The free style of Courtney Dauwalter, the best mountain runner in the world: "At the finish line I fancy a beer and some nachos"

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In the middle of the UTMB, the most important mountain race in the world, more than 160 kilometers around the Montblanc massif,

appears , the first woman, and she airs some waffles, pancakes, pre-cooked noodles or a double hamburger with McDonald's cheese.

In the Western States or Hardrock, the most important races in the United States, also over 100 miles, Dauwalter not only wins the women's classification, she also rubs shoulders with the top 10 overall and just when she reaches the finish line she doesn't hesitate to ask a beer.

"It's what I want when I'm done. And then, if I can, some nachos," he told EL MUNDO on his first visit to Spain, specifically to Gran Canaria.

On Saturday, starting at midnight (00:00), the 128-kilometre Transgrancanaria Classic will run, which starts in Las Canteras, crosses the entire island, and ends some 15 hours later in Maspalomas.

Dauwalter's visit has raised expectations on the island because of her record, perhaps the best mountain runner in history, but above all because of her style.

UTMB

Unlike the majority of Europeans, like

, the male benchmark in his sport, Dauwalter does not train with scientific precision or count the grams of hydrates he must ingest during races.

His victories stem from pure enjoyment.

"For me that is one of the best things about ultradistance, that there are different ways to make everything work. I like to keep my life as simple as possible. I have no coach, no training plans, I don't follow any diet "It's the lifestyle that suits me, that allows me to feel my body and give it what it needs. Sometimes he asks me for a very long stretch, sometimes a day off, and sometimes just a big plate of nachos", admits the 37-year-old American, a great exponent of how trail running is understood in the United States.

If in Spain, as in the rest of Europe, from the beginning, mountain races were linked to competition, to adventure raids, to cross-country skiing;

In the United States, sport has always been linked to adventure, hiking, and exploration.

That is why here the path to professionalism -and business- was logical.

That is why a certain romanticism is maintained there, a wild spirit.

A style of its own, ahead of men

In fact, Dauwalter became known in 2017 in a race through the Utah desert, the 386-kilometre Moab 240, which would rarely take place outside the United States.

She not only won the women's classification, but she also won the general classification and the brand, Salomon, made her an icon.

With her basketball pants and her baggy shirts, even then she was different, different.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi, a science teacher at a Denver high school, she gave it all up to focus on trail running.

She did well.

Today, after being seventh overall in the 2021 UTMB, she is considered the first woman who could win the event, a milestone.

The difference between genders in ultradistance is getting shorter.

"I think we are at a very interesting time. The limits are still unknown, especially for women and especially on the really long distances, 100 miles or more. I don't know what will happen. But my only goal is to find my own limits and know How far can I go in this sport", says the American, who has also experienced bad times.

UTMB

Beyond some injury, two years ago, in the midst of the post-pandemic, he launched himself into an exaggerated challenge and ended up in the hospital.

With the help of her husband,

, and her friends, "fueled by nachos and beer", as her T-shirt read, her idea was to break the record for the Colorado Trail, a winding road of almost 800 kilometers that ends in Denver.

She had to do it in less than eight days and she was working on it, well below the record, when at kilometer 430 they had to stop her and take her to the hospital.

Acute bronchitis seriously endangered her physique and she spent a couple of days hospitalized.

Sooner or later she will try again.

"There are many challenges and that is magnificent. Sometimes I go to big races with many sponsors and the media, like this Transgrancanaria, and sometimes to small town races or some solo challenge. Both motivate me", concludes Dauwalter, after his first training sessions in Gran Canaria, and before asking: "What is the typical food and drink here?"

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• Articles Javier Sanchez