At the beginning of 2017, before everything changed, running was still a side project for Dowwalter, whose day job was teaching biology full-time in Colorado.
“I majored in biology in college and thought I would work in medicine or sports medicine, but I quickly realized that probably wouldn't be for me. So after college, I decided teaching would be a great way to learn science.” “I spread my love of science to others,” says Dawalter.
Throughout school and college, she ran regularly, often starting each day with a morning jog and then entering a 5k or 10k – just to get some healthy activity on a Saturday morning.
“I loved how it made me feel,” says Dawalter. “I loved being able to push exactly as much as I wanted during a race or training, and I loved that feeling of exploration and wonder where my feet could take me.”
She was a four-time Minnesota state champion in nordic skiing and earned a cross-country skiing scholarship to the University of Denver, but there was little early indication of how good a runner she was.
“At the start line of my first marathon, I was texting goodbye to my family and friends, saying my legs were going to break — I'd be a heap on the side of this road somewhere. But I finished it. I couldn't believe it,” says Dawalter.
“It led to a whole domino effect. I thought running a marathon was impossible — but it wasn't. So I thought, what else could be the same kind of challenge? And that led me into the world of ultra running.”
Her first 50k went well, followed by a successful, if exhausting, 50 mile run.
“So I decided the next logical step was to try the 100-mile run.”
The 2012 Run Rabbit Run ended badly. Every person who passed the aid station after Dawalter withdrew was a painful reminder of how she had failed at something she had set her mind to, but now she considers it one of the most important moments of her career.
“I was officially out of the race, but I had a front row seat to get proof of what it takes. Look at all these people who are clearly hurting, but finding a way. I kept asking myself, are you hurting? Do you want to be the person who Try this again and find out? Dawalter says.
What happened next was dramatic. For the next four years, she divided her time between teaching and ultra running. Her results soared, and by 2014, she was dominant, winning seven major 50-mile, 100-mile, or 24-hour races that year.
In 2017, Courtney Dwalter had a huge success. After leaving teaching to work full time, she gave two distinguished performances.
Dauwalter did come back to win the Run Rabbit Run the year before, finally exorcising the ghost of 2012, but her 2017 win is the stuff of ridiculous legend.
She led the race comfortably as she entered the final 12 miles, her vision beginning to cloud the ocean. Temporary distorted vision is not unheard of in ultrarunning. The stress of running hard and for a long time may mean that the body has difficulty replenishing the fluid in the eyeball as usual. It is a condition known as corneal edema. But Dawalter's condition was particularly serious. As I continued toward the finish line, things got worse until I was 90% blind.
“I was alone on this trail in the mountains of Colorado,” says Dawalter. “I couldn't see my hands in front of my face, but I could still see my toes.”
With only a few miles to go until the final aid station, Dawalter stumbled, occasionally falling — and on one occasion bleeding out after hitting her head on a rock.
“Fortunately, I knew this part of the track; I had run it many times before in training. A calmness came over me – the computer was asking me what I could do. Well, I could look at my toes and keep going as best I could. I could,” he says. Dawalter.
“This is my situation, this is the problem that was dealt with. And then it was just a matter of knowing my options and how to get out of this.”
Dawalter reached the aid station, but instead of leaving school, she used a volunteer to guide her by listing the terrain as they ran. A distressed and bleeding Dafwalter crossed the finish line – the first woman to do so that day – in 20 hours, 38 minutes and 09 seconds,, external With her vision returning to normal five hours later.
This experience would have shocked many, but just three weeks later, she entered and won the 50-mile Bear Chase in Colorado, beating the closest second-place man by nearly two hours.
Dawalter runs with a big smile, often taking time to chat with volunteers and people along the way, but competing, let alone winning, at these distances requires something primal. Being able to tame a screaming beast is impossible. Keep going when your eyes fail – when your body gives up. Beneath the cheerful exterior lies a relentless survivor.
“The number of problems and types of problems you can encounter during ultrarunning are many,” says Dawalter. “My job is to just start repeating a positive mantra to myself in my head.”
“I think it helps me calm all my systems down. If I have this very simple positive statement – 'You're okay. That's good. It's okay. Keep moving –' repeat in my mind, the rest of me can do that.” Start thinking about what's going on and what I can do about it.
“Do I have any experience with this kind of thing in the past? What have I tried before? What can I try this time?”
When things get too tough, she uses a mental exercise she calls the “Pain Cave.”
“The pain cave is the place I go when I physically feel like I can't take another step. It's an image I have of this space in my mind that I go into with a chisel, and I go to work on making it bigger.” “Which helps me stay mentally strong in those tough moments — and makes my ability to suffer even greater,” says Dawalter.
“Your brain is so powerful. Figuring out how to use both my body and my mind keeps me involved in these really tough challenges because I want to keep testing myself.”
