ES🇺🇸

Emily Schmitz

UTMB Index ITRA DUV Instagram

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United StatesBorn 1981-06-28Sponsor HOKA

UTMB 791ITRA 789Wins 11Podiums 23

American trail runner from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Emily Schmitz ran in high school and college, took a long break from the sport, and only discovered trail running in her mid-thirties while living in Bogotá, Colombia, where she worked for a human-rights nonprofit for more than a decade. Based in Chamonix since 2021 and coaching with the Chaski Endurance Collective, she built a reputation as a reliably tough racer around the UTMB circuit — 5th at OCC in 2019 and 5th at CCC in 2023 — before her breakthrough at 45: third place at UTMB 2026 on her first attempt at the full loop, finishing 94 seconds behind Rachel Entrekin after a patient start from outside the top 15.

Race Results

2026

4 races1 win

3rd

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc/UTMB

Aug 28

174km

9,900m+

~11.4%

22:17:28

First UTMB; 33rd overall; 94 seconds behind Rachel Entrekin for 2nd after passing Careth Arnold on the descent to La Fouly; was around 17th at Les Contamines

2nd

Monte Rosa Walserwaeg by UTMB/Walserwaeg Trail 43K

Jul 18

43km

3,100m+

~14.4%

5:39:23

22nd overall

1st

Trail du Tour des Fiz/Balcon des Fiz

Jul 11

14km

800m+

~11.4%

1:22:23

12th overall

2nd

Istria 100 by UTMB/42K

Apr 11

42km

1,150m+

~5.5%

3:49:44

18th overall

2025

5 races

33rd

World Mountain and Trail Running Championships/Long Trail

Sep 27

81.2km

5,413m+

~13.3%

12:10:36

Team USA

20th

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc/CCC

Aug 29

101km

6,050m+

~12.0%

13:19:08

81st overall

25th

Broken Arrow Skyrace/46K

Jun 21

46km

2,743m+

~11.9%

5:24:43

70th overall

DNF

Grand Raid Ventoux/Grande Épopée Ventoux (GEV)

Apr 26

89km

3,750m+

~8.4%

3rd

Chianti Ultra Trail

Mar 22

73km

3,000m+

~8.2%

7:27:58

27th overall

2024

4 races

4th

Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB/Eze - Nice 50K

Oct 5

54km

2,100m+

~7.8%

5:46:54

50th overall

5th

Wildstrubel by UTMB/Wild 50

Sep 14

37km

1,700m+

~9.2%

3:39:07

29th overall

3rd

Swiss Alps 100/Vertical

Aug 10

10.2km

1,830m+

~17.9%

1:47:49

11th overall

12th

Western States Endurance Run/Western States 100

Jun 29

100mi

5,500m+

~11.0%

18:39:55

100-mile debut; 33rd overall

2023

2 races

5th

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc/CCC

Sep 1

100km

6,150m+

~12.3%

12:42:24

38th overall

2nd

Val Tho Summit Games/VT Trail Pursuit 20 km

Aug 6

19.7km

870m+

~8.8%

1:56:23

5th overall

View All 49 Results

Career Highlights

2016: Won the women's race at The North Face Endurance Challenge Colombia 50K, one of her first trail races

2018: Won the Trail Challenge Cerro de la Muerte 50K in Costa Rica overall; first European season with Penyagolosa, Sierre-Zinal and the Ring of Steall

2019: First trip to Chamonix — 5th at OCC; represented the United States at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Villa La Angostura (10th)

2020: Won the Ultra La Mesa 80K in Colombia outright, beating the entire men's field

2021: Moved to Chamonix full-time and signed with HOKA; 11th at OCC

2022: First 100K — 19th at CCC; 4th at Ultra Pirineu 100K and 2nd at Val d'Aran PDA and Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques

2023: 7th in the Long Trail at the World Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai; 5th at CCC; won Trail des Celtes at Trail Alsace by UTMB

2024: 100-mile debut — 12th at Western States

2025: 3rd at Chianti Ultra Trail; 20th at CCC; Long Trail at the World Championships in Canfranc

2026: 2nd at Monte Rosa Walserwaeg 43K, then 3rd at UTMB in her first attempt at the full loop

Key Achievements

UTMB - 3rd (2026) - 22:17:28, in her first UTMB at age 45

CCC - 5th (2023)

OCC - 5th (2019)

World Mountain and Trail Running Championships - 7th Long Trail (2023)

Western States 100 - 12th (2024)

Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB - 3rd (2025)

Monte Rosa Walserwaeg by UTMB 43K - 2nd (2026)

Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB - Trail des Celtes Winner (2023)

Ultra La Mesa 80K Winner - overall (2020)

Ultra Pirineu 100K - 4th (2022)

Notable Traits

Grew up in the flatlands of Wisconsin; a self-described 'sworn anti-hill runner' until she found the mountains in her thirties

Ran her first trail race at 35 in Colombia, where she lived in Bogotá for over ten years working for the human-rights nonprofit FOR Peace Presence

Relocated to Chamonix at the start of the pandemic and moved there full-time in 2021, the year she signed with HOKA

Certified running coach (USATF, UESCA, RRCA) with the Chaski Endurance Collective; also a 200-hour trained yoga teacher

Served as ITRA's elite athlete representative (2020-2022) and is a member of the Pro Trail Runners Association

Two-time Team USA member at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (Long Trail 2023 and 2025)

Nicknamed 'Schmitzerland' by the Chamonix trail community; races by feel with a conservative start and a strong second half