of the Best Trail Runners in the World

American ultramarathoner and trail runner Courtney Dauwalter competes in numerous races that go far beyond the regular marathon distance of 42.2 kilometers and are often between 160 and 400 kilometers long.

Dauwalter is the course record holder in several such extremely long races. She had her breakthrough at the Moab 240, in a 386-kilometer race in Utah. She finished the race an incredible 10 hours ahead of all other competitors, both male and female.

At the Transgrancanaria in March 2021, she finished the 128-kilometer course with over 7000 meters of elevation gain first with a course record time of 14 hours and 40 minutes. She was 90 minutes faster than her nearest competitor.

Trail runner Ida Sophie Hegemann is one of the best German trail runners. She has taken first place in numerous races, such as the Glacier Trail in the Ötztal valley in 2021. In the Transalpine Run 2021 with 235 kilometers and over 14,500 meters of altitude, she reached the finish line after 31:49:56 hours.

At the same race (Transalpine Run 2022) with 286 kilometers and over 17,000 meters of altitude, she beat her own time from last year by 45 minutes. Ida is definitely an exceptional athlete in her discipline.

Nienke Brinkman was born in Indonesia and grew up in Leiderdorp, the Netherlands. She only started running in 2020 and quickly rose to the top of the running scene. Despite the cancellation of the Amsterdam Marathon, she completed it virtually in an impressive time of 2:39, improving her performance thanks to the help of her coach Benjamin Ueltschi. She ran her first marathon in 2:26:34 in Valencia.

In 2022, she broke the Dutch record and won bronze at the European Championships. She was also the winner of the Golden Trail World Series.

Ekaterina Mityaeva is one of the best trail runners in the world. She herself studied sports science and runs her trail running school together with her husband. Her husband is also her coach, who prepares her for all races.

She finished first in many trail running and skyrunning races, such as the Alpindustria Elbrus Race Marathon in Russia on 46 km in 2019 or the Odlo High Trail Vanoise on 20 km in France.

Maude Mathys is a trained nurse, mother of two children and five-time European mountain running champion. For several years she has lived for her passions trail running and ski mountaineering and participates in numerous competitions in both fields.

UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) 2022 winner Katie Schide not only accomplishes feats in her running, but also in her career. Almost as a sideline, she delivered her PhD in geology at ETH Zurich, which supported her running career, so both things were possible at the same time. Born in Mainwe, USA, she has lived in Europe for some time and is living her dream by completing numerous trail running competitions in the Alps.

Spaniard Kilian Jornet lives in Norway with his girlfriend and two children. An exceptional talent in ski mountaineering and mountain running, he has set numerous records. In 2005, he achieved a record time in trail running on the Dôme de Neige des Écrins (4015 m).

Then in 2007, he won four of seven races to become the overall winner of the Federation for Sport at Altitude (FSA) Buff SkyRunner World Series. In 2008, he won three of six races and again took the overall victory. Only François D'Haene, Xavier Thévenard and he have managed to win the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) three times before that.

In 2022, he won the UTMB for the fourth time, setting a new course record of 19:49:30, making him the course record holder and four-time winner of the UTMB.

Frenchman Francois D'Haene is a legend in ultramarathon and trail running. Already in his childhood he was part of an athletics club. He completed his first ultratrail Tour Glaciers de la Vanoise at the age of 21 and won the race.

D'Haene won the UTMB four times, in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2021, and was victorious in the Grand Raid in 2013, 2014 and 2016, and was the overall winner of the Ultra-Trail World Tour in 2014 and 2017. His victories were marked by exceptional performances and record times.

US trail runner Jim Walmsley is making a significant impact on the trail running world with his extraordinary achievements and records. His greatest achievements include the JFK 50 Mile in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the Lake Sonoma 50 in 2016 and 2018, the Tarawera Ultramarathon in 2017, and the Western States 100 in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

He has also set several course records, such as for the Western States 100 in 2018 and 2019, and was named Trail Runner of the Year in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Jonathan Albon is from Great Dunmow in Essex and has been living in Bergen, Norway for a while. His performance in trail running is remarkable: in skyrunning he won the Sky Extreme (2016 and 2017) and was once the overall winner of the Skyrunner World Series.

In the Spartan World Championships, he won in 2014 and 2018. The following year, Albon won the World Trail Championships, and in 2021 he won the OCC of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

Dutch trail runner and skyrunner Ragna Debats can adapt to different routes and conditions in the blink of an eye and consistently delivers high performance. In 2018, she was crowned the Skyrunning and Trailrunning World Champion. The following year, the won the Transvulcania race.

In March 2022, she completed the 126 kilometers of the Transgrancanaria in just over 16 hours, making her the clear winner among women.

For more than 15 years, the Spanish Marc Pinsach Rubirola focused on ski mountaineering and participated in world championships and world cups in ski mountaineering. Along the way, he competed in the race like the OCC event of the UTMB races in 2014 and finished third. Then the following year he won the OCC race over 55 km and over 3500 vertical meters.

With his career in ski mountaineering coming to an end in 2021, Marc has now fully committed to trail running. As part of the Merrell Trail Team, he is now fully dedicated to trail running and bringing new momentum to his career as an outdoor athlete.

Lina and Sanna El Kott Helander are two talented Swedish trail runners. They had their breakthrough in 2017 when they won the Transalpine Run, one of the toughest trail running team events, running in stages across the Alps.

Wins at the Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail, the Monte Rosa Sky Marathon and the SkySnow World Vertical Championship confirmed their success and talent once again. In 2022, for example, they finished second in the women's classification of the Pierra Menta Eté, a three-day stage race.

Trail runner and skyrunner Denisa Dragomir got the title of Champion of Skyrunning World Series in 2021 and was crowned World Champion in Skyrunning. She won competitions in impressive landscapes, including the Hochkönigman and the Limone Skyrace.

For example, she impressed with a best time of only 1:52 hours over three 2500-meter peaks in her native Romania.

Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner and ski mountaineer. She has won 17 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships and 10 gold medals at the World Ski Orienteering Championships.

In her second skyrunning race in 2018, she won the Sky Marathon competition at the World Skyrunning Championships.

French mountain runner and trail runner Blandine L'Hirondel is a two-time world and European champion in the discipline of trail running. (2019 and 2022). In 2022, she finished first in the CCC at the UTMB.