SunGod athletes Tom Evans and Courtney Dauwalter took their respective wins in the Western States 100 race this weekend. The performance eyewear brand sponsors both athletes who blew away the field – Courtney smashing the record by 78 minutes, while Tom was the first British male to win the iconic event, clocking the fourth fastest time in history.
Courtney Dauwalter’s time of 15hr 29min 33sec smashed the existing women’s record set in 2012 by 1hr 18minutes, set by Ellie Greenwood, who has run for Great Britain multiple times.
Tom Evans, a former British Army Captain turned ultra endurance athlete, came home in 14hr 40min 22sec, bettering his 2019 third place finish. Tom has been a shining light in the ultra-running scene in recent years, having gone on to secure multiple Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc World Series wins, including 3rd in the 2022 UTMB.
Listen to our podcast with Tom Evans as he chats about his training approach to ultra running
Both Tom and Courtney are supported by SunGod, the British eyewear brand. The team and Tom Evans launched his Signature Series Ultras™ ahead of the race, which he wore throughout the event – providing him with award-winning zero bounce frame design and market-leading 8KO® frameless lens technology, to elevate his performance on the trails with their optical clarity.
Courtney Dauwalter, the world no.1 ranked ultra runner, is being sponsored by an eyewear brand for the first time in her long and illustrious career. Wearing her carbon-framed 8KO® Green lens Classics³, she smashed the field, leading from the front the entire way throughout the race. Already with the UTMB course record on her CV of accomplishments, she has now added the Western States 100 record to her portfolio of work.
The Western States 100, the oldest 100 mile race in the world, takes place each year in Olympic Valley California, ending 100.2 miles (and 18,000 ft in climbing) later in Auburn, CA. Considered a jewel in the crown of human endurance races, this year’s event saw the 379 runners hampered by a snow covered opening 15-miles, followed by 16 miles of sun-drenched trail without shade, due to devastating weather conditions in 2022. Apart from that, the race weather was remarkably calm, lacking the all too familiar high-30s degrees Celsius that previous years have seen. The Western States 100 follows a challenging trail through the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, including river crossings. The race attracts top ultrarunners from around the world and is known for its highly competitive field.
Ione Walker, Head of Community at SunGod, said: “The SunGod team have worked tirelessly to deliver the best possible equipment to our athletes, and to secure the double win at the Western States is testament to both the skill of our athletes, and no small part to the quality of the equipment they use. Tom and Courtney have such a determined mindset, and an unwavering desire to achieve the best possible results in their field. We’re incredibly proud to support these two iconic athletes and look forward to what they go on to achieve next.”
