Croft’s recent win the 174km Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc made her the first woman to take out the triple series crown in the prestigious event
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rowing up in Stillwater, New Zealand, population 86, Ruth Croft learned hard work from a young age. Her father ran a transport company, managing dozens of drivers and semi-trailers across the 600km West Coast in the South Island.
“On school holidays I worked for my dad full time, sometimes 14-hour days,” says Croft. “Shitty jobs like cleaning drains or the grease bay. I don’t know anyone who works as hard as he does.”
Her mother and brother also worked for the family company and all three were often in the office from sunrise to sunset. The hard-work ethos made an impression on Croft, a professional runner who made history last month after winning the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), the most prestigious ultra in the world. The UTMB is a 174km (108 miles) race that passes through France, Italy, and Switzerland, encircling the Mont Blanc Massif. In doing so, she became the first woman to win the UTMB World Series Triple Crown, which includes OCC and CCC, which are shorter distances at the same event. Despite her level of success, Croft has remained an enigma to many, because she almost never talks about herself.
