Ryan Montgomery, professional Janji-sponsored trail runner based in Park City, UT, broke the mythical fourteen hour barrier at the 2026 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. This historical endurance challenge, held since 1977, has attracted the greatest athletes in the sport — Courtney Dauwalter, Kilian Jornet, Abby Hall, Jim Walmsley, Ann Trason, Anton Krupicka, and many more—all of whom have never cracked the fourteen hour mark. But with a fiercely competitive field and good-weather racing conditions, the men’s podium, including Montgomery in third place and top US finisher in a time of 13:53:55, all went under fourteen hours.
Montgomery is no stranger to the Western States 100 competition, and has finished the race four consecutive years (2023 to 2026), placing seventh, twentieth, seventh and third. But up until 2026, his chances of winning the race, let alone running under the fourteen hour mark, seemed unlikely to the thirty-two year old who, for most of his running career, did not consider himself an elite level athlete. But his stellar result at the 2026 Western States 100 was not a fluke, it was years in the making of consistent training and steady improvements.
Montgomery shares his thoughts on his progression, “I want to continue to evolve as a competitor. It’s a very different headspace than I’ve had before and it’s exciting to explore. In my running career, I’m constantly finding new milestones and anchoring against new and greater challenges. I started out just trying to finish races, then how to be in the front pack, then how to podium and now how to win.”
His performance at the 2026 Western States 100 caused a major change in his career, “What has changed after my performance is that I can now run with the validation knowing nearly every single world class ultrarunner has run this race. My race made it clear that I had a real chance at winning, and I can keep dreaming up new possibilities. I used to approach races feeling much more intimidated or insecure about who I was racing…this year I didn’t care who I was running against. I threw away the comparison mindset and that’s what allowed me to perform the way I did.”
Adventure ambassador
The Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run may be central to Montgomery’s trail running journey, but it is not what first sparked his passion for the sport. His roots in the sport trace back to competing for his middle school cross country team situated in Craig, Alaska, a remote 1,000 population town on the state’s southern coast. On an annual school camping trip, Montgomery decided to go running around the campground and became hooked, “For whatever reason I decided to run on that trip and I felt like it was a really fun way for me to explore the wilderness and forests. I was living in a very large wilderness area at this time, so I really fell in love with moving quicker through the forest.”
Although Montgomery was running trails in middle school, his first true introduction to the sport came in high school when a teacher encouraged him to apply for a youth ambassador program organized by famed adventure runner, Ray Zahab. Through an application and interview process, Montgomery was selected for the program, where he would have the opportunity to join Zahab on epic runs across the world.
Montgomery reflects on the life-changing impacts of this program, “We ran across the Altiplano plateau in rural Bolivia with four or five other youth ambassadors. It was my first experience of long distance trail running. Zahab had run across the Sahara Desert, another of our guides had the world record for the fastest time to the South Pole, and I heard all these crazy stories, which opened my eyes to what was out there. I remember telling myself that I wanted to do this sport and go on these kinds of adventures too.”
Athletic evolutions
Even as Montgomery’s running journey became a professional career, his motivation has remained rooted in his love for adventure. He describes his most deeply rooted values in the sport, “My motivation and draw to the sport hasn’t changed. It’s always been high. It’s been ten and a half years since my first ultra, and my intention to go out for a big adventure hasn’t changed. I also want to push myself and learn something new about myself, which has been true for every ultramarathon that I’ve run.”
Montgomery has realized that, even with as much as he’s learned from his training and racing, there is always more to learn, “It’s quite crazy that even after running over sixty ultras and approaching twenty one hundred mile races, I’m still learning about myself, psychology, and physical fitness. Even as a professional athlete now, my relationship to the sport has transitioned slightly from adventure to performance, but the foundation of the sport is still the same. I am still learning new things about myself in this process. I’m learning more about how to be a champion, how to execute races more precisely, and how to actually race head-to-head. This evolution is never going to end and I’m always learning more about myself.”
But Montgomery isn’t just learning more about himself and his running, he’s also drastically improving his running times. From pushing himself to his limits to finish ultramarathons, and chasing podiums and records, Montgomery’s career has been filled with steady improvement. He reflects on the growth of his running, “It’s been so fun seeing growth in the upper quadrant. Every year, I feel that I’m getting better. I am still improving and growing, and that is telling me that I am doing this right. I’m taking notes and trying to improve upon myself through every experience. I’ve never really considered myself to be an objectively fast or elite athlete…being able to take these rudimentary skills and sharpen them overtime to have a world class day at the Western States 100 underscores how hard work and executional excellence can trump peak fitness.”
Adaptations, not setbacks
Even as consistent and upward-bound as Montgomery’s trail running career has been, he has faced challenges. “I’ve had my fair share of injuries,” said Montgomery. In 2022, he was hit by a car while riding his bike and broke his clavicle, he then suffered two years of chronic plantar fasciitis, and most recently – in 2025 – received ATFL ankle surgery. Montgomery describes his continued draw to the sport, in spite of these setbacks, “I am committed to the lifestyle and journey that ultra running provides. It can be a process of breaking down and building back up again. I like the process and relationship I develop with my body, and that’s something I value, but it can also be hard to communicate this to someone who hasn’t experienced it before. I build my training for specific races, executing them (good or bad) and then learn through these experiences.”
Despite his injuries, Montgomery is optimistic about his body’s ability to return stronger, “One thing that I’ve learned about my body and ultra running is that it always bounces back and recovers. I believe that your body can be better than ever if you give it the time that it needs. After my ankle surgery, I wasn’t running at all until last December, then ran sub-fourteen at the Western States 100 six months later. I have developed many adaptations over my decade of competitive running that’s what keeps making me stronger…and remember these adaptations don’t happen overnight. It takes time to learn and grow and to handle greater amounts of load and stress.”
Age of broken records
Montogmery exists in an era of continually falling running records—and he too is an athlete breaking such records. In 2025 and 2026 alone, the world witnessed the first sub-two hour marathon at a World Major marathon, and more specifically in the trail running world, records fell at the Leadville 100, Cocodona 250, Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run and Hardrock 100.
Montgomery speaks on the historical achievement in trail running history of breaking the fourteen hour mark at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, “It’s something I’m still processing because at the end of the day my motivation in racing at this year’s Western States 100 wasn’t to run sub-fourteen, or necessarily even win or podium. My motivation remained true to my ethos as an ultra runner: seeing the best version of myself on race day. I want to see what I’m capable of, how fast I can go and have my objectively best day. Wherever that lands me, I’m happy. I had no idea I was going to be running the time I did, and it feels surreal…but at the end of the day, it feels most validating that I’m walking away feeling like I experienced one of the best versions of myself as an athlete. That feels really stratifying.”
Montgomery reflects on the current competitiveness in the sport, and place of the 2026 Western States 100 in the history of the sport, “It just feels like every week people are breaking records, We’re pushing human potential, and going back to my ethos and my motivation for running, that’s really exciting for me…this new Western States 100 is another anchor point where all athletes now recalibrate. Now, athletes are going to push themselves to this new anchor point.”
While Montgomery was able to have the race experience he hoped for at the Western States 100, the record-breaking pace challenged race favorites, and led to Did Not Finishes (DNFs) and major blow ups. Montgomery shares his thoughts on the race of Hans Troyer, one of the most talented competitors in the field, “When I look at Hans Troyer, who has run Western States the past two years, and to see him like really push it and like fail both times, I think is kind of cool because he’s learning about this edge where he’s going over it, but once he sticks it, it’s going to be so cool and so beautiful. I think I’m still trying to teach myself to like maybe be even more provocative and explore that, similar to Hans.. I think maybe I’ve always been a little bit more conservative as a racer.”
Curious to learn more about Troyer? Read our article on this up-and-coming trail runner here.
Gift of ultrarunning
Montgomery’s professional running career, record-breaking performance at the Western States 100, and unwavering motivation that keeps him striving for improvement and self-discovery, are still only a part of his diverse trail running identity. Montgomery dives deep into his many roles and the impact he hopes to leave on the sport, “Being an ultrarunner is one of the best gifts that has ever been given to me. It can be an amazing tool for self-reflection and self-growth. That’s why I love talking about my story because how I operate, go through this life, and think about problems, comes through my experiences in this sport. This isn’t a novel concept, plenty of people talk about the application of ultrarunning into other parts of life, but it is one of the most important things in my life for that reason. If other people get inspired by that, then I would say mission accomplished.”
Montgomery also credits his love of the community and connection as major focuses in his trail running journey, “I believe in the power of community and connection through sport. Some of my fondest memories in the sport are connecting with people. You just build wonderful connections that otherwise can be really hard to build. If people can find these connections and relationships in our sport, that’s also something I would love…at the end of the day, so many things in life do not matter. There’s always going to be time to make more money, but there’s something so wholesome that comes from trail running, or the practice of learning about yourself and connecting with others. Those are the things that really matter. Helping people realize that life doesn’t have to be complicated feels like a huge mission. This world is so chaotic and if we can find things that re-centers us, that’s an objectively good thing.”
While trail running is becoming increasingly accessible, Montgomery also recognizes that the sport has much more to do on the inclusion front. He hopes that more people will be able to discover the gift of ultrarunning as he has, “Trail and ultrarunning is inherently very exclusive…I want to deconstruct it and make it approachable. I’m speaking from a place of such privilege—there’s so much that goes into this sport such as the cost of gear and living in a place to have access to these trails.”
Montgomery advises new trail runners to start small, and seek out resources and community that can help support their journey, “Trail running doesn’t have to be this all-in thing. You can dabble your feet in and it doesn’t have to be so grandiose. Start with small-scale races…and know there’s so many resources out there, especially on the inclusion front, that can help you find community and get started.”
To assist with inclusion in the sport, Montgomery founded Out Trails in 2022, a community focused initiative creating safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to his organization, Montgomery gives special shout outs to the following organizations and races that promote inclusivity in trail running: Inclusive Outdoors Project, Trail Mix Fund, Broken Arrow Skyrace, and Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc (where athletes can apply for Adaptive Athlete divisions).
In addition to his ultrarunning career and inclusion work, Montgomery attended The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he earned a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) after graduating in June 2026.
Rapidfire questions
In the following section, Montgomery shares his responses to fun, rapidfire interview questions. Enjoy!
[TAYTE] What podcast do you listen to the most?
[RYAN MONTGOMERY] Any New York Times or NPR production. I use podcasts mostly as my news source. I do love Radiolab and Mel Robbins too.
[TAYTE] What nutrition item do you look for at an aid station?
[RYAN] Usually a big fruit person — watermelon or berries. But, I mostly use GU Energy for fuel, which is nice since GU was on course at Western States!
[TAYTE] What shoe do you wear in your training?
[RYAN] I rotate between a lot of shoes: ACG Ultrafly, La Sportiva Prodigio Pro, Norda 055, and HOKA Rocket X to name just a few I have in rotation.
[TAYTE] What shoe do you wear in your races?
[RYAN] Recently, I’ve been racing primarily in La Sportiva’s Prodigio Pro shoe, including this year’s Western States.
[TAYTE] Do you have any pre-race rituals?
[RYAN] I avoid overthinking pre-race rituals because I don’t want to set expectations; if something changes, it could cause me to lose focus or panic. I just try to be consistent–eating the same thing, like oatmeal in the morning, and doing a little mobility work. Simple! One thing I do enjoy is visualization. The night before a race, I like to lay on my bed and visualize running the entire race. Every major climb. Every aid station. Start to finish. I visualize all the good (and potential bad things) happening on the race course so that I am not surprised or lose focus during race day execution.
Curious to learn more about Montgomery or follow his training and racing? Find his Instagram here.
