Zimbabwean Emily Hawgood is back at the 2025 UTMB, her fourth start of UTMB and fifth time at the UTMB Mont Blanc festival. In the following interview, Emily debriefs the highs and lows of her top-10 finish at the Western States 100 two months ago, how her transition to doubling back at UTMB has been, and what keeps bringing her back to the big loop around Mont Blanc.
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.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Emily Hawgood Pre-2025 UTMB Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Eszter Horanyi of iRunFar here with Emily Hawgood a few days before the 2025 UTMB. How are you?
Emily Hawgood: I’m doing so good.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hawgood: It’s good to see you guys over here.
iRunFar: Back in France.
Hawgood: Back in France.
iRunFar: So last time we saw you was Western States about 8.5 weeks ago.
Hawgood: Yep.
iRunFar: How did that race go for you?
Hawgood: Yeah, it was kind of a wild run. I started at the start and got about 20 … [laughs]
iRunFar: That’s generally where we start races.
Hawgood: [laughs] I love that Meghan [Hicks] (behind the camera) is dying laughing. Do you want me to change it?
So right from the start line, about 30 steps in, I realized something was just a little off. I couldn’t really climb really long, but I was like, okay, don’t stress. We’ll figure it out. That’s okay. Maybe it’s just early. I don’t know if it’s cold or something. I was kind of thinking, but not letting myself dive too deep too early. I was like, we’ve got this climb. This is a freebie climb. We’ll figure it out.
Got up to the Escarpment. Not in a bad spot or anything. Climbed over and opened up, and immediately started cramping. I was like, dang it, it’s my electrolytes. And so I’d started already behind, and I knew that right off the bat. I was like — and this is my proudest moment — I had everything I needed to figure it out. The hardest thing was that I’d just been racing for 30 miles, trying to fix a problem I’d started with. So I had everything I needed.
I actually ended up falling about a mile before Duncan Canyon. And my friend Ricki Wynne was with me, from Ireland. And I fell in front of him, and immediately my legs went out, complete cramp throughout. And luckily, he was there. He pulled me up, and then we kept running in. I ran into Duncan Canyon. Paul [Lind] was in the aid station. He’s like, What’s going on? Not like worried or anything. Just like, honestly, just asking. And I was like, cramp.
And I grabbed a bottle. I had a whole LMNT. I just chugged the whole thing. Got it down. Grabbed obviously more salt tabs. And so then was eating them all the way to Robinson Flat. Felt pretty good by the time I got to Robinson, which is nice. And then grabbed some more salt tabs. Was eating them on the way out the aid station. I already had them in my pack. So we were already like, organized. It wasn’t like a scary thing. So it was nice because then my crew didn’t like, panic or anything. Had it in my pack and rolled. And by the time I got Dusty, was feeling great.
Paul had these other salt tabs that I haven’t been able to use, the chewable ones. And he’s like, Here, you should just take some more. And immediately I was like, No, I don’t want to take those. Because I know they mess up my stomach. I didn’t give him the information. I just said no. He was confused. He’s like, Why does she want to dig in her pack to get some. But I was glad he was there to give me that reminder. Like, even though you’re feeling better, stay, maybe stay a little bit ahead of it right now. And so I did.
Left the aid station, was eating what I had in my pack, and kind of was picking up speed. And, yeah, it felt good. But already, the girls were ahead of me. Already had a little bit of a gap. So I was in no-man’s land for a little bit of time, which is just a little tougher spot to be in. But I was really happy. Like when Ricki joined me over the Escarpment, I think it helped me settle in, in my head. Like, This is one of my friends I’m sharing miles with a friend on the Western States Trail. Like, really got to feel the magic. Because I think it was easy at first to panic a bit, without even realizing it. And then I kind of left him a few miles before Dusty Corners. And the reason why I’m laughing is because he and Fiona [Pascall] behind me got attacked by a bear.
iRunFar: So it was probably good that you left him.
Hawgood: It was probably good that I left him behind. [laughs] And then, yeah, got through Dusty. Got through Last Chance and got the info I was in 10th at Last Chance, I think. And then got down to Swinging Bridge, and the guy there was like, They’re three minutes ahead of you. I was like, Perfect. And I climbed. And then I climbed up to Devil’s Thumb. And Topher [Gaylord] was there. And I asked him. I think he just told me right away, he said 20 minutes. And I didn’t think that he was talking about Abby [Hall] being 20 minutes away. Not the next person. So I suddenly freaked. I’m like, Wait, they gained 18 minutes on me, 17 minutes on me just on this climb?
iRunFar: Bad beta.
Hawgood: Yeah, but then I settled in. I was like, No, no, that can’t be right, so still kept on cruising and then passed Heather Jackson coming down to El Dorado Creek. And I passed her and I actually burst into tears. Because I was like, Finally, I have a buffer. So I was in ninth. And I don’t think I’d realized how much I’d maybe been stressing about it, how much the race means to me, States, and getting the opportunity to come back.
iRunFar: So by this time, was it just more you were fighting for that top 10 place to come back next year? Or were you still full-on?
Hawgood: No, yeah. And that was cool. Because, later on, too, when I was climbing up from the river, I had a moment where I was like, Oh, I really hope when I get to Paul at Green Gate, he’s not going to say to me like, “Okay, this is what we got to do to stay in 10th.” I was still in ninth at that point. I was like, I really hope he’s telling me who’s ahead of me. But I was nervous because he could, you know, you could switch to that goal. And it was super nice because I came in and straight away he was like, Okay, there’s a girl. I think Caitlin [Fielder] was ahead of me. Like, four minutes. And then there was another girl four minutes ahead of her. And he straight away was like, Just focus on that next four minutes, and keep climbing and focus on trying to get on the podium.
And that was just a really big relief, that we built that relationship, that we know what keeps you in the game and not just in a safety net. Yeah. So then I just raced as hard as I could.
But definitely by the time I got to Pointed Rocks, I know I burnt matches early on, I could feel in my legs. And so Keely [Henninger] screams by me just after Pointed Rocks. And I had info that Erin [Clark] was 40 minutes behind me at Green Gate. But Keely came past, and her pacer had convinced her that there was someone two minutes back. So she comes by and she’s like, “We got to go, Em. We got to go. There’s someone right behind us.” And I was like, Oh, like I’m moving as fast as I can. So then the whole time I’m like, “Cody [Lind], text your dad. And make sure that there’s no one right there. And Paul ran down to Robie Point. And every five seconds I’d be like, Are you sure there’s no one? Like, just double-check the tracking. And then I’d be like, there’s a headlamp. Are you sure it’s not a girl? Because I’ve had this happen before, where the tracking screws up and I don’t know what’s going on.
But that ended up being the most special race of my career so far. I had Paul and my crew run in the last mile with me, came onto the track. And the rest of the Lind family was there. And they had Paul’s dad’s ashes and his urn there. And I got to run on the track, and I picked it up and kissed it and put it down, and then ran the loop. And my dad was right by the finish line. So I got to run back and give him a hug and then cross. And it was the most special one, as much as it was chaotic in my mind to start. And without realizing, I think it really showed, even to me, how much the race means to me, and getting to be a part of it. And the fact of not having to go chase a Golden Ticket and all these little things that I’ve really treasured for so long.
iRunFar: So it sets you up for next year.
Hawgood: Exactly.
iRunFar: So this is your fourth time doing the Western States/UTMB double. Is that right?
Hawgood: Yes.
iRunFar: Your fifth consecutive year at UTMB.
Hawgood: Yeah, I did CCC one year.
iRunFar: Yeah, CCC, you got second in 2023?
Hawgood: 2023. Yeah.
iRunFar: What’s so appealing about the double?
Hawgood: Yeah, what’s so appealing? So, the first year I’d planned to race UTMB was 2020. And then COVID hit and the 2020 edition got canceled. And I ended up running, being able to run IMTUF up in Idaho, which is early September. So it was kind of exciting because, you don’t really want to do a 100 that quick after. So it’s nice I got to do that as my first one. So then I was just really excited. I had gotten to States and I still had UTMB on my list. And so, yeah, I really wanted to do it. So I kind of had that opportunity. And now it’s just really built into my training plan right now. Everything I build up to for States, the whole training load really plays into my UTMB block.
iRunFar: Do you do specific UTMB training in the spring? Like in your build to Western, is it knowing that you’re going to do the UTMB? Do you do anything different knowing you’re going to do UTMB versus if you were just going to do Western?
Hawgood: Yeah. When I think about it, specifically if we stay with my plan, do we write it down, no, but I don’t shy away from going shed hunting and spending hours on my feet with my poles or things like that. And maybe that has kind of subconsciously given me the freedom to not be worried about maybe moving a little slower at times in my Western block.
iRunFar: This is also a reasonably fast course, as far as a 100 goes. How does the training for the two compare? What do you shift once you’re done with Western? How does your training change to prepare for this?
Hawgood: Yeah. My biggest thing is I just get to go play in the mountains. So, obviously, I actually saw you guys earlier than States. I saw you at Hardrock. And so getting that time to go out and just move in the mountains and really get used to carrying a pack, and running with poles, and those sorts of things. And then coming out here, you get a lot more vert, it just happens. Those are the specific things that change.
iRunFar: So you’ve had a general upward progression with UTMB since you started in 2021. You’ve cut, I think, 3.5 hours off your time. That seems about right?
Hawgood: Yeah. I think you’re right.
iRunFar: What have you changed in your training between then and now? Because 3.5 hours is a lot of time.
Hawgood: Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest thing that plays into that is the experience for sure. Just being able to do things a little more efficiently and knowing maybe where I can make up a little time. Yeah. What else? Nothing too crazy. Just building from where I’ve been before and fixing little things. Like maybe things the first year I felt like were weaknesses, I’ve worked on them a little bit over the years. So, climbing, I just hadn’t had that much experience, when I raced for the first time in 2021, with big mountains. So having four more years of experience of playing in the mountains and climbing peaks, and pacing a Hardrock, you get some muscle memory and things like that.
iRunFar: So last year, I feel like the middle of the top 10 women. So you ended up fifth …
Hawgood: Sixth.
iRunFar: Sixth. I feel like that middle of the top 10 was a really competitive close race. You were all within a few minutes of each other, it felt like for most of it.
Hawgood: Yeah.
iRunFar: Did you, when you finished, did you look back on that and say, I can fix this, this, and this to like be even faster? What lessons did you get from having the foot on the gas the whole way last year, because you had to?
Hawgood: Yeah. Right. Yeah. And I don’t think this year is going to be anything different.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hawgood: Which is kind of nice going in maybe. [laughs] But I think there were different things. There was one moment on an uphill, I kind of raced Fu-Zhao [Xiang] maybe a little harder earlier in the race than I wanted, I would want to now. So maybe if I was approached with that situation again, I’d be like, Okay, well, where is it in the race? Like, should I push too hard right now?
Coming into Courmayeur, I felt really strong, which was nice, but different. You come in and within three minutes, there were five of us in there, five girls. Like, Whoa, okay, here we go.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hawgood: Yeah. I’m trying to think if there’s anything else. I mean, it was such a unique year with the weather, too. So there were definitely things if it was going to be a hot year this year, taking into account that and what I would change this year if it was hot. Even having an ice bandana, random things like that. Potentially, it would help me run faster.
iRunFar: Given that it looks like it’s going to rain for most of it, are you happy about that? Are you worried about that? Are you, “it is what it is” about it?
Hawgood: Yeah, I think I’m, is what it is. Yeah. I think it’s kind of cool to be that way, too. Like I’ve experienced snow and super hot, too, on this course, so I can figure it out.
iRunFar: So what defines success for you this weekend?
Hawgood: Oh, yeah. I like that question. I mean, goal number one is to finish. I love this loop. I love the opportunity. Everyone’s trained as hard as each other. Getting the opportunity to be out there and just give my best shot and hopefully get to the finish line will be a huge success. Obviously, having the goal of keeping that top 10 streak going a little bit would be great. And then, I mean, I was just saying down there at another interview, breaking that onto that top five step would be amazing, too. That’s definitely my goal. If I could be up there, that’d be great. And then just climbing as high as I can. Hopefully bring my best toolbox and put it all out there and see where it takes me.
iRunFar: Well, best of luck.
Hawgood: Thank you.
iRunFar: And we’ll see you out there this weekend.
Hawgood: Thank you.
