Courtney Dauwalter - The Magician

ULTRARUNNER

ARCHETYPE: THE MAGICIAN

Day 24/135

Athletic Accomplishments

In the sport of ultrarunning, Courtney Dauwalter is a living legend. Since 2016, she has racked up win after win, record after record, and impossible feat after impossible feat. And she does it all while wearing long basketball shorts. LEGENDARY.

In high school, Dauwalter was a four-time Minnesota state champion in nordic skiing. But since then, she’s turned her endurance toward the more punishing and masochistic sport of ultrarunning.

In 2016, she set a course record at the Javelina Jundred 100K and beat the women’s course record for the Tahoe 200 by over 18 hours.

Then in 2017, she won the inaugural Moab 240, running up and down 240 miles of Utah mountains, beating the second place finisher—a dude—by over 10 hours.

In 2018, she won the Western States Endurance Run, an elite and challenging 100-mile mountain race and took second place in Big’s Backyard Ultra—a “last person moving” style race—where she completed 279.268 miles. In 2020, she won the U.S. Big’s Backyard Ultra, completing 283.3 miles, and setting the record for longest distance recorded by female runner.

Character Archetype: The Magician

Ultrarunning legend Courtney Dauwalter does things that most people couldn’t even imagine. Run 240 miles? Up and down mountains? Beating the second place person by 10 hours? Impossible!

Dauwalter is more than a phenomenal athlete — she’s a magician. A mad scientist, hell bent on finding out the limits of the human body, her own endurance, and her mental toughness. Homegirl once ran so hard that she went temporarily blind for 12 miles, AND STILL WON the race. I mean… how?!

Dauwalter has not only won some of the most difficult ultramarathons on Earth, her toughness has led to debates on whether women might be more well-suited for endurance sports than men. Her mental game is unmatched. Her physical endurance is undeniable. What she has accomplished since barnstorming the sport of ultrarunning is absolutely astounding.

She creates order from chaos. People see her do the thing, and THEN call it impossible. That’s how remarkable she is. If that’s not magic, then HOW DOES SHE DO IT, FOLKS?