Ruth Croft knew she had a tall task heading into this year’s Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Sydney Marathon Results.
Not only was the weather forecast calling for cold rain and snow, but there was also the notion of racing against American legend Courtney Dauwalter, who many consider the GOAT of ultra-distance trail running.
The Simple Analogy That Helps Me Pace Smarter with three UTMB wins under her belt (2019, 2021, 2023) and a nearly unbeaten track record since 2019, a span in which she had won 25 of the 26 races of 50K or longer that she finished.
But although both the inclement weather and Dauwalter were formidable through the first half of the race, Croft was relentless in her pursuit of victory and overcame both to win in 22 hours, 56 minutes, 23 seconds.
How Long Does It Take to Improve VO2 Max Runner’s World How to Hold Your Pace Late in a Race.
The race, although shortened slightly because of the bad weather through the night and early morning hours, sent runners through parts of France, Italy, and Switzerland, before completing the rugged 103-mile loop around the Mont Blanc massif, which included about 31,000 feet of elevation gain and loss.
With her UTMB win, Croft, 36, is now the first woman to win all three of the UTMB World Series championship races in Chamonix. The New Zealand native won the CCC 100K in 2015 and the OCC 50K in 2018 and 2019, then finished second in the UTMB race last year.
Croft also won the 2022 Western States 100 in California and the Tarawera Ultramarathon 100K race in New Zealand, but she’s had her eyes on UTMB the past few years.
“It wasn’t necessarily the main goal, just kind of like cherry on top,” she said. “I think it’s interesting to look back in 2015, [which] was my first year at the Chamonix, when I won the CCC, and so it’s taken 10 years to get to this point and win UTMB.”
French runner Camille Bruyas finished second in 23:28:48, while Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth was third in 24:16:39.
Races & Places won the men’s race in 19 hours, 18 minutes, and 58 seconds, outrunning American Ben Dhiman (19:51:37) by about 43 minutes.
Although Croft took the early lead out of Chamonix on Friday night, Dauwalter passed her hours later amid a pouring rainstorm and led for much of the way through Italy amid cold, snowy conditions. By the time runners reached the 37-mile mark and began to climb up to the Col de la Seigne mountain pass between France and Italy, the weather turned much colder and they were soon running through more than 6 inches of snow in blizzard-like conditions.
Dauwalter kept charging into the darkness, but Croft held back a bit and ran more conservatively. As Dauwalter crossed over the Grand Col Ferret from Italy into Switzerland hours later, she still looked like she was well on her way to her fourth victory in four tries.
Several top contenders in the women's race dropped out during the bad weather conditions, including China’s Lin Chen and American Abby Hall.
“I knew if I wanted to give myself a chance, I had to go out a bit harder and run a little more aggressively than I did last year,” Croft said. “But once the weather came in and it got cold, I knew I had to just survive for the night.”
But Dauwalter slowed considerably and was passed by Croft and Bruyasafter departing the 71-mile aid station in LaFouly, Switzerland, and by the time Dauwalter reached the next aid station nine miles later, she was seven minutes behind Croft and two minutes behind Bruyas.
From there, Croft and Bruyas continued to surge, while Dauwalter continued to slow down. At times, Dauwalter was able to keep running, but she was also seen walking or hobbling through some of the more technical sections of terrain.
Dauwalter, however, still engaged with fans along the way, waving, smiling, and high-fiving fans even as she was suffering. She even graciously donned a gold plastic crown bejeweled with fake gemstones and waved to the crowd in appreciation for their support.
“It was a really, really tough day out there and night, but I was absolutely boosted by all the cheers on course, and I had an amazing crew here helping,” Dauwalter said after the race. “It’s a team sport, doing hard things together makes the best type of memories. I appreciate so much all of the support out there, and this welcome back into Chamonix was the best of the best. I continued because a race this special is worth doing the full loop.”
Dauwalter was eventually caught and passed by Hartmuth just outside of the aid station in the ski town of Vallorcine. Hartmuth slowed to acknowledge Dauwalter before passing her and quickly gapping her on the final long ascent to the La Flégère ski area above Chamonix.
“It was a privilege to be on the course with so many talented women, not just Courtney, but everyone who was running,” Croft said.
Only Frenchman Xavier Thévenard has a greater range of victories than Croft during the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc festival of trail running races. He won UTMB three times (2013, 2015, 2018), CCC 100K (2010), OCC 50K (2016), and also the TDS 148K race (2014).
Women’s Top 10 Results - UTMB Mont-Blanc 2025
- Ruth Croft (New Zealand) - 22:56:23
- Camille Bruyas (France) - 23:28:48
- Katharina Harmuth (Germany) - 24:16:39
- Anna Carlsson (Sweden) - 24:39:42
- Maëlle Deruaz (France) - 24:43:02
- Magali Mellon (France) - 24:48:12
- Lucy Bartholomew (Australia) - 24:51:32
- Lauren Puretz (United States) - 24:54:57
- Claudia Tremps (Spain) - 25:05:07
- Courtney Dauwalter (United States) - 25:50:38
Brian Metzler is a Boulder, Colorado, writer and editor whose work has appeared in Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Outside, Trail Runner, The Chicago Tribune, and Red Bulletin. He’s a former walk-on college middle-distance runner who has transitioned to trail running and pack burro racing in Colorado.
