Courtney Dauwalter has been beautiful the ultratrail world time and again: not solely does she maintain profitable each race she runs, however she’s been obliterating course data and beating virtually all the males. On Sunday, the Leadville-based athlete annihilated the Hardrock 100 course document, ending an unimaginable fourth place solely three weeks off setting a blistering new Western States 100 document. Right here’s what you possibly can be taught (irrespective of your distance of selection) from the way in which Dauwalter trains and races.
At Mile 95, Courtney Dauwalter is main the ladies’s race and third general on the 2023 Hardrock 100 in 24hr37min elapsed. She seems incredible and was chatty. #HR100 pic.twitter.com/8BNbstJarA
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) July 15, 2023
Run with pleasure and gratitude
It sounds easy, proper? Operating and racing ought to make us completely happy, however coaching can all too simply get filed as a chore on an infinite to-do checklist. Dauwalter exudes pleasure and gratitude when she races, irrespective of the day or scenario. Dauwalter is thought by opponents and followers alike for the large smile she shares with everybody on the course.
Flying via Mile 49.5, is your #WS100 chief, Courtney Dauwalter, in 7:51 elapsed. Of us, she’s 19 minutes beneath course document asking us how we’re doing? Provides a giant smile and runs on! pic.twitter.com/HxgHuHInni
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) June 24, 2023
She effusively thanks volunteers and takes time to ask how her crew is doing. She high-fives all of the little youngsters. On the Some Work All Play podcast, coach and ultrarunner David Roche requested Dauwalter what she would really like her legacy to be. The path phenom answered along with her trademark humility and graciousness: “Usually? That I made individuals smile and snicker and have a very good time.”
Most of us received’t win a course document at a world-renowned occasion, however we will embody Dauwalter’s angle in our personal coaching and races. Checking in with others, savouring the enjoyable of shifting our our bodies, and that easy factor, smiling, will make all the things really feel a little bit bit simpler and much more enjoyable.
Modify your coaching in accordance with how you feel
Dauwalter has no coach, doesn’t comply with a strict coaching plan, and goes by really feel. She’s clearly perfected the artwork of self-awareness over time, however there’s a takeaway there for all of us. Though it may be extremely useful for runners to comply with a program or have steering whereas they practice, preserving a reserve of flexibility and utilizing self-check-ins may help the common runner optimize their efficiency.
“There are such a lot of methods to coach, take pleasure in, and go after working targets. Having a coaching plan, utilizing gadgets and analyzing information, or not doing any of these issues, are all nice choices,” Dauwalter not too long ago defined to trailrunnermag. “I feel it depends upon the individual and the way they discover pleasure. However I additionally assume there isn’t any draw back to often leaving the watch at residence and heading out the door for a run the place you simply hearken to your physique and never fear about metrics.”
Maintain issues free, and be prepared to regulate your plans if you happen to really feel the necessity for a data-free jaunt or once you observe that your physique is needing extra relaxation.
Eat with exuberance
Dauwalter is thought for her candy tooth and behavior of fuelling lengthy races with cheese quesadillas. She’s usually heard asking for her post-race beer, and even her Instagram tagline declares her a lover of lengthy inseams and sweet. Dauwalter instructed Roche that she refuses to limit what goes into her physique: “If it sounds good, if it tastes good if it fulfills a craving, then it’s precisely the factor that I’m consuming.” Consuming makes her completely happy.
Consuming has an advanced dynamic for some, and runners come from a wide selection of dietary wants and preferences. No matter your relationship with meals and gasoline, bringing Dauwalter’s enthusiastic spirit into your kitchen or meals selections could make meals extra enjoyable.
