‘I’m motivated by the puzzle’: how Courtney Dauwalter became ultrarunning’s GOAT

Courtney Dauwalter pictured after a race. Photograph: Andy Cochrane

In 2023, Courtney Dauwalter became the first person, male or female, to win the Triple Crown, the three most iconic 100-mile races in the world, in a single season.

Ultrarunning, with races ranging from 50km to 250 miles, is defined by type-A personalities: meticulous, rigid, detail-oriented, even obsessed. Courtney Dauwalter, 38, is the exception to the rule.