A next-level ultra race was won this past weekend by a burgeoning runner who kept pace for more than two days straight.
Courtney Dauwalter finished the Moab 240 race in 2 days, 9 hours, and 59 minutes. She was faster than any of the men in the pack, beating the second-place finisher by more than 10 hours.
The Moab 240 Endurance Run caters to a special (some might say crazy) breed of ultrarunners. Only 150 registrants are allowed, and runners have a cutoff at 112 hours. That’s nearly five days of running.
Courtney Dauwalter finished much faster than that, at just less than 58 hours. She averaged 14.6-minute miles and 97.7 miles per day. Her performance crushed the competition, with second-place Sean Nakamura crossing the line in 67 hours, 44 minutes.
Created last year in memory of ultrarunner Stephen Jones, the Moab 240 is a massive loop course that starts and ends in Moab, Utah. The race takes place from October 13-17. It follows the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park, then makes its way across Abajo and the La Sal Mountains.
Courtney Dauwalter: Moab 240 Winner
Dauwalter, 32, is a burgeoning athlete in the ultra-distance running scene. We covered her last year in an article, “Meet the Unknown Woman Taking the Ultra World By Storm.”
In 2016, she set the record on the Javelina Jundred 100K and won the Run Rabbit Run 100-mile race 75 minutes ahead of second place. In 2017, she set the record for the longest run in 24 hours, at 155.391 miles during the Riverbank One Day Classic.
And she does it all as a school teacher in Denver, with running, albeit a lot of running, on the side.
Moab 240 Race Course
During the Moab 240, racers face desert trails, slickrock, canyons, and mountain ranges. The course covers 29,467 feet of ascent and descent, and it is entirely non-stop, without stages or relays.
There are 14 aid stations 8–20 miles apart, with full sleep setups at a number of them. Caveat: Racers have a time limit of six hours for sleeping.
Courtney Dauwalter stunned the competition with an impressive finish to an impossibly challenging ultra course.
What record she’ll break next is uncertain, but for now, congratulations!
