100k in 2023 and placed fifth at the event earlier this year. She was 14th at the 2025 Western States 100 not long ago.
Lauren Puretz from the U.S. seems to have embraced longer distances after focusing on shorter mountain races earlier in her career. She had a string of good results in 2024, including a 13th at the Western States 100 and fifth at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships Long Trail. She’s consistent in her race schedule, having raced the Black Canyon 100k in 2025, 2024, and 2022, placing eighth, third, and seventh, respectively. She’s also repeated the Javelina 100 Mile, racing the event in 2024 and 2023, placing third and fourth.
Canadian Arden Young has twice raced CCC, placing 12th in 2024 and 10th in 2023. She’s no stranger to the 100-mile distance, having placed fourth at Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile in 2021 and 10th at the 2022 Javelina 100 Mile. More recently, she won the Puerto Vallarta México 95k at the end of 2024 and started off 2025 with a seventh-place finish at the Canyons 100k.
Arden Young at the 2023 Desert RATS 50k. Photo: Desert RATS by UTMB
Switzerland’s Mélanie Delasoie has twice finished UTMB, in 16th in 2022 and 24th in 2024, though it seems like perhaps she just hasn’t been able to put together the race that she’s capable of. Her 2025 thus far has seen her place third at the Tenerife Bluetrail 110k and sixth at the Mont Blanc 90k. Her 2024 was highlighted with a second place at the Endurance Trail des Templiers 100k and a sixth at MIUT.
Emma Stuart of Ireland had a strong Mont Blanc 90k in 2025, finishing 10th. She won the Tor de Géants as well as the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100 Mile in 2023 and placed third at Lavaredo. She failed to finish UTMB in 2024, but rebounded to win the Kullamannen 100 Mile three months later.
Emma Stuart takes a breather on the way to winning the 2023 Tor des Géants. Photo: Zzam! Agency/Anja Bakowska
Inês Marques of Portugal tends to race shorter distances, and it seems this will be her first attempt at 100 miles. She’s had some experience at the 100k distance though, placing 10th at CCC in 2019. In her two most recent 100-kilometer races, the Maxi-Race Annecy 100k in 2025 and Istria 100k in 2024, she placed third and second, respectively.
While it seems Emily Brunt has only left her home country of Australia to race once, a trip that resulted in a DNF at the 2023 UTMB, she has a host of strong results locally that point toward the potential for a fast run this year. In 2024, she placed third at the Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 Mile and fourth at the Ultra-Trail Australia 100k. She improved on the latter result with a third-place finish earlier this year.
Dominique Van Mechgelen of Belgium has strong results dating back to 2015. She’s a regular at Transgrancanaria, having placed second at the 65k event in 2019, third at the same event in 2021, and fifth and 10th in the 130k event in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, she was back with a 10th place at the 82k event, and she also collected a fifth place at MIUT this year.
Mariya Nikolova of Bulgaria failed to finish UTMB three times in 2019, 2022, and 2023 after finishing the event in 2017 and 2018 in ninth place. She had a strong 2024, with a win at the Rebel Trails Marathon 41k and Ultra-Trail Vitosha 100k, as well as an eighth at the Eiger Ultra Trail 100k. Thus far in 2025, she’s collected an eighth at Lavaredo 80k and a fourth at the Mozart 118k.
Still More Fast Women at the 2025 UTMB
- Britta Clark (U.S.) – 4th 2024 Lavaredo; 35th 2022 CCC; 2nd 2025 Québec Mega Trail 80k
- Enrica Dematteis (Italy) – 4th 2025 Tenerife Bluetrail 110k; 2nd 2024 Nice Côte d’Azur 100 Mile
- Rong-Hua Deng (China) – 1st 2025 & 2nd 2024 Mount Yun 100 Mile; 19th 2025 & 5th 2024 Hong Kong 100k; 1st 2022 Chongli 100 Mile
- Isabelle Dragon (France) – 15th 2021 TDS; 6th 2021 Mont Blanc 90k; 4th 2024 Nice Côte d’Azur 100 Mile
- Lindsey Dwyer (U.S.) – 2nd 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile; 4th 2024 & 5th 2023 Canyons 100 Mile; 37th 2024 UTMB
- Manon Gras (France) – 9th 2025 Lavaredo; 18th 2024 & 16th 2023 Les Templiers 80k; 8th 2023 Maxi-Race Annecy 90k; 4th 2023 Nice Côte d’Azur 115k
- Laura Hansen (U.S.) – 6th 2024 Canyons 100k; 5th 2023 Bear 100 Mile
- Elena Horton (U.S.) – 1st 2024 Canyons 100 Mile; 10th 2023 Bandera 100k; 6th 2022 Way Too Cool 50k
- Anna Li (China) – 3rd 2024 Chiangmai Thailand 100 Mile; 2nd 2024 & 3rd 2023 Ultra-Trail Ninghai; 34th 2023 CCC; 1st 2024 Mount Yun 100k
- Oana Mihalcea (Romania) – 3rd 2025 Eiger Ultra Trail 100k; 4th 2023 Endurance Trail des Templiers 100k
- Marisa Romeo (U.S.) – 10th 2024 Lavaredo; 1st 2022 Hellbender 100 Mile
- Michaela Wolf (Germany) – 3rd 2024 Lavaredo; 8th 2024 Mozart 40k
- Katie Wright (New Zealand) – 5th 2025, 3rd 2023, 1st 2021, & 2nd 2019 Tarawera 100 Mile; 5th 2024 Tarawera 100k; 18th 2023 UTMB
- Susanne Zahlauer (Germany) – 2nd 2024 Julian Alps Trail Run 120k; 12th 2024 Lavaredo Ultra Trail 80k; 19th 2023 CCC; 5th 2023 Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 60k
Lindsey Dwyer runs to second place in the 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Women Previously Entered but No Longer Racing the 2025 UTMB
- Marianne Hogan (Canada) – 3rd 2024 & 2nd 2023 UTMB; 3rd 2025 & 2022 Western States 100; 1st 2024 Swiss Canyon Trail 114k; 2nd 2025 Canyons 100k
- Ida Nilsson (Sweden) – 4th 2025, 6th 2024, & 7th 2023 Western States 100; 1st 2025 Transgrancanaria 80k; 1st 2023 Canyons 100k
- Sabrina Stanley (U.S.) – 7th 2024 & 9th 2023 UTMB; 1st 2021 & 2018 Hardrock 100; 1st 2024 Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 Mile
Call for Comments
- Who do you think is going to be on the podium this year?
- What other top women are there that we have missed?
