Rory Bosio

About

Rory Bosio is an American ultrarunner and pediatric intensive care nurse from Truckee, California, who in August 2013 produced one of the most astonishing performances in trail running history — winning UTMB in seventh place overall, the first time in eleven editions that any woman had finished in the men's top ten. Born in 1984 and raised at altitude in the Tahoe mountains, she graduated from UC Davis before working as a pediatric ICU nurse. Running without GPS or a structured pace plan, she completed the 170km UTMB course in 22 hours, 37 minutes, and 26 seconds — seventh overall and over an hour ahead of the next woman. She returned in 2014 to win again in 23:23, and her combined winning times remained the race's best women's performances by over an hour years later. Her 2012 Western States finish of 18:08:06 — second behind Ellie Greenwood's course-record 16:47:19 — showed her capability across American ultra formats as well. Bosio built her reputation on an approach antithetical to high-performance orthodoxy: she trained without a coach or periodised plan, relying instead on a mountain lifestyle of skiing, hiking, and outdoor nursing work. Her career became a touchstone for the idea that exceptional mountain performance can emerge from joy and instinct as much as from systematic preparation.

Notable Wins

• — UTMB Mont-Blanc 2013 (22:37:26
• — 7th overall — first woman in top 10 in race history)
• — UTMB Mont-Blanc 2014 (23:23)
• — Western States 100 2nd 2012 (18:08:06)

Race History