Ultra-trail queen Courtney Dauwalter clocks 2:49 at Minneapolis’ Twin Cities Marathon
© Ryan Photography / Cernohous ShotsShe has conquered the biggest mountains in trail running, the world’s most unforgiving deserts and trails. Yet on an autumn morning, Courtney Dauwalter chose the tarmac for a new challenge. On October 5, the undisputed queen of ultra-trail swapped Colorado’s rocky paths for the roads of the Twin Cities Marathon, held between Minneapolis and Saint Paul in her home state of Minnesota. It was her first real appearance in the marathon world as a professional. Racing in difficult conditions, the American finished in 2:49:54, taking an impressive seventh place in the women’s field.
From the mountains to the roads: curiosity over calculation
No finely tuned training plan, no target time, no coach by her side. Just the desire to find out “what it feels like.” “ I had no idea how it was going to go, but that’s exactly what drew me to it ,” she said before the race.
The result: 2:49:54, seventh woman overall and 64th in the full field, in brutal heat and wind. For an athlete who normally spends 30 hours in the mountains, it is a time that commands respect. But more than the performance itself, it is her attitude that stands out: no grand narrative, no marketing machine. Just a champion wanting to “feel like a rookie” again.
An immense résumé and limitless resilience
Before looking at her race in detail, it is worth remembering who Courtney Dauwalter is. She is an endurance-sports legend and the undisputed GOAT of trail running. A three-time Hardrock 100 winner, a two-time Western States champion and a three-time UTMB winner, including the legendary 2023 trilogy of Western States, Hardrock and UTMB in the same year. No one had ever done it before.
Over the ultra distances, she has redefined the physical and mental limits of what is possible. At 40, she still finishes in the overall top 10 alongside the best men, always wearing the same smile and the baggy shorts that have become iconic. A star without the glitter, fueled by jelly beans, nachos and lager, who talks about the “pain cave” as if it were a playground. She spent plenty of time in that pain cave during her most recent UTMB a few weeks ago. Her body said stop halfway through, but thankfully her steely mind carried her to the finish. For her, quitting has never been an option.
A return to her roots
Born in Hopkins, Minnesota, the American athlete grew up just a few miles from the Twin Cities Marathon course. The race clearly felt like a homecoming. She had already run her first marathon there in 2009, finishing in 3:18, then returned for a second in 2012 with her brothers, “for fun.”
Thirteen years later, she was back on the same roads with the same mindset: curiosity and enjoyment. But with considerably more experience… and cardio. “After spending the summer in the mountains, it was the perfect time for a change of scenery,” she wrote on Instagram after the race. “ Testing my legs on the roads was fun. And hard. But mostly fun.”
A perfectly controlled race, with her style unchanged
Courtney Dauwalter arrived at the start line true to herself: long shorts, an orange T-shirt and a smile permanently fixed on her face. On her feet was a pair of all-white Salomons, a mysterious prototype from the French brand that set sneaker geeks on social media alight.
But there was no mystery on the road: she managed her race like a metronome. She reached halfway in 1:24:09, holding a steady 3:59/km pace, then gave up a few seconds in the second half because of the very hilly course and a headwind. At the finish, a 2:49:54 and a grimace turning into a smile: “That was so fun.”
Jane Bareikis won the race in 2:32:52, ahead of Megan O’Neil in 2:36:43 and Allie Kieffer in 2:38:44. In the men’s race, Will Norris took the win in 2:15:39. Tesfu Tewelde in 2:16:04 and Benard Kipkemoi Rotich in 2:17:35 completed the podium.
Breaking down the barriers between trail and road
Watching the GOAT of trail running take on the roads is bound to inspire runners everywhere. Her appearance at the Twin Cities Marathon tells a sincere, authentic story: the lines between trail, ultra and road running are fading.
She shows that an ultrarunner can have fun over the classic distance, that performance is not always about podiums, and that curiosity can be as powerful a driver as ambition. In short, she reminds us that sport, and running in particular, remains a space for experimentation and exploration, where we can discover just how far we are capable of going.
Like her, other professional trail runners have taken on the roads, whether to work on their speed or simply to try something new. Mathieu Blanchard, who ran 2:22 in Paris in 2023, Jim Walmsley in 2:15 and Tom Evans all come to mind. The most recent UTMB winner also has world-class flat-racing credentials: 13:41 for 5 km, 29:44 for 10 km and 1:03:14 for the half marathon.
Courtney Dauwalter has not announced another marathon attempt. But with her, one thing is certain: it is never over. Every race is an adventure, every bout of pain a game, every finish line a new starting point. And while her 2:49 is nowhere near a world record, it perfectly captures the spirit of the trail queen: joy before performance, curiosity before victory.