DAN CURTS
Currently working to shift the opinion of sub-ultra trail races from recreational to legitimate—comparable in both prestige and competition to the likes of Hardrock or Western States.
Career highlights
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2023 Classic US Mountain Running Champion
11-time, individual High School State Champion (track/cross country)
Collegiate DI All-American
Big 12 Champion (5,000m)
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Maine: All-time High School record holder (outdoor 3200m)
New England: All-time High School record holder (indoor 3000m)
Mt. Moosilauke — 34:37.
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Mile — 3:59
5km — 13:38
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1st: UTMB Palace 20 (2023)
3rd: Dirt Circus (2023)
2nd: Xterra Trail World Championships (2023)
1st: US Classic Mountain Running Championships (2023)
2nd: US Vertical Championships (2023)
2nd: Loon Mountain, US Vertical Championships (2022)
6th: Trofeo Nasego (2022)
1st: Overland TRAIL (2022)
Represented Team USA at Challenge Stellina and the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships (2022).
Runs For
Upcoming Races.
TBD
MY ORIGINS
While growing up in rural Maine, the only things I had access to were trails in the mountains. Not a whole lot in way of opportunity. I was a kid when running became my escape—what I did when everything else was going poorly. But as that kid got older, I came to realize that running well meant securing myself a scholarship to college. So, I ran with the hope of a better life. When that happened, though, I found that I was a bit lost.
Without noticing, the pieces of running I loved the most had slipped away. The sterile environment that is high-level track wasn’t what I was raised on. I couldn't be myself. I felt trapped somewhere that I wasn't supposed to be. That was until two years ago, when I learned that racing on the trails and in the mountains was a legitimate option—its own discipline, even. Immediately, I knew that a shift was my only way forward.