America ultrarunning superstar Courtney Dauwalter soared to victory today at the Mt. Fuji 100-miler in Japan, clocking a winning time of 19:21:22 to take the women’s title and place third overall behind Chinese runners Guomin Deng (19:10:34) and Qin Quido (19:20:52). Mt. Fuji was the fourth event in the nine-race 2024 World Trail Majors, and Dauwalter, having won the Transgrancanaria 126K in February (the series’ third stop) has now put herself in a strong position to win it all.
#MTFUJI100 | The woman, the legend! Totally historic what @courtdauwalter has achieved today.
🥉🇺🇸 Third position for her in the overall! 🥇 First woman of #MTFUJI100 👏🏻👏🏻#GranCanariaWorldTrailMajors | #RacesOfALifetime | #soMuchForLive | #MuchoPorVivir pic.twitter.com/dMXtH3Hgnm
— Gran Canaria World Trail Majors (@worldtrailmajrs) April 26, 2024
This was Dauwalter’s second appearance of the central Japan race, which takes runners up 7,574 metres of elevation over the 166-km course, running through the foothills of Japan’s highest mountain. The race originated in 2012 and has seen some esteemed athletes taking the podium over the years, including Americans Dylan Bowman and Krissy Moehl, France’s François D’Haene and Fuzhao Xiang of China. Things got underway at midnight local time and is still going–you can follow the livestream on YouTube here.
Dauwalter dominated today’s race from the start. Finishing second was Yukari Seimiya in 23:36:55. Angie Yan Chi-Yee was third, in 26:15:46.
Courtney Dauwalter ready to test herself at Mt. Fuji 100-miler
In a post-race interview, Dauwalter told reporters that she felt “so lucky” to witness the sunrise over Mt. Fuji. She added, with a huge smile, “it was truly the best day to be out moving with my feet on a beautiful course and with a wonderful community–that kept me moving toward the finish line.”
In 2018, her time of 23:57:48 won the women’s race and placed her 16th overall. (The course has undergone some changes in route and elevation since then.)
After a banner 2023 that saw her win Western States, Hardrock and UTMB, it appears Dauwalter is ready for another dominant season. She heads home to Colorado for her next race–defending her Hardrock title in July.
