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Endurance Redefined – Celebrating Female Ultramarathon Runners

The ultra marathon running community pride themselves on being an inclusive and welcoming culture enabling anyone with the right physical fitness, mental will power and unweathering determination to complete these great distances. Recently, there has been a surge in female athletes taking on and dominating ultra marathon events all around the world. The number of women competing in ultra marathon running, as well as many other sports, is increasing drastically and is showing no signs of slowing down. This blog highlights the top female ultramarathoners who have been dominating in their respective events, each holding multiple records. This blog will also show which events attract the most female participants aiming to get you signed up to your first ultra!

1. Camille Herron

Based out of America, Camille is a celebrated female ultramarathon runner who holds several records. She competes on both road and trail, dominating both.

Camille holds records in:

● 100 mile run on both road and track

● 24-hour road running record where she covered 167.8 miles in one day

● She is the first ultra marathon runner to win both the Comrades Marathon and Spartathlon

● She is the first woman to run 100 miles in under 13 hours and has done so on Road, Track and Trail!

2. Jasmine Paris

Jasmine is a British athlete and has cemented her name in the ultra-marathon Hall of Fame by being the first woman to complete the gruelling Barkley Marathons. She was one of only 20 people to have completed this marathon since it was extended to a 100-mile race in 1989. She appeared on the BBC speaking about her experience and highlighted that “The idea that I might have inspired them to believe in themselves… that’s huge, especially all the young girls – you know how hard it is to keep young girls in sports”. She is a prime example that anyone, no matter your gender, can compete in the toughest challenges in the world.

3. Courtney Dauwalter

Dauwalter is another American athlete who has won “The Ultra Running Magazine Ultra Runner Of The Year” 4 times.

Courtney’s career highlights include:

● Two-time western states 100-mile champion, with her second victory in 2023 being a women’s ultra marathon record

● She has also won and set records in Hardrock 100 and UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc)

● She became the first person ever to win all of these in one single year (2023)

● Courtney has achieved outright wins, beating both males and females, in the Moab 240 where she finished 10 hours ahead of the next runner

We have just highlighted 3 of the top ultra marathon athletes at the moment, who all aim to inspire women to get more involved in the sport. There are many a huge array of ultra marathon events to choose from, but below I’ve highlighted the events which attract the most female athletes.

● Ultra X Maderia 50km– 49% of the finishing athletes was female

● Ultra X Spring Trails Series 25km– Had more female athletes competing than male athletes in 2024

● Western States 100- Large female presence due to the strong history of female champions

● She Runs Ultra Marathon- features 30km, 50km and 100km routes aimed at celebrating women’s empowerment in endurance sports

● Comrades Marathon- Known for its camaraderie and celebration of all participants making it an encouraging and welcoming atmosphere

The highlighted athletes and events above are aimed at inspiring female athletes to feel comfortable enough to take on these amazing challenges and really push your bodies and find out your limit. Anyone can join this amazing ultra running community and compete with the very best. There is an event for everyone.

Want to see the events that Ultra X offers? Check them out here.