Wikipedia

Ruth Croft

Ruth Charlotte Croft (born 15 January 1989) is a New Zealand ultramarathon and trail runner. Croft was the silver medalist at the 2019 Trail World Championships. Her victories at major international races include the Tarawera Ultramarathon, Western States, Ultra Trail Cape Town, and Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc World Series Final.

Ruth Croft
Personal information
Born (1989-01-15) 15 January 1989 (age 37)[1]
Greymouth, New Zealand
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
Event(s)
Ultramarathon, trail running
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  New Zealand
Trail World Championships
Silver medal – second place2019 Miranda Do CorvoIndividual

Early life

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Born on 15 January 1989 in Greymouth, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, Croft grew up in the small town of Stillwater.[2][1] She attended Rangi Ruru Girls' School in Christchurch, where she ran track and cross country.[1] As a junior, she was the under-20 national champion and competed for New Zealand at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics in the 3000 metres steeplechase.[3] She also competed as a junior at both the 2005 and 2007 World Mountain Running Championships.[4][1]

After finishing high school, Croft briefly enrolled at Lincoln University near Christchurch, but returned home to the West Coast to work instead. She moved to the United States after receiving an athletic scholarship to run for the University of Portland in Oregon. After graduating from Portland, Croft moved to Taiwan to teach English. She lived there for five-and-a-half years, eventually moving to a job working in marketing for the technology company Garmin.[5]

Running

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Croft began competing in more trail races while living in Taiwan, and eventually became a sponsored athlete with Garmin.[4] She won the Mt. Kinabalu International Climbathon 50k in Malaysia in 2013 and 2014. She also won the 100-km CCC event at UTMB in 2015, and followed that with a fourth-place finish at the highly competitive North Face 50 in San Francisco, California. She moved away from Taiwan in 2017, splitting her time between Europe and New Zealand.[6]

In 2017, Croft won the Translatlantau 50K in Hong Kong, the 62-km event at Tarawera in New Zealand, and the 73-km Les Templiers event in Millau, France. She returned to Tarawera in 2021, winning the 100-km event in a course record time of 9:21:03. She won Tarawera again in 2024. She won the 55-km OCC in Chamonix in both 2018 and 2019.[7] At the 2019 Trail World Championships in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal, Croft won the silver medal behind Blandine L'Hirondel of France.[8] It was the first medal for a New Zealand athlete in trail world championship history.

Croft competed in her first 100-mile race at Western States in 2021, having a successful debut in finishing second behind English runner Beth Pascall.[9] She returned the next year to win Western States in a time of 17:21:30.[10][11]

Croft won the 100-km Ultra Trail Cape Town in South Africa in November 2023. She was scheduled to run UTMB in 2023, but came down with a virus days before the race and did not start.[6] She returned to UTMB in 2024, finishing second behind Katie Schide.[12][13] In February 2025, Croft defended her title at the Tarawera Ultramarathon (her third win overall) and set a new course record.[14] In 2025, she won the UTMB, making her the first female and only second person to win OCC, CCC and UTMB.

Non-racing

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Croft ran the length of the 125-mile Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland in 2022.[15] In 2023, she ran the historic Nakasendo Trail in Japan along with Tim Tollefson and Olympians Magda Boulet and Desiree Linden.[16]

Major race wins

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Year Race Location Distance / category Time Notes Ref.
2013 Mt. Kinabalu International Climbathon Sabah, Malaysia 50 km — First major international mountain-running win [4]
2014 Mt. Kinabalu International Climbathon Sabah, Malaysia 50 km — Second consecutive win [4]
2015 CCC, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Chamonix, France 100 km — UTMB Mont-Blanc race win [17]
2017 Translantau Hong Kong 50 km — International trail win while based in Asia [4]
2017 Tarawera Ultramarathon Rotorua, New Zealand 62 km — Early major New Zealand trail win [4]
2017 Les Templiers Millau, France 73 km — Major European trail win [4]
2018 OCC, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Chamonix, France 55 km — First OCC win [17]
2019 OCC, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Chamonix, France 55 km — Second consecutive OCC win [17]
2021 Tarawera Ultramarathon Rotorua, New Zealand 100 km 9:21:03 Course record [4]
2022 Western States Endurance Run Olympic Valley to Auburn, California, United States 100 miles 17:21:30 First 100-mile race win [18]
2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa 100 km 12:12:20 Major international 100 km win [19]
2024 Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB Rotorua, New Zealand 102 km 9:14:14 Second Tarawera 100 km-class win [19]
2024 Transvulcania La Palma, Spain 73 km 8:02:49 Major Canary Islands trail win [19]
2024 Zugspitz Leutasch Trail Austria 70 km 6:49:22 Alpine trail win [19]
2025 Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB Rotorua, New Zealand 102 km 8:24:31 Defended title and set a course record [20]
2025 UTMB Chamonix, France 100M 22:56:23 First woman to win CCC, OCC and UTMB [21]
2025 Ultra-Trail Ninghai by UTMB Ninghai, China 60 km 5:51:49 UTMB World Series win in China [22]
2026 Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB Rotorua, New Zealand 102 km 8:41:11 Third straight Tarawera 102 km win [23]

Personal life

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As of 2021, Croft was studying for a career in naturopathy.[24][25][26]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ruth Croft - Women's Cross Country". University of Portland Athletics.
  2. ↑ "ARRS - Runner: Ruth-Charlotte Croft". more.arrs.run.
  3. ↑ "CasePerformance: Interview with the athlete - Ruth Croft". www.caseperformance.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Horanyi, Eszter; Powell, Bryon (18 April 2024). "Ruth Croft: An Evolving Relationship with Running". iRunFar.
  5. ↑ Powell, Bryon (20 October 2017). "Ruth Croft Pre-2017 Les Templiers Interview". iRunFar.
  6. 1 2 "Ruth Croft's Long Way Into Trail Running | Outdoor Wall". The Outdoor Wall. 23 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Ruth CROFT - Her Trail results and UTMB® Index". utmb.world.
  8. ↑ Powell, Bryon (9 June 2019). "2019 Trail World Championships Results". iRunFar.
  9. ↑ Vert, Team (4 January 2023). "Ruth Croft - Q+A, training, racing and more". Vert: Trail & Ultra Marathon.
  10. ↑ Tom, Runivore (23 September 2022). "Interview: Ruth Croft on Winning WSER, Fueling, and Dinosaurs". Maximize Your Running Potential with RUNIVORE: Reviews, Diet, Training, and Race Strategies.
  11. ↑ Powell, Bryon (27 June 2022). "Ruth Croft, 2022 Western States 100 Champion, Interview". iRunFar.
  12. ↑ Brady, Sarah (1 September 2024). "Ruth Croft Post-2024 UTMB Interview". iRunFar.
  13. ↑ "Kiwi ultra-runner Ruth Croft finishes second in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc". www.stuff.co.nz.
  14. ↑ Horanyi, Eszter (15 February 2025). "2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Results: Kiwis Daniel Jones and Ruth Croft Defend Titles". iRunFar.
  15. ↑ Cochrane, Andy (15 September 2022). "Running At The End Of The Earth With Western States 100 Winner Ruth Croft". Trail Runner Magazine.
  16. ↑ Cochrane, Andy (30 November 2023). "Running the Nakasendo, an Ancient Postal Route Across the Japanese Alps". Trail Runner Magazine.
  17. 1 2 3 "Ruth CROFT - Her Trail results and UTMB® Index". UTMB World. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Powell, Bryon (27 June 2022). "Ruth Croft, 2022 Western States 100 Champion, Interview". iRunFar. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Croft, Ruth Charlotte". DUV Ultra Marathon Statistics. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  20. ↑ Horanyi, Eszter (15 February 2025). "2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Results: Kiwis Daniel Jones and Ruth Croft Defend Titles". iRunFar. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Ruth Croft Wins the 2025 UTMB Mont-Blanc Women's Race". Outside. 30 August 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Ruth CROFT". ITRA. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "2026 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Results: Ruth Croft and Dan Jones Win". iRunFar. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  24. ↑ Cochrane, Andy (16 August 2023). "Ruth Croft Opens Up on Her Build Towards UTMB". Trail Runner Magazine.
  25. ↑ "Interview with pro athlete Ruth Croft". Bix Hydration. 30 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "Pro Runner Ruth Croft Is Sharing Her Tips to Help You Step Up Your Ultra Game". Runner's World. 25 August 2021.
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