Last week, I was on site for my third Western States Endurance Run (WSER 100), and it was a record setting day. Caleb Olson won the men’s race in 14:11:25, the second fastest time in race history. For the women, Abby Hall won in the fourth fastest women’s time, 16:37:16, and placed 11th overall. But, besides fast times, there was a great deal to take in. The professionalism of teams, strategies, and technology have heightened the sport to a new level of competition. The buzz around Western is elevated by brands, runners and fans alike. So what can we learn from this year’s professional race?
Abby Hall, winner and Marianne Hogan. Photo: Andy Wacker
1. Heat Adaptation is Standard
With temperatures in the high 90s for much of the course, the professional field came prepared. Tabor Hemming, who paced Abby Hall from Foresthill to Rucky Chucky, relays that Abby thought it felt cool. While few can agree that temps in the 90s are cool, Abby has shown that months of training in the boiling cauldron of the Grand Canyon can make running through the Auburn Hills with ice packs rather enjoyable.
Marianne Hogan, who placed third, used hot yoga, and wore a “heat suit” while indoor cycling to prepare for the California weather. In an interview between Canyons 100K and WSER 100, Marianne explained she layered long sleeves, down and rain jackets while riding a stationary bike to prepare for the heat.
Second place finisher, Chris Myers used a more traditional method including a strict sauna regiment.
Shea Aquilano wearing the ‘disco top” at Rucky Chuck. Photo: Andy Wacker
2. Trail Super Shoes are Here to Stay
Shoes including the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra, Nike Ultrafly and recently released On Cloudultra Pro aim to bring road “super shoe” technology to the trails. In the past few years, most major brands have released a trail super shoe meant to go fast, and long. Along with high price tags, trail super shoes bring innovations including high stack height, super foams, and carbon plates. Many are even designed with the terrain of Western States in mind. While they were worn by the top ten runners, there is an obvious advantage available to anyone competing in an ultramarathon.
In other tech, Nike athletes wore a white, long sleeve, mesh top made up more of holes, than material. Dubbed the “disco top,” this piece of apparel was designed to remain wet and keep runners cool. Shea Aquilano, a professional runner for Nike Trail, commented, “While it may look funky, it works!”
With the growth of participation in trail ultra, what will we see next?
3. High Carb Trend is Declining
Earlier this year, the high carb discussion had peaked to the point of parody memes. Scientific studies found that, in terms of carbohydrates, more is better for elite male trail runners, encouraging ultra runners to consume 120g/hour or even more. (Urdampilleta et al., 2020) While in March it was hard to avoid the dialog comparing and even competing on carbs per hour stats, the discussion was surprisingly absent in the weeks surrounding WSER 100. My takeaway is the conversation has evolved after reevaluating details such as sex and body mass. For example, 160 grams of carbs per hour may be appropriate for a 200-pound male ultrarunner, but may not be optimal for a 100-pound female. I’m hopeful this is a sign that we can support trail runners fueling, without having women feel less important.
Adam Peterman at Foresthill. Photo: Andy Wacker
4. Tactics and Chances
The 2024 edition of WSER 100 saw the fastest tenth place finishers for both men and women. But in 2025, something changed. Returning top ten finishers and newcomers alike seemed to have the motto “win or bust”, leading to fast early paces and a high attrition rate. By Michigan Bluff, mile 55, the top ten men were within 11 minutes of course record pace, with leader Caleb Olson over eight minutes ahead of Jim Walmsley‘s 2019 record performance. Then, the carnage commenced, taking Rod Farvard, David Roche, and Vincent Bouillard out of the race and Adam Peterman to a slow, grinding finish. The result was a massive spread in the men’s top ten finishing times. Nearly an hour elapsed at Placer High School track between 6th place, Seth Ruhling and Ryan Montgomery in 7th. In 2024 there was a one hour and four minute difference between first and tenth man. This year the spread was two hours and 11 minutes. (see graph above)
While the spread in the women’s race was less telling, the number of DNFs confirm a “win or bust” mentality. Eszter Csillag, Heather Jackson, and Martyna Mlynarczyk held top positions before dropping out. Pre-race favorites Riley Brady, and Tara Dower also failed to finish.
The women’s top ten spread was similar the last two years with one hour thirty-five minutes separating first and tenth in 2025 compared to one hour forty eight minutes in 2024.
5. Luck
Despite countless hours of training and planning, coaches, crew, pacers, and sponsors, luck still plays a role in succeeding at Western States. Last year’s first and third place runners, Jim Walmsley and Hayden Hawks did not start due to injury. Lin Chen did not start due to an infection from poison oak. Tara Dower DNFed due to lingering cold symptoms. The 2025 champion, Abby Hall, almost didn’t get into the race. Hall placed 5th at Black Canyon 100k, where the top three get “golden ticket” entries into WSER 100. Because Black Canyon Champion, Riley Brady, already had a spot and 3rd place finisher EmKay Sullivan took a pregnancy deferral, Abby earned a last-minute entry.
What will 2026 bring? All I know is with a race this exciting, I’ll be there.
Full 2025 Western States Endurance Run Results
Editor’s Note: Ready about Kilian Jornet‘s Western States 100 Training Tips here.
