Henriette’s story is one of obsessive discipline, deliberate practice and a willingness to reject the conventional path. Competitive, fiercely self-reliant and prepared to put in the work when nobody is watching. But there is much more to her story than results.
From obstacle course racing and an early connection with Tromsø that involved her honeymoon, through races such as the Ring of Steel, skyrunning and the World Championships, Henriette steadily built her way into the elite of the sport. A period of serious health issues interrupted that progression, but her return produced a remarkable run of performances – including 6th at OCC and CCC, 6th at Lavaredo 80K, victory at Templiers 47K, a winter Bob Graham Round record of 17:55 across 106 km and 42 peaks, 3rd at Trofeo Kima, victory at UTS 50K, and back-to-back Transgrancanaria wins in 2025 and 2026.
But the results are only part of the conversation.
We talk about leaving a corporate career as an auditor to become a full-time runner, the role Norway has played in shaping her – from the Romsdal mountains and local races to brutal weather and hugely varied terrain.
We also get into some of the less comfortable subjects in elite sport: women’s health and RED-S, body shape and what ‘healthy’ actually means, sponsorship and the freedom to make your own choices, shoe selection, common sense and decision-making, and the pressures surrounding UTMB and the modern ultra-running landscape.
Henriette is refreshingly honest, no BS and unafraid to speak about subjects that many athletes avoid. Through the Ascend Trail, Arc’teryx, her new partnership with Raide Research and the Sufferfest film, she is also building something beyond simply being a professional runner.
An outlier, certainly. But perhaps more importantly, someone prepared to question the rules, take responsibility for her own decisions and find her own way through the sport.
Episode 257 dives deep into the remarkable journey of Yngvild Kaspersen, fresh off her commanding 2026 CCC victory — a pacing masterclass that made her the first woman ever to win the race twice.
We rewind to 2015, exploring her beginnings in skyrunning, the technical foundations that shaped her style, and the early promise that hinted at greatness. Yngvild opens up about balancing medical studies with elite racing, and the long‑standing question of identity: doctor who runs, or runner who is a doctor.
We revisit her post‑Covid struggles, the breakthrough CCC win in 2023, and her emotional chapter at Western States. Then we break down her flawless 2026 performance — patience, precision, and a late‑race surge that defined the week.
Finally, we look ahead: Western States 2027, UTMB 2028, and the next evolution of one of mountain running’s most intelligent competitors.
A decade of growth. A champion at her peak. A conversation not to miss.
Yngvild Kaspersen’s win at CCC 2026 remains one of the most elegant demonstrations of restraint, patience, and self‑trust the sport has seen. By contrast, Ben Dhiman’s UTMB victory, was a masterclass in pressure, assertion, and deliberate intent. Together, they form a perfect study in contrast – two champions, two approaches, both equally valid, both equally brilliant.
The Yngvild Paradox: Doctor and Runner, Runner and Doctor
Yngvild has always carried a dual identity. A doctor. A runner. Two demanding worlds that often collide. She has openly admitted she struggles to decide which one defines her more – whether she is a doctor who runs or a runner who is also a doctor. That tension has shaped her career as much as her training.
Her trajectory since CCC 2023 has been anything but linear:
• 2025 Western States – 5th place, a breakthrough performance.
• 2025 CCC – DNF, a reminder of the sport’s brutality.
• 2026 Chianti – a brilliant run, showing her spark was still there.
• 2026 Western States – stopping just 2 miles from the finish, agonising, heartbreaking, human.
These are not the results of someone lacking talent. They are the results of someone balancing two vocations, two callings, two versions of herself.
CCC 2026: The Masterclass in Letting Go
Her approach to CCC was almost shockingly relaxed. No pressure. No expectation. She wanted to enjoy the day, run freely, and finish with a smile. That was it.
Yngvild ignored the front, she settled into her happiness zone, she ran her own race.
By Champex-Lac, she was outside the top 10 and 23 minutes behind the lead. Any analyst would have written her off. Any commentator would have assumed the podium was gone.
But Yngvild wasn’t analysing. She wasn’t commentating. She was running.
And then she switched on Pac‑Man mode.
Her legs felt great. Her stride opened. Her confidence grew.
One by one, she began to eat up the runners ahead – just like Pac‑Man clearing a screen. The gap shrank. The race changed shape.
Ahead, Miao Yiao and Toni McCann, both former CCC champions, were locked in a fierce battle. It looked like a two‑woman race.
Until suddenly, Miao Yiao came into view. Yngvild passed – calm, composed, assuming nothing.
Then Toni appeared. Yngvild passed again – sharing a handshake, then time‑trialling to the finish. Nothing was taken for granted, she learnt that lesson at Chianti – head down, push on and work hard.
It wasn’t just a negative split. It was a clinic in pacing, a study in control, a lesson in emotional discipline.
One of the greatest second‑half performances the sport has ever witnessed.
Ben Dhiman: The Opposite Path to the Same Summit
Dhiman’s UTMB victory was built on a completely different philosophy. He laid his cards on the table early. He placed pressure on himself. He embraced expectation. He ran with intent, aggression, and clarity.
Where Yngvild floated, Dhiman forced. Where Yngvild released pressure, Dhiman applied it. Where Yngvild trusted the day, Dhiman shaped it.
Both approaches worked.
Both produced champions.
Both produced masterclasses.
Two Victories, Two Lessons
Yngvild teaches the value of patience, joy, and trusting your body.
Dhiman teaches the value of assertion, self‑belief, and embracing pressure.
Yngvild shows that sometimes the best race comes from letting go.
Dhiman shows that sometimes the best race comes from leaning in.
Together, they remind us that there is no single blueprint for success in trail running. The sport is too wild, too unpredictable, too human for that.
The Takeaway
Whether you run like Yngvild – calm, patient, joyful – or like Dhiman – bold, committed, intense – the lesson is the same:
Find the approach that lets you be fully yourself. Then trust it all the way to the finish.
The sport has changed. It is faster, more professional, more demanding than ever before. The margins are razor‑thin, the pressure unrelenting, and the calendar packed with races that push athletes to their absolute limits. In this new era, even the best in the world may only get one truly exceptional race in a season – one day where preparation, physiology, psychology and luck finally align. Yngvild Kaspersen and Ben Dhiman reached their peaks through completely different philosophies, yet both reveal the same truth: in a sport this intense, brilliance is rare, fragile, and fiercely earned.
Episode 232 of Talk Ultra is a Petter Engdahl Special. After making the podium of OCC in 2021, Petter focussed his attention on the 2022 CCC – He won in a course record time. And now he has followed up with a dream victory at Transvulcania by UTMB. We talk in-depth about his training and preparation for these two incredible performances.
Importantly, go to iTunes and subscribe so that you automatically get our show when it’s released we are also available on Stitcher for iOS, Android and Web Player and now Tunein. We are also on Spotify too.
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Please support Talk Ultra by becoming a Patreon at www.patreon.com/talkultra and THANKS to all our Patrons who support us. Rand Haley and Simon Darmody get a mention on the show here for ‘Becoming 100k Runners’ with a high-tier Patronage.
In the last 4-days I have had around 10-hours broken sleep. That is the reality of working on multiple events during UTMB week.
It all started though the week before, arriving in Chamonix on Thursday to join the adidas TERREX team for a full 10-day UTMB extravaganza. It was my 3rd time at UTMB with the TERREX team so I was under no illusion of what was ahead – amazing friends, quality time with athletes and crew and once the TDS got underway, little sleep.
It’s a privilege and honor to work the TERREX team, I have seen them grow and grow in the sport and the ethos of #oneteam personifies what goes on before, during and after every event. Just look at the finish line footage of Emily Hawgood crossing the line to take 6th place at UTMB. The whole team was waiting, they surrounded her and unplanned, went into a frenzied bounce fest to celebrate not only an incredible run but an incredible team effort. No other pro-team does this and it’s noted by all the other media… The TERREX team are doing something very special.
You may well say I am biased. And I am not going to deny that I have a professional and working relationship with the brand. However, this is a choice. Working with the team management, the media crew and the athletes is a dream come true and one that is immensely rewarding.
adidas had once again rented multiple chalets and one huge chalet would act as a base for meeting up and all meals. The chalet had three chefs who provided meals for the entire team and in so doing, dietary needs could be looked after and the need to try to find a restaurant in Chamonix was removed. Physios were literally ‘hands-on’ every day from morning and Charlie and Robert managed the day-to-day team plans.
My emphasis pre-racing was to recorded Season 2 of ‘The Chamonix Tapes’ and provide some photo content.
UTMB week may well be what you, the fan or follower sees. But as in all these scenarios, the reality for UTMB 2022 started at the conclusion of UTMB 2021. It’s a 12-month process of building and planning.
This time last year, Tom Evans missed UTMB and instead underwent surgery not knowing if he would be able to run professionally again. However, he there and then set the goal to target UTMB 2022 as a main goal and target. He would put all the processes in place to make that happen. And oh my word, look what happened… He completed the podium with an outstanding and awe-inspiring 3rd place.
But with all the highs, the TERREX team also has lows.
TDS did not go to plan, 4-athletes hovered around the podium for much of the race only have dreams taken away. That is racing. There are no guarantees.
Sabrina Stanley, after meticulously planning and preparing for UTMB had her dream shattered even before the start of UTMB with a positive Covid test. There are no words to help here, just the unity and backing of oneteam.
Toni Mccann placing 5, Martin Dematteis placing 10th and Kim Schreiber, Jeshurun Small, Dioni Gorla, Deborah Marti and Anna Hahner all having solid runs. The team was back on track.
CCC was up next and it’s fair to say that myself, and the whole TERREX team were quietly confident that Petter Engdahl could produce something. Little did we know then that the Swede who lives in Norway would light the fire of the UTMB.
He blazed a trail that made the competition look on in awe as he not only won the race but set a course record. Abby Hall from the USA once again had a stellar run placing 3.
Remigio Huaman, Stephen Kersch, Taylor Nowlin and Yngvild Kaspersen all brought the three stripes home and, on each occasion, the team was waiting with hugs and applause.
The big dance, UTMB would conclude the week. The 171km loop through France, Italy, Switzerland and concluding in France has 10,000m of vertical gain, rugged terrain, variable weather and is arguably, the most competitive ultra of the year. This year, the event was off-the-scale with over 2700 participants and goodness knows how many fans and spectators.
The event is now huge! The TERREX team had Pablo Villa, Luis Alberto Hernando, Tom Evans, Emily Hawgood toeing the line and sadly, the omission of Sabrina Stanley due to Covid. It’s with noting here that a listen to ‘The Chamonix Tapes’ with Tom Evans provides a great insight not only to the event, but how to prepare for it is a ‘must’ listen. The race, despite a quality line-up was always going to be about Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet and for much of the race, this was the story. Jim had the lead, lost it to Kilian and and in-form Mathieu Blanchard. Kilian put the hammer down for the win against Mathieu and behind as Jim faded Tom Evans put his plan in action. He left Zach Miller who he had traded run steps with for many an hour and hunted Jim.
With Jim caught, Toms head went down, all the processes were put in place and the Brit placed 3rd in the greater ultra in the world! Tears were shed by all… It’s difficult to put into words the emotions of the finish. Tom walked in, somewhat mind-blown about what he was about to achieve, he held hands together, covered his face and then stood stock still and saluted the world. Job done! The TERREX team were in pieces with emotion.
Hours later, Emily Hawgood arrived at Col de Montes, the TERREX team lining the climb to give her one last big push to the finish. Eventually the finish came and a 6th place. Surrounded by her team, the worlds media were amazed at the unity of the TERREX team as they celebrated en-mass the success of one of their own.
This is the oneteam ethos, victories may be individual, but they are not possible without what goes on behind the scenes. We all had roles, but flexibility is key. Athletes became crew, office workers became car drivers, and everyone became a supporter both in a physical and mental capacity.
Once again, it was a real pleasure to be immersed with the adidas TERREX brand and follow closely the whole process that makes a race and team come together. We use the word family and without a doubt, the TERREX team is family. We are all #unitedbysummits
I spent much of the week with Stefan Durst but a huge thanks to Pfefferminzmich – Rapha, Andy, Yannick, Vinz and Christian.
Welcome to ‘The Chamonix Tapes’ an inside look at the adidas Terrex Team during the 2022 UTMB.
Starting on Sunday August 21st and running through to UTMB 2022, there will be a series of podcast releases for your audio pleasure in ‘The Chamonix Tapes.’
In episode 4, we speak with Taylor Nowlin who battled a stressful 2020 and 2021 working as a nurse and recovering from Covid to place top-10 at Western States.
“I think the biggest theme in the last year has been scaling back on work so that I could focus on running… I needed to be more of a professional at running.”
Tom Evans burst on the ultra running scene when he placed 3rd at the iconic Marathon des Sables in 2017. An unknown runner, what followed was a meteoric rise in the sport.
Tom joined me at our Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp in 2018 and his presence was a great success. I knew then, one day that we’d have him back…!
Tom doing volcano hill reps, Lanzarote 2018.
January 2023 and Tom returns to Lanzarote amongst a stellar line-up that included 8x Marathon des Sables champion, Rachid El Morabity and the amazing and inspirational, ‘Dead Man Running,’ Kevin Webber.
MDS opened the door for Tom. He followed up with a win and course record at The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica.
A 3rd place at the IAU World Trail Championships, a foray in the world of skyrunning and suddenly top was on the start line of the CCC, one of the key races of UTMB week. Running a perfect race, Tom closed on the lead in the latter stages of the race, forged ahead and won the biggest race of his life. A sponsorship deal with adidas Terrex followed and the dream of Western States started to fall in to place.
Western States, the iconic 100-miler in the USA is a ‘bucket list’ dream for any trail and mountain runner. For Tom, it would be his first time racing such a long distance in one day. Taking a unique training approach, Tom moved to Ethiopia to prepare. Race day was a dream scenario with a podium finish and a time that dipped under 15-hours.
Victory at Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand at the start of 2020, whet the appetite for what was to come.
A certain pandemic got in the way of racing plans and Tom decided to have surgery to fix a persistent injury problem. 2021 was very much a year of rehabilitation gaining strength and fitness.
With the arrival of 2022, Tom is back and it is now a great pleasure to confirm his attendance at the 2023 Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp.
With some new routes, new talks and workshops, new guests, the 2023 Multi-Day Training Camp will take what is already a special and unique formula and take it up several notches.
Welcome to ‘The Chamonix Tapes’ an inside look at the adidas Terrex Team during the 2021 UTMB.
Starting on Tuesday August 24th and running through to Sunday August 29th, there will be a daily podcast release for your audio pleasure. In The Chamonix Tapes 6, we speak with Emily Hawgood and Petter Engdahl.
“This summer has been amazing, from not being able to travel to being here in the Alps for 2-months has been superb! The big goal for this Summer has been OCC. So far the adidas Terrex Team support has exceeded my expectations… The team is growing and we will have some really good years ahead of us, adidas Terrex have the aim to move the boundaries of trail running in a new area of professionalism without losing the sport ethos.” – Petter Engdahl
Welcome to ‘The Chamonix Tapes’ an inside look at the adidas Terrex Team during the 2021 UTMB.
Starting on Tuesday August 24th and running through to Sunday August 29th, there will be a daily podcast release for your audio pleasure. In The Chamonix Tapes 5, we speak with Robbie Simpson.
“I have always like road and I think there is a place for that… But, I am keen to move towards trail and longer distance events. That feeling of running up a mountain on a smooth or technical trail is magical.”
Welcome to ‘The Chamonix Tapes’ an inside look at the adidas Terrex Team during the 2021 UTMB.
Starting on Tuesday August 24th and running through to Sunday August 29th, there will be a daily podcast release for your audio pleasure.
In The Chamonix Tapes 3, we speak with Sabrina Stanley and Ruth Croft.
“I obviously want to do the best for the people who support me and make them proud. I feel I can do this but I want to look at the 15-20yr picture and I enjoy running healthy and fast and I want to do that for as long as possible…. I plan on coming back in 2022 and doing something special.” – Sabrina Stanley
