Courtney Dauwalter 788km Colorado Trail FKT attempt cut short by acute bronchitis that lands her in hospital

The top trail runner is taken to hospital amid worries of HAPE or blood clots, and is diagnosed with bronchitis

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Courtney Dauwalter in hospital after her Colorado Trail FKT attempt. Photo: @courtneydauwalter/Instagram

Published: 11:32am, 11 Aug 2020Updated: 9:21am, 12 Aug 2020

Trail and ultra running super star Courtney Dauwalter is in hospital with severe bronchitis. She was over 350km into an attempt to set the fastest known time (FKT) on the 788km Colorado Trail when she began to wheeze.

“We made the call to take her to the ER in Leadville. Her [oxygen saturation was] 70 so the doctors here ran a full range of tests for HAPE [high altitude pulmonary edema], blood clots, and other severe conditions. Thankfully those were all ruled out and they determined she has acute bronchitis,” her team posted on Instagram.

Dauwalter is one of the best trail runners in the world. She has claimed podiums in everything from 50km races to the high profile 170km Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. Her fame transcended the sport when she won the Moab 240 (386km) outright, beating the next closest competitor by over 10 hours.

On Thursday, Dauwalter set off on her latest challenge – the Colorado Challenge FKT, from Waterton Canyon to Durango. The record is eight days, 30 minutes, set by Bryan Williams.

“This definitely wasn't in the plan,” Dauwalter’s post read.