New Zealand’s Ruth Croft is back as one of the women’s favorites at the 2024 UTMB. In this interview, Ruth talks about what it was like to prepare for UTMB a second time after being unable to start last year due to a race-week illness, her successful run at the 2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k, and 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon, and what she’s looking forward to on race day.
For more on who’s racing, check out our in-depth women’s and men’s previews and follow our live race coverage starting Friday.
Ruth Croft Pre-2024 UTMB Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Sarah Brady of iRunFar. I’m here just a few days before the 2024 UTMB with Ruth Croft. How are you doing, Ruth?
Croft: I’m doing well, thank you. How are you?
iRunFar: Good, good, and you just arrived here pretty recently from Annecy, is it?
Croft: Yeah. I didn’t make the start line last year. I was supposed to be here, and so this year I’ve just been a bit more cautious about … yeah. We’re in Annecy, which is like just over an hour away, so we just stayed home for a bit longer, and leaving a bit last minute to come to Chamonix.
iRunFar: Okay. You want to stay away from the mayhem for as long as possible?
Croft: I think so. I’m just being careful about being around too many people in the buildup. Then, also, I think Chamonix is great. Everyone’s here, but it can be quite draining on the social battery.
iRunFar: For sure.
Croft: I just wanted to stay a bit fresher going into the race.
iRunFar: That sounds like a good plan.
Croft: Yeah.
iRunFar: Yeah, so I wanted to ask you about that. I know you were supposed to race last year, so this’ll be your first time running this race, but your second time training for it?
Croft: Yeah.
iRunFar: Did you just press your feet on whatever you did last year? Did you do anything different?
Croft: I think I’ve been quite a bit different. I think last year, I really struggled after Western States with my immune system, and so at the beginning of last year, I really had to pull back a lot of my training because my body just wasn’t handling it. It’s always easy to look back in hindsight, but I don’t think I actually was ready probably for UTMB.
I hadn’t had the most ideal buildup. This year in New Zealand it was completely different. I’ve been able to have a really good base-building block in New Zealand. I’d also changed coach beginning of last year, so we’ve had a whole other 12 months working together, which I think has helped too.
iRunFar: Then a lot of the athletes we’ve talked to divide their seasons in different ways. They have a ski season in winter and then a running season, but you’re kind of different because you have a New Zealand season and a Europe season. You do a lot of kind of flatter, faster trails there and more mountains here?
Croft: I think when I was doing Western States, I definitely had more of a focus on faster stuff, but I run 12 months of the year. I definitely don’t do ski anymore. Don’t really do winter, to be honest. I do a lot of tramping when I’m back in New Zealand, and still, as I said, pretty much training all year round.
iRunFar: Year round? Okay, great. Then you have excelled at very different types of trail races, like stuff like you’ve won Western States and you’ve won Tarawera, which is pretty fast and runnable, but you’ve also done really well in the Alps with CCC and OCC. Do you have a preference between those two types of running, or do you like the mix?
Croft: I think I’ve always preferred the more running, but then working with Scott Johnson the last kind of year and a half, he’s really helped me on the hiking, like hiking with poles up a hill, and so I actually don’t hate that anymore and so I’m enjoying it. I think we’ll see how it goes.
iRunFar: Okay. Then I know you’ve done a hundred miles very well, but this would be your most probably mountainous one and longest race ever in terms of time?
Croft: Yeah.
iRunFar: I would guess, so have you had to prepare mentally to be out for longer? Have you thought about that much?
Croft: Yeah, I’ve definitely thought about it, but I think like with a hundred miles, no matter what the course or the race, it’s just for me it’s always just focus on myself and stick to my own plan, and not get caught up in what other women in the field are doing. I think a lot of it’s just about self-management, and so that’s kind of what my race plan will be on Friday.
iRunFar: You’ve been on a bit of a winning streak, so after not doing UTMB, you did Ultra-Trail Cape Town last year and you won that, but I was just wondering. Was that a Plan B race when UTMB didn’t work out, or was that always part of the plan to do that?
Croft: Yeah, it definitely was not part of the plan. I was hoping to call it a season after UTMB, and then obviously I had the fitness there. I just felt last year I didn’t really do many other races, because I felt like I didn’t have a lot of time and I really just needed to focus on training, especially when my buildup hadn’t been that great. Obviously, I just wanted to try and use that fitness and put it towards something else, and so the UTCT, which it was great. I loved it. It’s a really cool event.
iRunFar: Do you think maybe the time of year worked out better for you in a way than doing your big race early in August?
Croft: Yeah. I think for me it was just about going out and having a fun race, and that’s what kind of Cape Town provided at the time.
iRunFar: Then you had the great win at Transvulcania as well, so how did that play out?
Croft: Yeah. I think I was stoked to go back there. I had raced there for the first time in 2016, and it’s just a totally epic course. Yeah, I’d had a really good buildup in New Zealand, and so it was kind of good to just see that what I’d been doing in New Zealand was on track.
iRunFar: Did you have some back-and-forth? I think Ida Nilsson was not too far behind you. Did you run together for a while, or how did that go?
Croft: It was coming up to the high point. I looked behind and Ida was there. I was like, “Oh, shit.”
iRunFar: Oh, gosh.
Croft: Right. It was good, though. She really pushed me.
iRunFar: Great.
Croft: I think having her there, and I was just lucky I still had some legs in me for the descent, and so yeah, it kind of worked out.
iRunFar: Okay. Nice to bump into Ida, in any other context than just behind you in a race.
Croft: Yeah. I raced her in 2016 at Transvulcania and she won there. Actually, it’s been good with Ida. We’ve raced quite a lot against each other over the years.
iRunFar: Okay, cool. I know you’re sort of a half local to here, so I’m sure you’re fairly familiar with most of the UTMB routes. Is there any part that you’re most excited about?
Croft: I think just getting through the night. My eyesight’s not that great.
iRunFar: Okay. Same.
Croft: I think just getting to Courmayeur in a good place, and not having worked too hard.
iRunFar: Okay, so you’re going to try and hold fairly steady and conservative?
Croft: Yeah. I won’t be going out, out quick.
iRunFar: Okay, great. Yeah. Then we’ve seen you’ve got a really good crew in a lot of these races. Will there be an appearance from your dinosaurs towards the end?
Croft: Well, maybe. They’re actually in Germany right now, so yeah, I’ve got Chalky, who he dressed up and was supporting in 2022 at UTMB.
iRunFar: Okay.
Croft: He was one of the dinos, and he’s also crewing me at Les Contamines.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Croft: The responsibility’s on him, but knowing Chalky, he’ll be popping up somewhere, I’m sure.
iRunFar: Yeah. I suppose they like the element of surprise as well. They can’t tell you.
Croft: Hopefully they’ll be there when I need them the most.
iRunFar: Yeah. Then I don’t know if you’ll know the answer to this yet, but have you thought about past UTMB for this season? Have you anything else in mind?
Croft: No. I think if everything goes well, or even if it doesn’t, I think I’ll call it a season here. I started in February at Tarawera and it’s been quite a long build, and so I’m kind of ready to put a lid on it and do some other things.
iRunFar: Okay, very good. When do you head back to New Zealand?
Croft: I’ll be heading back end of November.
iRunFar: Ready to start another summer?
Croft: Exactly.
iRunFar: Okay, great. Well, best of luck out there. We look forward to seeing you on the course, and thanks for taking the time.
Croft: Yeah, thank you. Cheers.
