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American ultramarathon runner Camille Herron and her trainer/husband Conor Holt are grabbing headlines after the Canadian Running Magazine reported the couple have been making edits to fellow ultrarunners Kilian Jornet and Courtney Dauwalter’s Wikipedia pages.
On September 23, 2024, the magazine published an article claiming the couple removed notable achievements from Jornet and Dauwalter’s Wikipedia bios and added the same to Herron’s page. Herron and Holt were reportedly working under the username “Rundbowie” and seemingly made several changes to her competitors’ pages.
The most egregious claim by the outlet was removing the expression “widely regarded as one of the best trail runners ever” from both Kilian and Courtney’s pages, justifying the move as “removing puffery.” Not only that, but she allegedly added a similar phrase to her page, reading, “widely regarded as one of the greatest ultramarathon runners of all time.”
In the wake of the now-viral allegations, Camille Herron and her coach-spouse face online backlash.
“Wow, downplaying other athletes' accomplishments to build up your own is a sad look. And of all people’s page to touch… Courtney Dauwalter?! What are they even thinking while doing that,” a person asked.
“I had followed her because I loved her attitude about her running. But I came to realize (and this shows it even further) that while she is a truly great athlete, she is really a bad competitor. @courtdauwalter and others know how to compliment in competition - true greats,” wrote another.
"How sad that @runcamille has to tear down others' performances & accomplishments in order to boost her own. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished without discrediting other athletes. And yes, Courtney is one of the best ultra runners in the world hands down," one person wrote.
Others called Camille Herron’s involvement in the Wikipedia edits of her competitors “embarrassing” and consistent with “bullying.”
“It's wild to me that someone who will train unceasingly and suffer through great physical discomfort in the ultra world will also take the easy way out... Even more embarrassing for them IMO,” an X user wrote.
“Ouch. That’s a lot of activity over a significant time period. At least this is bullying, and at worst, possibly a mental issue. Either way, it truly is sad. She could have simply been kind and stood on her many accomplishments,” one user wrote.
"Truly disappointed, I, along with other aspiring runners really looked up to her. I suppose we all make mistakes, but trying to make amazing humble athletes seem inferior is shameful," wrote another.
Some claimed that Camille Herron’s actions were not surprising.
“This is somehow both surprising and not surprising at all,” a person wrote.
“It doesn't surprise me at all, this woman's ego is unmatched in the world of sports currently,” an individual wrote.
Camille Herron has not addressed the Wikipedia controversy yet, and all her social media accounts have either been disabled or deleted.
All you need to know about Camille Herron
According to her official website, Camille Herron is an ultrarunner, scientist, coach, ambassador, public speaker, and model. The 42-year-old is a four-time IAU International Ultrarunner of the Year and a six-time USATF Ultrarunner of the Year.
Inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame earlier this year, Herron has several accolades to her name, including being the only athlete who’s won all of the IAU Ultra Road World Championships (50km, 100km, and 24Hrs) and being the first ultrarunner to win both the prestigious Comrades Marathon and Spartathlon.
Camille even became the first woman to break 24 hours at the 153-mile Spartathlon in 2023. She is also the first and only woman to cover 100 miles under 13 hours on road, track, and trail. Besides all this, Herron became the first woman to surpass a men’s American Record when she boosted the women’s 48-hour World Record by 14.8 miles to 270.505 miles, making her rank the 3rd best in the world behind two male runners.
Apart from being an ultramarathon runner, Camille Herron is also a trail runner who has won several contests, including JFK 50 miles, Bandera 100km, Black Canyon 100km, Tunnel Hill 100, Tarawera 100km and 100 miles, and the Javelina Jundred. She also runs on roads and tracks.
Some of her other accomplishments are being a three-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, a 21-time marathon winner, participating in the 2011 US Pan American Team, and securing the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a superhero costume (2:48:51 dressed as Spiderwoman). Camille Herron also became the youngest woman to reach 100,000-lifetime running miles in April 2022.
The Oklahoma native has been the secretary of the USATF Women’s Long Distance Running Committee since 2012 and has also been a member of the Pro Trailrunners Association. Besides, she has served on the Women's Equality and Anti-Doping Working Groups, Team USA Athlete Services Co-Coordinator for the Pan American Games in 2015, and the US Department of State Sports Diplomacy Program in 2023.
In 2024, she was diagnosed with autism/ADHD but has continued to be an advocate for women's health, equality, diversity and inclusion, anti-doping, perimenopause, mental health, and growing women's sports science studies. Camille Herron is also a humanitarian who has earlier worked as a research specialist in bone imaging.
Currently based in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and coach, Conor Holt, she attended Westmoore High School as a valedictorian in 2000. She also has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Exercise and Sports Science from The University of Tulsa and Oregon State University, respectively, in 2005 and 2007.
In brief, exploring the Wikipedia scandal surrounding Camille Herron
Camille Herron was recently accused of taking down accolades from her competitors, Kilian Jornet and Courtney Dauwalter’s Wikipedia pages while improving her own.
As per Canadian Running Magazine, her email and Conor Holt’s IP address have been traced back to the edits, which have been done under the username “Rundbowie” since February 2024.
Before that, Herron and her husband/coach have allegedly been using “Temporun73” since 2017. Apparently, they made over 300 changes to several Wikipedia pages, including her own. They allegedly removed “positive content” from the pages of Dauwalter, Greek ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros, and 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden, among others.
However, earlier this year, Temporun73 was reportedly banned briefly by Wikipedia for violating its conflict-of-interest policies for the edits made to her own page. In the wake of the ban, the Rundbowie username emerged in its place. It seemingly continued to make the edits, the most contentious being deleting Danish ultrarunner Stine Rex’s records from the Ultramarathon page in June and September this year.
As per the outlet, Camille Herron and Conor Holt have received multiple warnings from Wikipedia in the past. However, they have almost always dismissed them as “abusive talk.” After messing with Jornet and Dauwalter’s pages in March, Wikipedia officials reportedly flagged Herron’s activities further and linked the Temporun73 username with Rundbowie.
Amid the ongoing controversy, Trishul Cherns, the President of The Global Organization of Multi-day Marathoners (GOMU), shared a statement with the Canadian Running Magazine.
“This couple has a history of trying to disrupt athletes, their reputations, races, and performances by citing World Athletics rules that do not apply to ultrarunning and multi-day running. I was appalled by Camille’s criticism directed at athletes challenging ‘her’ records and her efforts to discredit them,” Cherns shared.
He further said that despite being “talented,” Camille Herron had a history of trying to create “division and animosity within the ultrarunning community,” and the Wikipedia scandal was a part of her “pattern of interference.” He also called Camille’s behavior “unsportsmanlike” and compared it to “bullying” and “mean-spirited,” adding they had no place in the ultrarunning macro community.
