Sun 14 Jun 2026
23 Jun 2026 • 12 minutes read
This weekend, one of the most famous races in trail running returns.
The Western States 100 takes runners from Olympic Valley to Auburn in California, covering 100.2 miles through the Sierra Nevada. High-country trails, long descents, brutal canyon heat, a river crossing, and a finish on the track at Placer High School.
But before Western States became the most iconic 100-mile trail race in the world, it was something very different.
It was a horse race!
Before Western States was a running race, the route was best known through the Tevis Cup, a 100-mile endurance horse ride across the Sierra Nevada.
The challenge was simple but savage: riders had to get their horses from Olympic Valley to Auburn in under 24 hours.
That alone made the route legendary. Rugged, hot, mountainous, and unforgiving. Designed to test the endurance of horse and rider across a full day in the mountains.
Then in 1974, Gordy Ainsleigh changed the sport forever.
Gordy had already completed the Tevis Cup on horseback. But in 1974, his horse came up lame.
So he decided to do something ridiculous: he would run the horse race himself.
No modern ultra scene. No GPS watch. No proven blueprint for how to run 100 mountain miles. Just one man trying to cover the Tevis Cup route on foot before the 24-hour cutoff.
He finished in 23 hours and 42 minutes.
And with that, the idea of Western States as a foot race was born.
A few years later, the Western States Endurance Run became an official event. What started as one bloke proving a human could cover a horse race on foot grew into the race that helped define modern 100-mile trail running.
The silver buckle. The canyons. The American River crossing. The final lap around the Placer High track. The lottery. The legends.
Western States became the race every 100-miler is measured against.
The men’s race this weekend is loaded.
At the centre of it is the matchup every trail running fan wants to see: Jim Walmsley vs Kilian Jornet.
Jim is the Western States course record holder and a four-time champion. Kilian is arguably the greatest mountain runner of all time, a former Western States winner, and finished third last year after 14 years away from the race.
We rarely get to see these two go head-to-head in the same 100-mile race. That alone makes this year feel massive.
Jim Walmsley and Western States are almost impossible to separate.
He has won the race four times: 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024. His 14:09 run from 2019 remains the course record, and he owns several of the fastest performances in the history of the race.
When Jim is healthy and locked in at Western States, he doesn’t just win. He changes what people think is possible on the course.
But that’s part of the intrigue this year. He missed last year’s race through injury, and his build-up hasn’t been as straightforward as some of his dominant years.
The question isn’t whether Jim is good enough. Everyone knows he is. The question is whether his body lets him be Jim Walmsley for 100 miles.
If it does, he’s the obvious favourite.
Kilian Jornet won Western States in 2011.
Then last year, after 14 years away from the race, he came back and finished third in 14:19. One of the fastest times in race history.
That was absurd for a few reasons.
Western States had changed. The depth at the front is stronger now. The race is faster. The level required to podium is higher. And Kilian wasn’t just returning to jog around a historic course. He put himself right back into the sharp end of the race and reminded everyone that, even after more than a decade away, he’s still Kilian.
This year comes with a twist. His build-up has reportedly been interrupted by a knee issue, which makes his form harder to read.
Is he underdone? Or is this another chapter in the “never doubt Kilian” file?
With Kilian, both feel possible.
Hans Troyer might be the most exciting young name in the men’s race.
Last year was his 100-mile debut, and he finished eighth. A great result on its own, but it came with the feeling that there was a lot more to come.
Since then, he’s backed it up. He won JFK 50 Mile. He won Black Canyon 100k. And at Black Canyon, he broke the course record.
That matters because Black Canyon is one of the key Golden Ticket races into Western States, and it attracts athletes who are specifically trying to prove they can compete at the front in Auburn.
Hans now comes back with fitness, confidence, and one Western States already in the legs.
If Jim and Kilian make this tactical, Hans has the speed and momentum to make it messy.
For Australian fans, Daniel Jones is one to watch.
He is a Kiwi, which is close enough for us to claim a bit of interest.
And he is ridiculously consistent at Western States.
Three starts. Fifth in 2023. Fourth in 2024. Fifth in 2025.
This year, he comes in after winning Tarawera 102k for the fourth straight time, plus Ultra-Trail Australia 50k.
He has already proven he can perform at Western States. The only thing missing is a podium.
Could this be the year?
The women’s race is just as exciting.
Abby Hall returns as defending champion after running 16:37 last year, one of the fastest women’s times ever at Western States. She didn’t just win. She executed a brilliant race and led alone through the second half.
Fu-Zhao Xiang has finished second here two years in a row and owns one of the fastest women’s times in race history. She’s one of the most dangerous athletes in the field because she’s already shown she can close hard late in the race.
Marianne Hogan is almost always on the podium at the biggest ultras. She’s been third at Western States twice, and she’s also stood on the podium at UTMB. Proven, experienced, and hard to count out.
Then there’s Jennifer Lichter, who arrives as a possible favourite after smashing the Black Canyon 100k course record earlier this year. Western States will be her 100-mile debut, but her recent form says she belongs right at the front of the conversation.
This race is wide open.
And then there’s Molly Seidel.
Olympic marathon bronze medallist. One of the biggest road-running names to cross into the trail world. Or, as she puts it, “your dad’s favourite Olympic marathoner turned ultrarunner.”
In 2026, she’s already won Bandera 50k, finished fourth at Black Canyon 100k, and earned her Golden Ticket to Western States.
That’s a serious start to trail running.
But Western States is different.
This will be her first 100-miler. The distance is the obvious unknown, but Western States isn’t just about covering 100 miles. It’s about handling the canyons, the heat, the long descents, the fuelling, and the mental shift that happens when the race really starts after Foresthill.
Road speed will help. Olympic toughness will help.
But the final 40 miles of Western States ask a different question.
That’s what makes Molly’s race so interesting.
Before race weekend, watch these three Western States films.
The Jim Walmsley Western States story. Fast, chaotic, brilliant, painful, and the perfect watch before Jim returns this weekend.
The classic 2010 Western States film. Kilian Jornet, Anton Krupicka, Geoff Roes and Hal Koerner in one of the most famous editions of the race.
Ash Bartholomew’s Western States story. Emotional, human, and a reminder that this race means a lot more than splits and podiums. For the uninitiated, Ash is the father of Australian ultra running icon Lucy Bartholomew!
One of the most captivating bits of viewing all weekend is watching Golden Hour at Western States. Long after the finishers have showered, the final runners try their everything to beat the 30-hour cutoff.
In this video, Gunhild Swanson aims to be the oldest person to finish the race at 70 years old, with 90 seconds to cover the final 300 metres.
Can she make it?
Western States isn’t just famous because it’s old.
It’s famous because every year, the race seems to produce something that sticks: a comeback, a blow-up, a breakthrough, a final-track moment, or a performance that changes how people see the sport.
This weekend, we get Jim vs Kilian, Hans Troyer trying to take another leap, Dan Jones chasing a podium, Abby Hall defending her title, Jennifer Lichter arriving in frightening form, and Molly Seidel stepping into the unknown of her first 100-miler.
Get around it.
You can follow the race live on the YouTube steam by heading to the Western States YouTube channel!
The race starts at 10pm AEST, Saturday night, June 27th.
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