Courtney Dauwalter knocks two hours off Reunion Island 100-miler course record
Dauwalter is the first woman to have won Western States, Hardrock 100, UTMB, and Diagonale des Fous
Courtney Dauwalter has done it again. On Saturday, the athlete charged to an astounding new course record at Diagonale des Fous on Réunion Island. Diagonale des Fous, part of a group of races called Grand Raid Reunion, is a 164-kilometre traverse of Réunion Island that boasts 10,210 metres of elevation gain. Dauwalter ran to a remarkable finish in 24:37:47. The previous course record of 26:34:38 was held by the late Andrea Huser of Switzerland, who died as a result of a fall in the Alps in December 2020.
Réunion Island is a tiny French territory 800 kilometres off the coast of Madagascar, and has been touted as one of the most spectacular places in the world to race. The island is made up of tropical beaches lined with palm trees, stunning coral reefs and pristine blue lagoons, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Dauwalter has had an astonishing season, setting course records at both Hardrock 100 and Madeira Island Ultra-Trail. With this win, Dauwalter is the first woman to sweep Western States, Hardrock 100,UTMB and Diagonale des Fous, some of the hardest races in the world.
Dauwalter was followed by France’s Anne-Lise Rousset in 28:58:52–four hours behind Dauwalter. Sweden’s Anna Carlsson finished in 30:59:18.
In the men’s race, Beñat Marmissolle of France left Switzerland’s Jean-Philippe Tschumi on the final descent, and finished in 23:14:47, with Tschumi close behind in 23:20:06. Marmissolle was sixth at this year’s UTMB, and bested his third-place finish at this race in 2021. American runner Ben Dhiman rounded out the podium in 24:20:52.
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In 2019, Canada’s Quebec Méga Trail (QMT) announced a major partnership with Diagonale des Fous, enabling all runners who finish the QMT 110K to register for Diagonale des Fous with automatic acceptance. The male and female winners are invited to participate in the Diagonale des Fous, all expenses paid (airfare and accommodation for one week), with the reverse also being true: participants in the Diagonale des Fous are able to register for the Québec Méga Trail without going through its contingency system.
2022 Canadian results
Kelsey Hogan (10th woman, winner of QMT 100-mile in 2022) 37:01:05
Sébastien Dion 40:48:43
Isabelle Bernier 45:46:08
Quentin Six 47:36:18
Grégory Le Bras 54:40:34
Line Pelletier 56:31:29
Mathieu Bélanger 57:03:29
Jessica Alarie 57:23:29
Nicolas Fournel 58:01:01
Guillaume Lac 63:15:03
For complete results, head here.
Grand Trail des Templiers
American favourite Jim Walmsley also raced this weekend, taking the win at the Grand Trail des Templiers in Mileu, France. The Festival des Templiers is a five-day event, with 12 races and more than 10,000 participants. The premier race, the Grand Trail des Templiers, features 80K with 3,530 meters of elevation gain. Walmsley won easily in 6:56:16, followed by Sébastien Spehler in 7:13:21 and Mathieu Simon in 7:19:21, both of France.
Jim vient de remporter les Templiers
Il ajoute une ligne de prestige sur son CV.
Quel coureur. pic.twitter.com/VnEMnyAsL7
— SimonDugué (@SimonDugue) October 23, 2022
The women’s race at Le Grand Templiers featured the legendary Camille Bruyas of France taking the win in 8:23:06, with New Zealand’s Ruth Croft (who also won Western States 100 this year) following in 8:33:48, and Oana Mihalcea of Romania in 8:52:52.
Full results of Le Grand Templiers can be found here.
BONUS: If you’re curious about Diagonale des Fous, the stunningly beautiful race Dauwalter won, check out this film documenting what Dylan Bowman calls “one of the most challenging efforts of my career.”
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