Ultra runner Courtney Dauwalter won the women's race at the Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB over the weekend amid a serious bid to come first overall.
The Colorado-based runner headed to France last week to participate in the 100-mile race, saying she wanted to "see what’s left in the tank for the 2024 race season." This year has already seen her set the women's course record in the Hardrock 100 and Mt. Fuji 100 Mile and take first in the Transgrancanaria. As it turns out, the runner had quite a bit of mileage left in those legs.
Dressed in her customary attire of baggy running shorts, a bright orange T-shirt and her Salomon S Lab Genesis trail running shoes, Dauwalter took up the women's lead from the start of the race on Friday at 12pm, maintaining a comfortable third place for the first couple of hours with Italy's Enrica Dematteis hot on her heels. After a couple of hours, Dauwalter dropped back a few spaces, but by 10pm, she was in second place overall.
Dauwalter spent the night chasing frontman Cristofer Clemente Mora of Spain and in the end finished less than 15 minutes behind him in 21:35:57, coming an astonishing second overall.
“I feel extremely fortunate to have experienced this race in such a stunning setting," says Dauwalter.
"During the final climb, seeing Nice and the sea, I felt an intense thrill and was happy to be here. I knew the course would be demanding, technical and very tough, especially with the rain overnight, but I loved every moment.”
Third-placed Nicolas Cerisier from France arrived at the finish line nearly an hour behind Dauwalter while in the end, Dematteis took second place in the women's race a full five hours behind Dauwalter.
It's been a flawless year for the queen of ultra running, whose performance over the weekend trumps even her third-place overall victory at Mt Fuji. Though she sat out the Mont Blanc 100-miler and lost her crown to Katie Schide, she's now taken first in four 100-mile races in 2024 as well as in the 70 km Swiss Peaks Trail one month ago.
She's now automatically qualified to run in the UTMB Mont Blanc 2025 and the trail running community is waiting with bated breath to see if ultra's most iconic race will deliver a showdown between Dauwaulter and Schide.
What is the Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB?
This 100-mile race from the Mercantour to the French Riviera kicks off on Friday at 12 p.m. local time. Runners start from Auron and quickly reach the highest point of the course at more than 8,694 feet above sea level.
After crossing the Mercantour massif, the route heads south and takes in four mountains: Mont Leuze, Mont Vinaigrier, Mont Alban and Mont Boron. A steep staircase takes the runners back to the sea for a final stretch along the coast. In total, the course takes in nearly 27,000 feet of elevation gain.
