Triathletes Who Took on Ultrarunning (and How They Did)

Updated August 27, 2024 02:14AM

Whether it’s a complete career pivot or a spur-of-the-moment challenge, several elite triathletes have successfully crossed into the ultrarunning arena. As we gear up to watch Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), which kicks off this weekend, let’s take a look at eight athletes who have topped tri podiums—and are now tops on the trails, too.

8 Pro Triathletes-turned-Ultrarunners

Heather Jackson

Triathlon Highlights: Won six Ironman races, 16 half-Ironman races, and placed fifth or better at four Ironman World Championships.

Ultrarunning Highlights: Winner, 2023 Javelina Jundred 100 Miler (14:24:47); Winner, 2023 Three Sisters Skyline 50K (4:10:20); Winner, 2023 The Canyons Endurance Runs 50K (4:09:36); 7th, 2024 Western States 100 (17:16:43)

After retiring from triathlon in 2022, Jackson wasted no time pivoting to ultra running and mountain bike and gravel racing. Now a darling of the ultra world (as highlighted in this short film produced by Hoka, her sponsor), Jackson has called her transition to the trails as a “fun and refreshing” change from triathlon. She’s racked up finishes in ultra races in rather quick succession, including a finish as the 20th female (and the fourth American woman) at UTMB 50K last August. Summer 2024 has proven to be quite busy, as Jackson notched a fifth-place finish at UNBOUND Gravel (200 miles) in early June, finished as the seventh female at Western States Endurance Run (100 Miles) a few weeks later, and landed in 18th at Leadville Trail 100 MTB on August 10. She’s running the CCC 100K on August 30 during this year’s UTMB Mont-Blanc festival of trail running.

Lisa Roberts

Ultrarunning Highlights: 2nd, Hikuri 100K (12:54:23); Winner, Uwharrie Gold Rush 50K (05:33:22); Winner, 2020 Javelina Jundred 100K (8:56:01); 5th, 2023 JFK 50 Miler (6:53:58)

Like Jackson, Roberts made the final switch to ultra running in 2022 after dabbling in the scene since around 2020 when most of her scheduled triathlons were canceled due to COVID. Also like Jackson, she took top honors at Javelina Jundred (in 2020, running the 100K distance) and would later go on to finishing at the pointy end of other ultra races, including the Hikuri 100K in Mexico, which qualified her for next year’s UTMB World Series in Chamonix, France. At the Uwharrie Gold Rush 50K in October, Roberts, a top collegiate distance runner before turning to tri, was close to winning outright, beating all but two men.

Sika Henry

Triathlon Highlights: First Black woman to be recognized as a professional triathlete (2021); five-time Ironman 70.3 podium finisher between 2017-2021.

Ultrarunning Highlights: Winner, Dismal Swamp Race 100K (8:34:20); Finisher, 2023 JFK 50 Mile (9:01:36); Finisher, 2024 Comrades Marathon 90K

Henry, who recently announced her retirement from pro triathlon, admits she’s still finding her footing in ultrarunning, a venue she veered into during the pandemic. But that isn’t stymying her determination to make an impact in the sport. “I feel like I have so much untapped potential. It’s all uncharted territory for me,” she says. In March, Henry posted the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the 51.4-mile Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Trail last March. Calling it “perhaps the most emotional run of [her] life,” Henry completed the run in 7 hours, 6 minutes, and 6 seconds. While not quite ready to commit to a 100-mile race, Henry is considering the Javelina Jundred 100K in October—but will first race in this fall’s Chicago Marathon.

Beth McKenzie

Triathlon Highlights: Completed an Ironman four months after having her first daughter; at one year postpartum, she won 2015 Ironman Switzerland and later finished 15th at the 2015 Ironman World Championships; won 2016 Ironman Australia and 2018 Ironman 70.3 Indonesia.

Ultrarunning Highlights: Winner, 2024 Ultra-Trail Australia 100K (10:41:43); 2nd, 2024 Tarawera Ultra-Trail 100K (9:38:03); Winner, 2022 Noosa Ultra-Trail 50K (04:02:46)

McKenzie, an American who resides in Noosa, Australia with her husband (and nine-time Ironman champion) Luke McKenzie, has launched herself to the forefront of ultrarunning down under. After serving a suspension from triathlon for testing positive for a banned substance (though she has always maintained her innocence and believes the fault was in contaminated salt pills) McKenzie went all-in on running, officially arriving on the ultra scene in May with her big 100K win at Ultra-Trail Australia over top ultra ace Lucy Bartholemew, on a highly-technical course throughout the other-wordly Blue Mountains. After the win, McKenzie, the co-founder of Wyn Republic and a mother of two, wrote, “I hoped I could cross the line and my daughters would see me accomplish something very hard at 44 and that they’d chase goals and make their own rules too.”

Eli Hemming

Triathlon Highlights: 2016 and 2017 USA Triathlon Under-23 Athlete of the Year; 2018 USA Triathlon Men’s Olympic/ITU Triathlete of the Year

Ultrarunning Highlights: Winner, 2024 Canyons Endurance Run 50K (3:25:23); Winner, 2024 Big Alta 50K (3:38:33); Winner, 2024 Black Canyons Ultras 60K (4:06:39); Winner, 2023 Kodiak Ultra Marathon 50K (3:49:35); 2nd, 2023 Marathon du Mont-Blanc 50K (03:40:50)

Once an Olympic hopeful as part of Team USA, Hemming is now carving a successful path in ultrarunning. He followed up his retirement from pro triathlon in 2021 (he has said he was no longer happy competing as a triathlete), with a rapid shift to the trails, landing on the podium in several 20K and 50K in his first few seasons. In 2024, Hemming handily won the Canyons Endurance Run 50K (3:25:23), the Big Alta 50K (3:38:33), and the Black Canyons Ultras 60K (4:06:39), among other podium finishes. The Colorado-based Hemming isn’t the only ultrarunner in his house: His wife, Tabor, is also one of the top trail runners in the country.

John Kelly

Ultrarunning Highlights: Winner, 2024 Old Dominion 100 Miler (15:44:49); Three-time Barkleys Marathon finisher

Kelly, who was a top age-group triathlete before a quick stint as a pro, is one of the most well known ultra runners in the world. While still a triathlete, he had already gained somewhat of a niche following as an ultrarunner after winning the grueling Barkleys Marathon in 2017, and he’s finished it two more times since, a feat that only one other person has matched. Kelly’s decision to put his racing energy into ultras versus triathlons came from a practical standpoint—he wasn’t making enough money and he wasn’t getting any faster as a swimmer—as well as his desire to explore more.

And that he has: A prolific racer, Kelly also aims for individual speed efforts. He currently holds 11 FKTs, his most recent being the Vermont Long Trail, covering 273 miles in 4 days, 4 hours, 25 minutes, 50 seconds. (Coincidentally, fellow former pro triathlete-turned-ultra runner Alyssa Godesky holds the female record on the Long Trail, as well as three other FKTS).

Joe Skipper

Triathlon Highlights: Multiple-time Ironman champion (including 2023 Lake Placid and 2022 Arizona and Wales); 5th, 2022 Ironman World Championships

Ultra Running Highlights: While Skipper is still anchored in the pro triathlete scene, he did have a self-supported foray into ultra running with a 50K training run in December, 2021. Skipper clocked an impressive 2:57:48 time on his run from Lowestoft to Norwich in England, which averages out to be 5:43 per mile. (He passed through 26.2 miles in 2:28:57.) Since then Skipper has stuck to triathlon, but did compete in HYROX London last November.

Ari Klau

Triathlon Highlights: 5th, 2024 Ironman 70.3 Maine; 5th, Ironman 70.3 Augusta;

“Signed up for a 50K on a whim and then my friends signed up too so I couldn’t bail,” Klau posted on September 2, 2023. “Bought a trail pack but did no training! Update later today if I survive!” Spoiler: He did survive—and won, too. Using the 50K as “training stimulus for 70.3 Augusta” (where he finished fifth with the third-fastest run split of 1:12:53), Klau has yet to attempt another ultra race. A former collegiate runner with a 5K best of 13:57.63, Klau will next race at Challenge Sanremo in September.

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