Three-time winner and former course-record holder Courtney Dauwalter of the U.S. returns to the 2025 UTMB with fresh legs and motivation. In the following interview, Courtney talks about why she wanted to return to UTMB after her 2023 win, her goals for the race, what a year of less racing and more uninterrupted training has looked like, and what happens to two Minnesotans when they talk on a camera together.
For more on who’s racing, check out our in-depth women’s and men’s previews and follow our live race coverage starting Friday.
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Courtney Dauwalter Pre-2025 UTMB Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Courtney Dauwalter. It’s a couple of days before the 2025 UTMB. Courtney, hi.
Courtney Dauwalter: Hi. How are you?
iRunFar: Good. How are you doing?
Dauwalter: Good.
iRunFar: I haven’t seen you in a little bit.
Dauwalter: Too long.
iRunFar: Yeah. The last time iRunFar saw you officially was at Hardrock 2024, where you won, set a course record, did the Courtney things.
Dauwalter: We need to make this more regular.
iRunFar: I know. I feel very sad that it’s been this long, but really, no. How are you?
Dauwalter: We’re great. Yeah. It’s awesome to be back here in Chamonix. Mont Blanc is looking fabulous.
iRunFar: Looking so good right now.
Dauwalter: Yeah, and very excited for a big adventure.
iRunFar: Yeah. You are a three-time champion of UTMB. You’re a prior course-record holder. You have done all the things at this race, but it draws you back. I want to know, when you think of UTMB and you think of Friday and Saturday, what’s the thing that’s at the top of your mind about this experience?
Dauwalter: I want to make a full loop and have all of the experiences of a 100 miles. I want the night section. I want the really tough miles. I want to make it hurt really bad, and I’m really excited to share it with some crew that’s going to be here, some friends and family. Yeah, just make great memories together.
iRunFar: Since you were last at this race in 2023, so much has happened. You went to a bunch of continents to race. You raced around America, you tried 200 miles again. You ran Lavaredo. I feel like it’s been a chapter and a half in the Courtney Dauwalter book of running. Do you feel like kind of a different person, or is it like, ooh, things are kind of the same?
Dauwalter: Ooh, a little Minnesota.
iRunFar: So Minnesotan.
Dauwalter: Squeaks out.
iRunFar: That’s for all of you guys.
Dauwalter: I love it.
iRunFar: You can’t help it, you like hang out with Minnesotans, and it just happens.
Dauwalter: It’s true.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Dauwalter: I mean, I feel the same. I think this sport is so special, because exploring new places with your feet, getting out on the trails in somewhere you’ve never been, not knowing what the view will be on a summit or around the corner is, yeah, it’s one of my favorite parts of it. So we’ve definitely tried to always keep the schedule with some variety in it and see new places, try new things, try new distances. So it’s all the same, but I’ve gathered a lot of memories for the memory bank, for sure.
iRunFar: One thing that I think is really different from your 2023 UTMB is you came here as race three in a pretty monumental triple of running Western States, Hardrock, and UTMB all in one summer. You’re fresh this time.
Dauwalter: Yeah. I definitely knew when I finished in 2023 that I needed to come back at some point in my career again to just try to write a different memory of the loop, because my loop in 2023 was really, really difficult. And there was just a lot of suffering, not very many high moments out there, and I wanted the taste in my mouth to be a little bit sweeter again.
iRunFar: It was funny pulling up your pictures from 2023 at the finish line because the look on your face is like, “I’m so glad I’m here. I made it.”
Dauwalter: Yeah, because it was really touch-and-go. Even until the moment I crossed the line, I wasn’t sure. I think 50 meters away, I tripped and almost just face-planted, and that would’ve been it.
iRunFar: “This is my final resting place. Thank you for this day. I had a great time.”
Dauwalter: Now there’s a little plaque there.
iRunFar: Courtney Dauwalter’s final resting place.
Dauwalter: Yeah. Yeah, I was really thankful to finish it that year, and I’m hoping to make that loop again this year. Get to that finish line again, but maybe feel like I can run it a little more smoothly with a little more intention behind each step, besides just hoping I stay upright.
iRunFar: I love it. A little bit of intention. I thought one of the coolest things about the 2023 race was Forclaz for Courtney, the big party that was held for you and to celebrate runners in general up at Col de la Forclaz.
I mean, I think I hear there’s going to be a party of sorts at Vallorcine this year, but what I’m getting at with commenting on that is there’s the ups and downs with UTMB in a race as big and hyperbolic as this one, but that’s one of the really cool parts about it is people celebrating runners and just having a fun party out there.
Dauwalter: A hundred percent. It was so special to get to Col de la Forclaz last time in 2023, and beyond anything I could have imagined it would be. I’ve never seen so many people cheering at a trail race, especially in a very random spot. So that was a memory. I’ll never forget that, and I’m really looking forward to hopefully arriving in Vallorcine to experience the party they’re throwing there this year.
iRunFar: I love how you temper it, “Hopefully, I get there.”
Dauwalter: You never know, 100 miles is 100 miles, and the things that can happen out there are impossible to predict in a lot of ways. But yeah, that will be a driving force as I zero in on Vallorcine, hopefully, just thinking of the energy that will be there and then hoping to get that springboard energy out of there from the people so that maybe that last climb can be a little better.
iRunFar: Yeah. You can think of that as maybe after Champex-Lac or something like that, just be thinking of just get to Vallorcine. And then once you’re at Vallorcine, it’s like, well, you’re basically …
Dauwalter: Rocket boosters.
iRunFar: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. They’re positioning that well, I think.
Dauwalter: Yeah, it will be really cool, and I’m always thankful for anyone out giving up their time, their day to give a high five or cheer runners along. It helps so much to get those boosts along the course.
iRunFar: That was so Minnesotan of you, FYI.
Dauwalter: You’re saying something nice.
iRunFar: Every single person is just so wonderful.
Dauwalter: But really, that’s one of the cool parts of this race in particular is there is that good energy out on course. People are cheering for all the runners coming through, and there’s just generally good vibes pushing you forward.
iRunFar: Totally. Your schedule in 2025, your racing schedule, has looked a lot different. Normally, when you look at the Courtney Dauwalter results list, it’s like, “Bam-bam-bam-bam.” But this year, things are a little bit more controlled, I don’t know the right word for it. Is this with intention, this year to be racing less and more intentionally?
Dauwalter: Kind of, yeah. We definitely like to mix it up. I like to make a new schedule each year, try different things, see what happens. And I think this winter and spring, we were trying out some shorter things so that maybe we didn’t have to taper and then recover after big efforts. It was like, “Let’s just incorporate a few short races into a giant training block for Cocodona and see how that works out.” I don’t know if that works or not, because I didn’t finish Cocodona, but …
iRunFar: You ran a hell of a good 100 miles or so.
Dauwalter: Yeah, the Cocodona 100 is an amazing course.
iRunFar: I’d try to see it again and then the other 100 someday.
Dauwalter: And then Lavaredo has been on our bucket list for years now, and it worked out perfectly this year to go check out this place and this course that I’ve heard so many great things about. So we knew we wanted to get that one in the mix as well.
iRunFar: And have you been doing a mix of training at home at high altitude in Colorado and then mixing that in with some more verty Alp type stuff here in Europe? Or how has post-Cocodona looked for your build?
Dauwalter: Yeah, a lot of time spent in Leadville, which is fortunate because it’s beautiful and has a lot of options, but we were over in Europe for a little bit. We explored some areas outside Innsbruck. Kevin and I, and he did a race over there, so it was good to get on some Euro vert, for sure. It’s a little bit different. A little more straight to the point.
iRunFar: Yep. We don’t faff around with switchbacks.
Dauwalter: So, yeah, I think a good mix, but a lot of time at home.
iRunFar: Okay, cool. Wishing you best of luck on this loop around Mont Blanc.
Dauwalter: Thank you.
