Ultrarunning great Courtney Dauwalter says there is “about a hundred percent chance” she will sign up for an IRONMAN, with the prospect of a new endurance challenge clearly capturing her imagination.

The multiple UTMB and Hardrock winner was in Kona during IRONMAN World Championship week with her sponsor Salomon, which takes over as title sponsor of the event in 2027.

And while she has yet to put a date on a potential debut, Dauwalter told TRI247’s Laura Siddall that the opportunity to try something different – and feel like a beginner again – is a major attraction.

“It’s just so cool looking”

Dauwalter has built her reputation over distances and terrain that test even the most accomplished endurance athletes.

But asked whether her recent adventures beyond ultrarunning could eventually include an IRONMAN, she first made one thing clear.

“I’m not straying away from the ultras, but what I found is it’s so fun to have some variety and mix it up and feel like a rookie at things,” she explained.

“So, I would say there’s about a hundred percent chance that I’ll sign up for an Ironman at some point. It’s just so cool looking.”

That stops short of confirming a race or a year. But it leaves little doubt about her enthusiasm for eventually taking on the 3.8km swim, 180km bike and marathon run.

Still exploring the pain cave

For Dauwalter, a different sporting challenge offers another way to explore the questions that continue to motivate her despite her extraordinary success.

Asked what keeps her curious after so many victories and records, she replied:

“I haven’t answered the question for myself of what’s actually possible. What are our limits? How far back does my pain cave go? What can I do in there?”

Her famous “pain cave” remains somewhere she wants to explore, rather than a place she feels she has fully mapped.

“So that’s got me signing up for anything and everything where I get to test that,” she said.

“I just love it so much. I get a lot of enjoyment from all of the adventures that I get to take part in.”

Would she embrace triathlon’s data obsession?

An IRONMAN debut would also bring Dauwalter into a sport where power targets, heart-rate zones and pacing plans are familiar parts of the conversation.

Asked how she viewed that emphasis on numbers alongside a more instinctive approach to racing, she made room for both.

“I think there’s a lot of methods to the madness of these endurance sports,” she told us.

“If someone wants the data and that helps them set goals or feel progress, that’s amazing. And if someone wants no data, wants to run without a watch, wants to just go by feel, I think that’s cool too.

“And we can all be on that same start line and test ourselves with our own method that we took to get there.”

A marathon target first

Before any swim-bike-run debut, Dauwalter has another challenge on the roads.

According to Runner’s World, she plans to return to the California International Marathon on December 6 in pursuit of the 2:37:00 qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

She ran 2:38:55 at the event last December, leaving her just 1:55 short of that target.

That pursuit offers a more immediate test of her speed over the distance that would eventually form the final leg of an IRONMAN – albeit under very different circumstances after a long swim and bike.

There is, however, one part of a future IRONMAN appearance that Dauwalter appears keen to preserve.

Her trademark board shorts have become a familiar sight at the biggest trail races in the world. So would they make the move into triathlon too?

“Yeah, it’s one of the things I have to figure out for sure because it’s gotta be board shorts.”

The equipment choices may still need some thought. The appetite for the challenge is already there.