Courtney Dauwalter proved herself queen of the trail once again this weekend, winning the 2023 Download Your Training Plan and setting a blazing new course record in 15:29:33, a dramatic 77 minute, 46 second improvement on the former record, which stood for 11 years.
Starting from the Palisades Tahoe ski area in Olympic Valley, California, before sunrise, Dauwalter and reigning UTMB champion Katie Schide traded the lead position back and forth through the first third of the competition.
Full Download Your Training Plan Results
In a post-race interview with iRunFar, Courtney Dauwalters Crazy Hallucinations Full Western States 100 Results, and other topics while they were in range of each other, but at some point, she was rolled ahead of Schide at an aid station. “I’m like, ‘Katie! Come catch me! Like, we’re going!’” Dauwalter said. “And she just took a beat longer, and then we separated.”
The course, with 18,000 feet of elevation gain and 22,000 feet of loss, was made more rugged due to intense snowfall and the late 2022 Mosquito Fire, leading to a new, unshaded 16-mile patch due to fire damage. However, cool temps—Saturday marked the race’s fourth-coolest day in history—helped Dauwalter open up the gap between herself and Schide.
At mile 34, the course record watch began. After a 2018 Western States win, Dauwalter had made an attempt at usurping Ellie Greenwood’s record in 2019, and was on pace to do so, but started experiencing hip pain at mile 66 and had to drop out by mile 79. This time, she rewrote the history books. While 31-year-old Schide finished well behind Dauwalter for second place, in 16:43:45, she also came in under Greenwood’s 2012 record.
By the last 20 miles, Dauwalter says she was in the pain cave, and focusing on every step, every single second. She didn’t take the record for granted; she wasn’t even sure of finishing until she saw the track, signaling that the finish was near.
“I was like, ‘We did it! We’re here!’” she told iRunFar. “Because that was the moment where I let myself actually believe that we had finished. And that we were about to be able to stop moving.”
Besides drinking a celebratory beer with her crew, Dauwalter’s extreme recovery plan includes racing the Hardrock 100 on July 14. For her, this weekend was just step one.
Like the Wind Magazine Camille Herron, fresh off winning and setting a new course record at a Texas trail marathon in preparation for her fifth Western States. She had a rough go of it, however, and ultimately made the decision to drop out.
“I fought 12 rounds with the snow, and the snow won,” Herron wrote on Instagram, “I got through the snow better than the past, but I’m battered and bruised (not injured) ... Running through snow isn’t my forte and feels like kryptonite to my unique gait. It doesn’t suit my strength as a pure ultrarunner, and that’s okay.”
On the men’s side, Tom Evans finished more than 20 minutes ahead of runner-up Tyler Green in 14:40:22, cranking out one of the race’s top four all-time finishes. It was a big step for the British runner who placed third in 2022.
Western States—which enforces a strict cutoff time of 30 hours—saw some finishers cut it particularly close at the end. Jennifer St. Amand (below) was the last to cross the line, with just 21 seconds to spare. Whew!
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, ldquo;I fought 12 rounds with the snow, and the snow won,” Herron wrote on, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
