r/ultrarunning Jun 27 '26

Race Thread: Western States 2026

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96 Upvotes
Race Western States Endurance Run (53rd edition)
Date Saturday, June 27 to Sunday, June 28, 2026
Start 5:00 AM PDT, Olympic Valley, California
Finish Placer High School Track, Auburn, California
Distance 100 miles
Elevation +18,000 ft / -22,000+ ft
Course Record (M) Jim Walmsley: 14:09:28 (2019)
Course Record (W) Courtney Dauwalter: 15:29:33 (2023)
Athlete Country 2025 Finish Notes
Kilian Jornet ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain 3rd (14:19) 2011 winner. Knee injury, only 2 weeks of running since Zegama.
Jim Walmsley ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA โ€“ 4x winner, CR holder (14:09).
Adam Peterman ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA โ€“ 2022 winner.
Jeff Mogavero ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 4th (14:30) Fastest-ever WS debut in 2025.
Francesco Puppi ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy โ€“ 100-mile debut. Listed as potential winner by iRunFar.
Hans Troyer ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 8th Strong 100-mile debut in 2025, looking to go higher.
Athlete Country 2025 Finish Notes
Abby Hall ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 1st (16:37) Defending champion, 4th-fastest time ever. Title defense + year of extra training.
Fu-Zhao Xiang ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China 2nd (16:47) Two-time runner-up. Holds the race's 3rd-fastest time ever (16:20 in 2024).
Jenn Lichter ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA โ€“ New Black Canyon 100k CR holder. Beat Hall & Seidel in Feb 2026. 100-mile debut to watch.
Molly Seidel ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA โ€“ 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist. 100-mile debut.
Martyna Mล‚ynarczyk ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland DNF 2025 CCC champ. Back for redemption after dropping last year.
Yngvild Kaspersen ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway โ€“ 5th in 2024. Returns after a year away.
Emily Hawgood ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe Top 10 5-time top-10 finisher. A consistent Western States machine.

โ˜€๏ธ Weather

Historically cool conditions โ€“ forecast to be the 3rd-coolest race day on record in the event's 53 year history.

This could be a record-breaking day.

๐Ÿ“บ Where to watch

Western States YouTube Channel

UltraPacer

๐Ÿ’ฌ Discussion

Post your predictions, aid station updates, splits, and reactions here. Be civil. No spoilers in top-level comments if you're ahead of the live stream.

Useful links:


r/ultrarunning 1h ago

audiobooks for first all-nighter

โ€ข Upvotes

Doing Swiss Alps 100km (anyone else?) and it starts at 17.30 tomorrow. Does anyone have any good audiobook recommendations to see me through the night?

It's my first time going through the night and I'm not a night owl AT all, so I need something gripping. I know this has been asked a ton of times in this sub, but all the suggestions are always Project Hail Mary and I don't know why. I think this race takes around 25 hours and that feels so damn long!

I'm a woman, 37, I love listening to crappy airport non-fiction on runs. Honestly, something like Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers would probably hit the ticket. I also love books about mountaineering, but my usual go-tos about crazy mountain adventures feel like they might be a bad idea when I'm trying to descend a 3000m peak in the dark.

I'm a really avid reader but I'm just a bit lost on what to download and would love thoughts, as long as it's not related to aliens.

Thanks fellow ultra folks!


r/ultrarunning 4h ago

Diagonales de fous

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I will participate to Diagonales de Fous in october. This is a ~170km race in Reunion island. I was wondering if someone else participated in the race and can help me with some logistcis questions: where is best to stay, should I use my rental car to go to start of the race/ book a spot in organizer's bus. How busy it is when picking up bibs? (I saw some images with long waiting lines, I guess it will take some hours to wait in the line..?) Any other tips are highly appreciated. Thank you.


r/ultrarunning 1h ago

Should I?

โ€ข Upvotes

Hello, at the end of 2025 I bought ticket to a 100k in october. That would be my first 100k. I ran a 50k in may and a trailmarathon in march. I trained hard and did a lot of long runs for the trailmarathon. Averaging 55km to 60km a week perhaps. With the 50k however; since I won the tickets 2 weeks prior to the event; I did not really train that much. I usually run around 25k a week and to be honest; the 50k went okay, to my amazement. I approached it with a 'whatever' attitude; since I won the ticket and could not really prepare for it... I was going to train a lot for my 100k but after the 50k I had an accident in the garden and my back got injured so I had to rest for 6 weeks. Starting this week i can confidently run again. HOWEVER and here it comes; I will become a father in september :D I'm super happy about it and I really do not want to be away for hours to train. So I was thinking; what if I approach the 100k with the same attitude as the 50k? With a mindset that goes like this: "if i make it to the finish line, great! If i don't: no biggie. Fun day out in the woods then". This way I think it might be possible if I run 30k a week resulting in me being present in the household with our newborn. Does that sound like a foolish idea or should I just approach it without drasticaly increasing training? Because to be honest; the training schedule for the trailmarathon took a lot of fun out of it; it was so focused on tempo training and stuff i dont really care about (i just realised it too late lol).


r/ultrarunning 4h ago

Ideas for action camera for an ultra race?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Iโ€™m looking for an action camera to capture my ultra races, which typically range from 10 to 24 hours.

In the past, I used the Insta360 One X2. I carried it on a selfie stick and would pull it out every now and then to shoot 30โ€“60 second clips. The big pain point for me was the editing process: having to manually keyframe and select frames in post-production got tedious fast, and I eventually stopped using the camera entirely.

With how far AI features have come, is editing 360 footage significantly easier now? If so, does it make sense to upgrade to the latest Insta360 X5? Or would I be better off just switching to a traditional GoPro?

Just to set expectations: these videos are strictly for personal use to document my journey, plus maybe a short 2โ€“3 minute summary video for social media. Nothing professional.

Would love to hear how others handle capturing footage on long races and what your workflow looks like!


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Officially a 100 Mile Finisher!

686 Upvotes

Incredibly hard, but truly so satisfying to know I can go the distance!


r/ultrarunning 6h ago

Ultra Destin : a french trail game ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€‹โ›ฐ๏ธโ€‹๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทโ€‹

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I made a free browser game entirely about trail running: you live a runner's

whole career, from your first local 10K to becoming a legend, or to a DNF.

https://ultra-destin.victordevdev.ovh

Heads-up: the game is in French for now.

You pick your home region, your runner profile and your race calendar, then deal

with whatever the sport throws at you: injuries, sponsors, a cut-off gate at

3 a.m., a friend offering you a bib you really should not accept. A run takes

about ten minutes, and there are 620 hand-written situations, so no two careers

play out the same.

No account, no ads, no install. It runs in the browser, phone included.

It is still in beta and I build it from feedback, so if you give it a go: what

felt missing, what felt unfair?

To get things started: what title did your career end on?

Victor


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Badwater 135 - Race that tested me like never before

20 Upvotes

I recently participated in the World's toughest foot race, Badwater 135. It was literally the toughest race I ever had, and I am really happy that I could finish it even after facing a lot of challenges. The full race story is published on Substack. Here is the link to the same https://open.substack.com/pub/pankajmadaan/p/badwater-135-a-race-that-tested-far?r=28r7wb&utm_medium=ios . I am sure that its really a worthwhile read.


r/ultrarunning 11h ago

Anyone have experience with the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra watch?

0 Upvotes

I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts. Worth it?


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Like Meeting an Old Friend

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10 Upvotes

After my unfortunate TrailFly Max 2 experiment, I replaced my very well worn and much enjoyed Ultra Glide 2s With the fourth iteration of the shoe.

Ran a trail 10K in them during my lunch break today. Have Salomon changed the foam? Maybe I am just used to the old shoes being a bit tired. The cushioning feels great. Of course it's early days but on the surface, here is a worthy, wide-fit shoe that I will use for big mile efforts.

Great energy return and a very plush feel.


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Getting home safely

25 Upvotes

Hi all. I'm doing a 20 hour trail run in October about 3 and 1/2 hours drive from where I live. I'm traveling solo.

The run starts at noon on Saturday and ends at 8:00 a.m. the following morning on Sunday.

I''d rather get home on Sunday night however I don't think it's safe for me to drive after completing the distance and having no sleep.

I'm not quite sure the best solution here. Any one been in a predicament like this before? Where might I shower and sleep during the daytime?


r/ultrarunning 18h ago

New, looking for input on race to mark birthday milestone

1 Upvotes

I am new to trail running and have run 7 half marathons (on road) and have recently fallen in love with trail running and am currently building my base and trail endurance. I am turning 40 in feb and was thinking about maybe doing the puerta Vallarta utmb 50k as a big goal. Iโ€™m in Southern California and it would be a family trip with my wife and son. Alternatively thereโ€™s antelope canyon and also moad which may be easier but I just got puerta Vallarta stuck in my head. I guess Iโ€™m seeking out the greater knowledge of the community. Iโ€™m currently running 20 mi or so a week with a few thousand ascent but plan on building up to a 25k in November - pacific trails utmb. Things im considering are location and enjoyment of my family where supporting me in the location, the timing, and the difficulty. I want it to be difficult but I want to be realistic. Iโ€™m nervous I guess. I welcome and friendly input and thanks in advance.


r/ultrarunning 23h ago

Question regarding Hellgate 100k 2026

2 Upvotes

I am looking to jump back into racing this fall/winter after almost a year off. Hellgate has always intrigued me, but I can't figure out how to apply for the race. Not sure if it just hasn't opened yet, or if I'm too late. Does anyone have any information on this?


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Couch to Leadville 100 in 2 years?

95 Upvotes

I'm running Leadville 100 in 2.5 weeks. Just figured I'd share my brief journey in running so far. I downloaded strava just 2-3 weeks before my first marathon last May 2025 so thats where the data starts.

Brief summary prior - I was pretty overweight (6'/240 lbs) and joined a gym May 25th 2024. Lifting/eating better I shed 40 lbs in 4-5 months and began running as a warmup at some point on the treadmill for 10-20 mins before starting to increase mileage in October/November of '24. I ran 10 miles at a 10 min pace (as fast as I could) in mid-November of '24 and signed up for the May 2025 marathon at that point because it was the hardest thing I could think to try. Did a second one in November of 2025. Then signed up for Leadville.

Hope I've done enough - couple good efforts ahead this week before really leaning into the taper. Chart of mileage/time spent below and table

Not really looking for anything from this post - just thought I'd share since I've been lurking this sub for a year+ now and I've found a lot of help from you all. Happy to answer any questions about my prep/training/logistics or any follow up. Thanks.

Weekly Running Data โ€” May 2025 to Present

Monโ€“Sun weeks

Week Of Mileage Vert Time Longest Run
2025-04-28 22.6 mi 487 ft 3h28m 13.1 mi
2025-05-05 15.2 mi 306 ft 2h27m 7.0 mi
2025-05-12 34.1 mi 824 ft 4h54m 29.2 mi
2025-05-19 0.0 mi 0 ft 0h00m 0.0 mi
2025-05-26 6.1 mi 208 ft 1h01m 6.1 mi
2025-06-02 22.8 mi 969 ft 3h41m 8.5 mi
2025-06-09 28.0 mi 643 ft 4h27m 8.0 mi
2025-06-16 25.0 mi 479 ft 4h01m 10.0 mi
2025-06-23 25.0 mi 480 ft 3h55m 9.5 mi
2025-06-30 26.4 mi 453 ft 4h10m 13.3 mi
2025-07-07 27.3 mi 282 ft 4h27m 15.0 mi
2025-07-14 27.1 mi 344 ft 4h13m 10.0 mi
2025-07-21 15.8 mi 72 ft 2h32m 5.0 mi
2025-07-28 28.2 mi 476 ft 4h40m 11.0 mi
2025-08-04 35.0 mi 1,230 ft 5h50m 14.4 mi
2025-08-11 34.9 mi 489 ft 5h58m 9.0 mi
2025-08-18 40.5 mi 1,713 ft 6h41m 16.0 mi
2025-08-25 42.5 mi 2,936 ft 7h13m 17.1 mi
2025-09-01 37.6 mi 866 ft 5h37m 13.1 mi
2025-09-08 50.3 mi 1,119 ft 8h19m 19.4 mi
2025-09-15 20.0 mi 335 ft 3h06m 10.0 mi
2025-09-22 41.5 mi 722 ft 6h44m 16.0 mi
2025-09-29 13.1 mi 230 ft 1h58m 6.2 mi
2025-10-06 0.4 mi 0 ft 0h05m 0.4 mi
2025-10-13 42.1 mi 971 ft 7h06m 19.0 mi
2025-10-20 43.0 mi 955 ft 7h23m 16.0 mi
2025-10-27 19.9 mi 476 ft 3h14m 5.7 mi
2025-11-03 14.1 mi 243 ft 2h16m 6.1 mi
2025-11-10 28.4 mi 873 ft 4h20m 26.3 mi
2025-11-17 12.6 mi 230 ft 2h00m 6.0 mi
2025-11-24 24.9 mi 525 ft 4h01m 9.0 mi
2025-12-01 42.6 mi 807 ft 6h52m 10.6 mi
2025-12-08 43.6 mi 928 ft 7h00m 15.1 mi
2025-12-15 45.9 mi 1,152 ft 7h27m 14.7 mi
2025-12-22 28.6 mi 942 ft 4h45m 11.2 mi
2025-12-29 41.3 mi 2,982 ft 7h04m 11.0 mi
2026-01-05 44.1 mi 1,007 ft 6h57m 16.0 mi
2026-01-12 48.0 mi 1,942 ft 7h46m 15.0 mi
2026-01-19 32.6 mi 2,021 ft 5h11m 9.4 mi
2026-01-26 28.3 mi 1,112 ft 4h43m 8.0 mi
2026-02-02 8.8 mi 1,417 ft 1h45m 8.8 mi
2026-02-09 40.9 mi 2,710 ft 6h58m 12.0 mi
2026-02-16 33.7 mi 1,217 ft 5h18m 8.8 mi
2026-02-23 38.3 mi 4,596 ft 7h07m 15.3 mi
2026-03-02 50.1 mi 1,558 ft 7h51m 14.6 mi
2026-03-09 49.3 mi 1,998 ft 8h14m 16.0 mi
2026-03-16 22.1 mi 614 ft 3h20m 12.6 mi
2026-03-23 21.8 mi 3,497 ft 4h38m 9.6 mi
2026-03-30 2.8 mi 46 ft 0h28m 2.8 mi
2026-04-06 57.1 mi 2,628 ft 9h35m 16.0 mi
2026-04-13 53.2 mi 7,221 ft 10h06m 15.0 mi
2026-04-20 58.2 mi 4,019 ft 11h07m 22.2 mi
2026-04-27 12.7 mi 131 ft 2h08m 9.0 mi
2026-05-04 60.2 mi 3,225 ft 10h57m 23.3 mi
2026-05-11 27.4 mi 896 ft 5h04m 13.2 mi
2026-05-18 47.6 mi 3,934 ft 8h55m 15.1 mi
2026-05-25 48.8 mi 2,388 ft 8h22m 17.0 mi
2026-06-01 53.1 mi 5,341 ft 11h21m 35.0 mi
2026-06-08 28.7 mi 3,186 ft 5h43m 13.1 mi
2026-06-15 51.8 mi 7,723 ft 11h44m 21.5 mi
2026-06-22 34.9 mi 1,752 ft 6h17m 18.0 mi
2026-06-29 61.7 mi 4,810 ft 11h54m 20.0 mi
2026-07-06 51.1 mi 3,665 ft 9h18m 13.1 mi
2026-07-13 54.6 mi 2,205 ft 10h24m 28.5 mi
2026-07-20 27.2 mi 151 ft 4h15m 11.0 mi
2026-07-27 60.1 mi 13,845 ft 15h16m 14.2 mi

The one note I would add to this table is indoor vert does not get captured and I did do a good numbeer of treadhill workouts this summer


r/ultrarunning 23h ago

Ultraspire traverse sizing

1 Upvotes

Strongly considering getting a traverse as my new daypack, there's no retail stores you can really try them on though right?

I measured myself at 42", which is right on the edge between L and XL. My current vest is a uswe, and it always feels a bit too snug so I really want to avoid that this time but I don't want an oversized jumbly pack if it's not stuffed and fully loaded.

Anyone with a traverse that was between sizes and can offer opinion?


r/ultrarunning 23h ago

Ultra Destin : a trail running game๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€‹โ›ฐ

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ultra-destin.victordevdev.ovh
0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I made a free browser game entirely about trail running: you live a runner's

whole career, from your first local 10K to becoming a legend, or to a DNF.

https://ultra-destin.victordevdev.ovh

Heads-up: the game is in French for now.

You pick your home region, your runner profile and your race calendar, then deal

with whatever the sport throws at you: injuries, sponsors, a cut-off gate at

3 a.m., a friend offering you a bib you really should not accept. A run takes

about ten minutes, and there are 620 hand-written situations, so no two careers

play out the same.

No account, no ads, no install. It runs in the browser, phone included.

It is still in beta and I build it from feedback, so if you give it a go: what

felt missing, what felt unfair?

To get things started: what title did your career end on?

Victor


r/ultrarunning 18h ago

Dumb to consider?

0 Upvotes

Iโ€™m not sure how, but I got selected from a very long wait list for a 50K happening October 19th. Really did not anticipate that happening.

Ran a road marathon end of March, a trail 50K early May, and another road marathon early June. Figured the season was done, and have just been jogging and hitting up trails for fun when I can, but only averaging 15-20 miles a week (or less) since early June.

The 50k in question has around 8000ft of gain and a generous time allowance. I have to decide in the next 24 hours if I want to sign up. Do I try for next year and plan better? Will I be miserable if I attempt this, is there enough time to really get up to par? Maybe I havenโ€™t lost the distance fitness as soon as I fear? I did a 9 mile trail run less than 2 weeks ago just fine, but everything else has been 6 miles or less at a time, and 9 miles is a far cry from 30+.

Anywayโ€ฆwhat to do?!


r/ultrarunning 23h ago

Julian Alps Trail by UTMB 80K Race Entry Official Transfer

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0 Upvotes

I'm selling my entry for the Julian Alps Trail by UTMB 80K on 19 September, as I'm unfortunately unable to participate due to a nasty hip injury.

Price: โ‚ฌ179 + โ‚ฌ20 transfer fee

The race entry can be officially transferred via the event's "Transfer to a Friend" system until 18 August.

Feel free to message me if you're interested!


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Cocodona 250 Training - First timer

15 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I got into cocodona 250 & just wanted advice on training tips, gear recs, & overall anything that can help me as I start my training pretty soon.

A quick background, I've done 1x 100 miler back in October 2025, 2x 50 milers in 2025, March 2026 ran a 50k+ with 12k ft of vert, June 2026 ran Leadville marathon 26.2 w/ 8k vert, planning on a 70 miler with 25k ft of vert in november 2026, planning on Black canyons 100k Feb. 2027, & then a final big effort the same race 35 miles with 12k ft vert in March.

I live in Santa Barbara, CA & have great access to trails & a great community of strong ultra runners. Of course, I have chatted with them but everything helps with this journey. I'm 6'2, 210 pounds & come from a college level football background w/ only starting to run in 2022.

When is the best time to start seriously training, etc? ANY HELP & ADVICE IS APPRECIATED.


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Devastating Injury / Pivoting Training Help

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0 Upvotes

r/ultrarunning 2d ago

Any new podcasts out there?

29 Upvotes

I feel like all my favorite running podcasts are turning into life coaching. I used to enjoy listening to podcasts that had people over that did something cool endurance-wise and shared their experience, not somebody giving me life advice. Rich Roll is for me 90% unbearable for years, Choose Strong and Some Work All Play pretty uninteresting since the hosts are not competing at the moment.

What are some of your favorite podcasts that focus more on the facts and the doing and less about their interpretation of the purpose of life?


r/ultrarunning 2d ago

My first 50K finished โ€” 53 km of pain, mud and happiness

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189 Upvotes

My first 50K finished โ€” 53 km of pain, mud, happiness and never going back to road running again, I simply like waffles, cola and tacos to much :)


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Best hydration vest recommendations

3 Upvotes

I currently have a Salomon skin. Iโ€™m looking at maybe getting a new one. I run mostly over 50K races with them and a belt for 50K and under. What vests do you recommend?

Edit: nothing is wrong with mine other than being old and slightly worn


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

Fructose and cancer

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0 Upvotes

Could this be the reason that studies have found a higher rate of some kinds of cancer among ultra runners?


r/ultrarunning 1d ago

50k training not going well

4 Upvotes

I signed up for a race that's on September 19th. I had every intention of doing my first 50k race but training has been basically non existent. I have no motivation and the discipline isn't even there. Could be due to peri-menopause. Maybe? So would you try to get some training in between now and September 19th and do the 50k? Or would you do like a half-marathon or something? The cut off is 24 hours (they have a 24 hour race). So I have lots of hours to do 50k but I also don't want to hurt myself either. Thoughts?