Jim Walmsley, Zach Miller and Courtney Dauwalter to race at Transgrancanaria 2024

Corriendo la Vida

2 years ago

JIM WALMSEY, ZACH MILLER AND COURTNEY DAUWALTER TO RACE AT TRANSGRANCANARIA 2024. Our TRANSGRANCANARIA section brings you the news of the three confirmed athletes that we will have at the start on Las Canteras beach in the Classic 126k race

The Transgrancanria 2023 was “Courtney’s year” as she was the first woman to go under 15 hours in history and finish seventh overall. This year we will have it again at the start, to see what surprises this edition has in store for us. We start by remembering the start of the Classic 2023.

Leelo en español aqui. ZACH MILLER VS JIM WALMSLEY EN GRAN CANARIA

______________

ZACH MILLER VS JIM WALMSLEY TRANSGRANCANARIA 2024.

JIM WALMSLEY

The renowned ultratrail star, the American Jim Walmsley, is preparing for a dazzling debut in the upcoming The North Face Transgrancanaria 2024. He will be on Friday, February 23, at Las Canteras beach to take the start of the Classic, with 126 km ahead.

This 2024 we can say that Jim Walmsley accumulates a decade of experience in long distance competitions, since he began his journey in 2014, achieving success from the beginning by winning three of the four races in which he participated, including the iconic JFK 50 Mile, which he won again in 2015.

Since then he has accumulated an extensive track record, his skill in mountain running has earned him a World Long Distance Mountain Running Championship, achieved in 2019 after his victory in the K42 Adventure Marathon in Argentina.

His first 100 kilometer test was in 2016 in Bandera, where he won. That year he competed in nine other races within his country, winning eight of them, demonstrating great dominance over the long distance.

In 2017 Jim Walmsley entered international waters in 2017. His first foray abroad was a double triumph that resonated in Spain and New Zealand. In the 32 kilometers of the Alto Sil Race, Walmsley not only took the victory in 2017, but also repeated his feat in 2018, being the only two times that he has run until 2024 in our country. But that was not all; Crossing oceans, he conquered the challenging 100 miles of Tarawera in New Zealand, an event that would open the doors to the international ultratrail scene.

Photo Averno Trail

The same year, Walmsley took a bold step by taking on the prestigious Mont-Blanc Ultra-Trail. Although he finished in fifth position. In 2019 he set the Western States 100 record with a time of 14 hours, 9 minutes and 28 seconds. Race that he has won three times.

Last 2023, Walmsley became the first athlete outside of Europe to win inUTMB, emulating the achievement of the Nepalese Dawa Sherpa in the first edition in 2003. This monumental achievement was added to his triumphs in the 100 kilometers of Nice, the 42 kilometers of La Frison Roche and the challenging 168 kilometers of Istria 100 in Umag, Croatia.

_____________________

ZACH MILLER

The American Zach Miller will debut in The North Face Transgrancanaria, a race that will be held between February 21 and 25 and will be the third event of the World Trail Majors international circuit. Known for his distinctive style of sprinting to the finish line after covering distances in excess of 100 kilometres, Miller has become a leading figure on the sport’s global stage.

Representing The North Face team, race sponsor, Zach will embark on the challenging 126-kilometer course of the Classic, scheduled to depart on the night of February 23 from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Zach Miller, says: “I’m looking forward to being on the starting line of The North Face Transgrancanaria this year. It’s a career that has been on my radar for a while and I’m glad to finally have the opportunity to do it. The idea of crossing the island of Gran Canaria is great and the race looks very competitive. Between the road and the competition, who wouldn’t want to?”

Photo Mayayo

Miller, 35, grew up in Kenya for the first two years of his life and worked on a cruise ship, where he trained by running around the deck of the ship and ascending and descending stairs — at the time he won the JFK 50 Mile in 2013 and Lake Sonoma 50 Mile in 2014—.

His record includes winning the CCC de Mont-Blanc in 2015 and The North Face Endurance Challenge California – 50M in 2015 and 2016. In addition, he has won the Madeira Island Ultra Trail in 2016, a race that is also part of the circuit. World Trail Majors.

In 2023, which has just ended, he won the Tarawera Ultramarathon and was runner-up at UTMB, where he entered behind the winner Jim Walmsley, a duel that will be repeated next February in Gran Canaria. Both, along with other runners such as Miguel Arsénio, Seth Ruhling, Jiasheng Shen or Andreu Simón, will compete for the largest financial prize in the history of the Gran Canaria race.

_______________

COURTNEY DAUWALTER

The outstanding ultra-trail runner, Courtney Dauwalter, current champion of the Classic race of The North Face Transgrancanaria, will seek this year to repeat victory in the Gran Canaria challenge. Dauwalter impressed everyone last year with his dominance of the race. She managed to win it in the female category and rank seventh overall, a historic result for Transgrancanaria.

Dauwalter, considered the best ultra-distance athlete in history, admits that the island affected her very deeply last year. “Last year my husband and I had the opportunity to explore Gran Canaria before the race and we fell in love with it,” in addition to highlighting “the landscapes, the trails, the food and the welcome of the people…all this has made us We felt that it was a place we wanted to return to. “We are excited to return to Gran Canaria this year!”

Highlighting that. “Transgrancanaria is a great adventure. Crossing this beautiful island alone with the company of your feet, snacks and the energy that the cheering audience transmits to you is a great experience.”

This year, together with Courtney Dauwalter, there will be the participation of elite athletes such as the Spanish Azara García de los Salmones, Claudia Tremps and Aroa Sio, the Polish Dominica Stelmach, the Japanese Yuri Yoshizumi, the German Ida-Sophie Hegemann and the Chinese Jingyang Tan, who will seek to win the largest financial prize in the history of the race.

Photo Mayayo

COURTNEY DAUWALTER: THE QUEEN OF ULTRA DISTANCE

Born in Hopkins, Minnesota, Dauwalter, 38, currently resides in Leadville, Colorado. Her ultramarathon career began in 2011, at the 80-kilometer Run Rabbit Run, where she placed sixth. Her first victory did not come until 2014 when she won the Desert Rats and two years later, in 2016, she made a qualitative leap in long-distance races, with four victories, which meant that in 2017 she put aside her career as a professor of high school in Denver and became a full-time professional athlete.

Last year she was exceptional on her resume, including wins at The North Face Transgrancanaria and the Bandera Endurance Trail Race. She also achieved the triple crown of the 100 miles, winning the iconic Western States Endurance, Hardrock 100 Endurance and UTMB in a period of two and a half months, being the first person to do so in the same year. Since September 2017, she has won almost every long-distance event, cementing her position in the ultra-trail world. She only missed an edition of Western States, which she had to abandon, and a second place in the Black Canyon Ultras.

Photo Avernotrail

Jim Walmsley, Zach Miller and Courtney Dauwalter to race at Transgrancanaria 2024