Courtney Dauwalter & François D'Haene Write UTMB® History

A year after a global pandemic cancelled the 2020 version of the most famous ultra-marathon in the world, Courtney Dauwalter (USA) and Francois D’haene (France) returned to Chamonix and served up a double dose of victory at UTMB® for Team Salomon.

With throngs of spectators lining the start, the finish, and much of the 171 kms (100 miles) in between, the sport’s two titans delivered again on the sport’s biggest stage. For Dauwalter, it was her second consecutive win at UTMB®, while D’haene became the first four-time winner in the history of the men's race. The race—which begins and ends in the famed mountain village of Chamonix and passes through Italy and Switzerland—includes more than 10,000 meters of vertical gain (32,808 feet) and rises to 2,500 meters of elevation.

COURTNEY BREAKS COURSE RECORD

UTMB® represented a second chance at glory in 2021 for Dauwalter who, like D’haene, competed at the Hardrock 100 and UTMB® less than two months apart. She was forced to retire from the Hardrock 100 with severe stomach issues but came to Chamonix determined to learn from that experience, and it seemed she did, finishing in 22:30:54 to win by nearly 40 minutes over fellow Salomon athlete Camille Bruyas (France). In winning, Dauwalter broke the 2013 UTMB® course record of Rory Bosio by more than six minutes.

“The fire was still lit from Hardrock, but I didn’t burn any matches because I didn’t finish,” Dauwalter said. “But I was still really fired up to run 100 miles and physically I was fresh and ready for this race…but I still want to try the double in the future.”

From the start, Dauwalter went to the front and kept the lead all night, and all day on Saturday to win the race for the second consecutive time, though that wasn’t necessarily the plan. Sweden’s Mimmi Kotka gave chase and was just a few minutes behind much of the night. She would finish 3rd.

"I saw Mimmi at the aid stations, and she is a better downhiller so I was hoping she would catch up and we might share some miles,” Dauwalter said. “But I love this community and there were so many people all along the course.”

Camille Bruyas ran a consistent race to finish 2nd, settling in after a fast start. She passed Kotka in Vallorcine, just before the last climb for her biggest career achievement to date.

D’HAENE COMPLETES HARDROCK / UTMB® DOUBLE

D’haene won in 20 hours, 45 minutes and 59 seconds, topping 2nd place finisher Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz (France) by more than 12 minutes. Salomon athlete Mathieu Blanchard (France) ran a strategically perfect race to finish 3rd in 21:12:43. D’haene also won the race in 2012, 2014 and 2017. Perhaps more impressively, the UTMB® victory capped off a remarkable season in which he became the first person to win the two most difficult 100-mile races just six weeks apart. He won the Hardrock 100 in Colorado in record time in July.

"I never expected to win both races, but it was a special year,” D’haene said. “For me, the challenge was to do these two big races in the same year, and I think maybe in the Hardrock I went a little too hard because today I had leg muscle pain like I’ve never felt. It’s hard to say I have pain because I won, but in the descent, I was not great.”

D’haene and Jim Walmsley (USA) planned to run together at least to Courmayeur, Italy, and both would pay for their early pace later in the race, with Walmsley dropping out and D’haene battling those persistent leg pains most of the way back to Chamonix.

“Maybe Jim and I went a little too fast because we paid the price together,” D’haene said. “I was really happy to play a bit with Jim because I know he put a lot into it and I was expecting to spend the night with him and I figured he would crush it. After Champex, I was feeling better and better, but from Courmayeur to La Fouly it was a nightmare. Even in the ascent, I had leg pain. In Courmayeur, you think we have 80kms still to go…wow, that’s far. But the weather was perfect and there were so many people on the course yelling my name. And it was great to see my kids on the course and see how excited they were. That really gave me a me a boost of energy.”

Running in his second UTMB®, Mathieu Blanchard was hoping to crack the top-20. Instead, he finished on the podium in third, a huge improvement from his 13th place in 2018. A former road marathoner, he consulted with Salomon Team Manager Greg Vollet to form a patient strategy, and it paid dividends.

“I like to run from the front and control the race that way but Greg and I discussed a strategy to be a specific amount of time behind Francois at certain points and it made a huge difference,” Blanchard said. “Starting after Refuge Bertone in Italy, on the long runnable section, I passed a couple of guys, including Jim Walmsley, and my confidence grew from there.”

WINNING GEAR

In winning the UTMB®, Francois D’haene and Courtney Dauwalter each used a full kit of Salomon footwear, apparel and gear. Francois D’haene ran in a prototype version of the future S/LAB Ultra trail running shoe, and wore the S/LAB Sense Ultra 8 running vest, long S/LAB Sense shorts, S/LAB EXO half tights, an S/LAB Sense T-shirt, S/LAB NSO calve sleeves, and a Salomon cap. He carried a Salomon Shakedry jacket and a Salomon custom quiver for his poles.

Courtney Dauwalter wore the Salomon S/LAB Ultra 3 shoes, a Sense shirt, S/LAB Sense 8 running vest, the Shakedry jacket, a Salomon windproof jacket, and her trademark long Salomon shorts (now called “shortneys” by her fans on social media).