Ruth Croft - Trail Runner Profile
Ruth Croft is a New Zealand ultrarunner who won the 2025 UTMB, making her the first woman and only the second person to have won all three of the OCC, the CCC and UTMB. She also won the 2022 Western States 100 in 17:21:30 and has won the Tarawera 102km four times, most recently in 2026.
Ruth Croft quick facts
- Age: 36 or 37 (born 1989)
- Nationality: New Zealand
- UTMB Index: 820 (as of 6 October 2026, UTMB profile)
- ITRA score: 811 (as of 29 August 2026, ITRA profile)
- Key results: UTMB: Champion 2025; Chamonix set: OCC, CCC and UTMB: first woman to win all three; Tarawera 102km: 4 wins
UTMB Index and ITRA scores change after every race. The dates are when each number was read from the official profile.
Country: New Zealand · Team: HOKA · Specialities: 100 miles, 50–100km
Right now: Withdrew from the 2026 UTMB two days before the start, without defending her title.
Key facts
- UTMB: Champion 2025
- Chamonix set: OCC, CCC and UTMB: first woman to win all three
- Tarawera 102km: 4 wins
The Chamonix triple crown
Croft won the three Chamonix races over a decade: the 101km CCC in 2015, the 55km OCC in 2018 and 2019, then UTMB itself in 2025. No woman had done all three, and only one athlete had done it before her. She won in weather that turned the race into a survival exercise, holding off Camille Bruyas and Katharina Hartmuth.
A long record at every distance
Her 2022 Western States win in 17:21:30 came at 100 miles; her four Tarawera 102km titles, including a course record in 2025 and another win in 2026, come at a fast 100km; and she took silver at the 2019 Trail World Championships. Very few athletes have been at the front across that whole range for as long.
Where she is right now
She withdrew from the 2026 UTMB two days before the start, without defending her title. In a public post she said her fitness had never been better, but that "today my heart and mind want to be elsewhere," citing a line from coach Paul Lind about a runner only having so many trips to the well in a hundred miles. Blandine L'Hirondel won the race Croft had been favoured for, becoming the second athlete after Croft to complete the OCC-CCC-UTMB set.
How Ruth runs
Croft is a racer rather than a metronome. Her background is speed: she ran track and cross-country as a junior in New Zealand, raced the 3000m steeplechase at the 2006 World Junior Championships and competed at two junior World Mountain Running Championships. She still races like a shorter-distance athlete: prepared to cover moves early, to race the women around her rather than her own splits, and with a finishing speed that most 100-mile specialists do not have.
Her Chamonix record was built over a decade: the 101km CCC in 2015, the 55km OCC in 2018 and 2019, and finally UTMB itself in 2025, which made her the first woman to win all three. In between she won Western States in 2022 and took four Tarawera 102km titles.
Her UTMB win also showed her toughness in bad weather. She won the wettest, coldest edition the race has seen, holding off Camille Bruyas and Katharina Hartmuth in conditions that turned the race into a survival exercise for much of the field.
Where Ruth is strongest
Fast 100km courses and 100-milers decided by racing rather than attrition. Her four Tarawera 102km titles, including the 8:24:31 course record in 2025, and her 2022 Western States win in 17:21:30 show how dangerous she is on runnable ground, and her 2019 Trail World Championships silver over 44km, New Zealand's first medal at the event, shows her speed at shorter distances.
She is also exceptional in cold, wet mountain conditions, as her 2025 UTMB showed. Where she is less naturally suited is the multi-day, 200km-plus formats where sleep management and pure durability matter more than speed.
The edge. Distance range: a Western States title, four wins at 102km and a Trail World Championships silver over 44km.
What you can learn from Ruth
1. Build your range over years, not one season
Croft's Chamonix set took ten years: the 101km CCC in 2015, the 55km OCC in 2018 and 2019, then the 170km UTMB in 2025. There is no rule that you must go shorter to longer in a straight line, but each format teaches something different about pacing, fuelling and night running. If 100 miles is the goal, spend a few seasons racing 50km and 100km events first, and keep coming back to shorter races to stay sharp.
2. Keep your speed as you go longer
Her background in faster racing gives her a finishing gear others lack. As you move to longer races, keep some shorter, faster running in your training, such as hill reps and tempo runs, so you do not lose the speed that makes the runnable sections easier.
3. It is fine to race the people around you
She covers moves rather than running fixed splits. If you are racing for a position, learn to make decisions based on what your rivals are doing as well as your own effort, while knowing your limits well enough that you do not follow someone into a blow-up.
4. Knowing when not to start is a skill
She withdrew from the 2026 UTMB two days before the start, saying her heart and mind wanted to be elsewhere. Starting a hard race without real motivation is risky. If your head is not in it, choosing a different goal can be the right decision.
Selected results
| Year | Race | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | UTMB | 1st (first woman to have won OCC, CCC and UTMB) |
| 2022 | Western States 100 | 1st (17:21:30) |
| 2026 | Tarawera by UTMB 102km | 1st (fourth win at the race) |
| 2025 | Tarawera by UTMB 102km | 1st (course record) |
| 2019 | Trail World Championships | 2nd |
A selection, not a complete race history.
Official profiles
Compare yourself with Ruth
- ITRA index calculator: estimate the km-effort and an indicative performance band for your own race result (not an official ITRA Performance Index).
- Trail pace calculator: turn your road pace into a trail pace and finish time for a given elevation profile.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 2025 UTMB women's race?
Ruth Croft of New Zealand, in storm conditions, ahead of Camille Bruyas and Katharina Hartmuth.
What is the UTMB triple crown?
Winning the OCC (55km), the CCC (101km) and UTMB (174km). Ruth Croft is the first woman and second athlete overall to complete it.
Has Ruth Croft won Western States?
Yes, in 2022, in 17:21:30.
Did Ruth Croft defend her UTMB title in 2026?
No. She withdrew two days before the race, saying in a public post that she was fit but that her heart and mind wanted to be elsewhere, rather than citing injury.
Runners with a similar profile
- Katie Schide (United States): UTMB course-record holder, Western States champion, Hardrock record-breaker and world champion over 82km.
- Blandine L'Hirondel (France): A practising OB-GYN who became only the second athlete to win the OCC, the CCC and UTMB, after two Trail World Championship titles.
- Jim Walmsley (United States): The first American man to win UTMB, and the athlete who redefined how fast a 100-miler can be run from the front.
- Anton Krupicka (United States): Won Leadville twice as a virtual unknown, then spent two decades as the sport's most recognizable minimalist.
Sources and verification
Checked against the following sources on 2026-08-29:
- iRunFar: 2026 Tarawera by UTMB 102km results
- Slowtwitch: Croft and Evans storm to UTMB victories
- Marathon Handbook: Defending champion Ruth Croft pulls out of UTMB
- ITRA runner profile
- Wikipedia: Ruth Croft
- UTMB Index profile (official)
Canonical page: https://trailia.run/best-trail-runners/ruth-croft
Published by Trailia (https://trailia.run), a personalised trail running coaching platform. This profile is a factual reference, not a ranking.