One of the most brutally exclusive footraces on the planet is about to get even more interesting.
The 2026 Western States 100 — America’s most storied ultramarathon — is shaping up to be a stacked affair, with a cast of competitors that reads like a who’s who of trail running royalty, Olympic glory, and unfinished business.
Four-time champion and course record holder Jim Walmsley just announced he’s returning via a sponsor entry, gunning for an unprecedented fifth title.
And that’s just the beginning of what promises to be an absolutely electric June 27 showdown through the Sierra Nevada.
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The Race Almost Nobody Gets Into
Before diving into the elite field, it’s worth appreciating just how absurdly hard it is to stand on that start line in Palisades Tahoe.
Only around 369 runners earn a spot each year — roughly 15% of UTMB’s field size, and a staggering 0.6% of the London Marathon’s. Lottery hopefuls in 2026 faced a 2.3% acceptance rate, making Harvard look like a safety school by comparison.
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Elite runners have a slightly better shot — the top 10 men’s and women’s finishers from the prior year earn automatic invites back, and golden ticket spots are up for grabs at six qualifier races worldwide. It’s a system that also happens to give fans a delicious preview of who’s coming to fight.
The Women’s Race: A Rematch With a Twist
All ten of last year’s top women are returning — and they’re bringing serious company.
Defending champion Abby Hall, 35, heads the field, but she’s chasing history that has eluded every woman to attempt it for over a decade. No female runner has gone back-to-back at Western States since Ellie Greenwood in 2011 and 2012. Six women have tried since. All six have failed — including Courtney Dauwalter, who was forced out by hip pain at mile 79.
Hall’s preparation has been sharp. After a tough attempt at the States-UTMB double last year, she bounced back with a 50-mile win in December and slashed 25 minutes off her Black Canyon 100K time heading into this campaign.
Hot on her heels is China’s Fuzhao Xiang, who has finished runner-up in each of her first two appearances here and was closing with frightening speed over the back half of the 2025 race. Revenge is a powerful motivator.
The Newcomers Who Could Change Everything
Here’s where things get genuinely wild.
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Anne Flower casually shattered Ann Trason’s 31-year-old Leadville 100 course record last summer, then set the 50-mile world record in November. The emergency room doctor finished second at Black Canyon — without pacers and apparently without mid-race cooling — just one minute behind the winner. She is, by any measure, terrifying.
Black Canyon winner Jenn Lichter demolished the course record in her 100K debut and boasts a fourth-place finish at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. The looming question is whether she can handle the full 100-mile distance — something she’s never done in competition.
Then there’s the name that will make casual sports fans do a genuine double-take.
Molly Seidel — yes, the Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon at Tokyo 2020 — has made the move to trails, and she’s doing it with both humility and ferocity. Her fourth-place Black Canyon showing was her calling card, arriving under the tutelage of veteran ultrarunning coach Cliff Pittman with what observers describe as a learner’s mindset and a serious competitive edge.
Poland’s Martyna Mlynarczyk, a former dancer and 2023 Polish long-distance triathlon national champion, was leading Western States outright when she dropped at mile 55 last year. She went on to win CCC in a nail-biter, proving her speed is very real. The heat, though, remains the great unknown for the European contender.
The Men’s Race: Walmsley, Jornet, and a Golden Ticket Thriller
If the women’s field is stacked, the men’s race is something else entirely.
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Kilian Jornet, the 38-year-old Spanish ultrarunning legend, returns after finishing third last year — and by his own admission, he was barely even training properly then. Coming off a knee injury and building toward a massive project, he still finished just two minutes off second place and eight minutes behind the winner. This year, he’s reportedly all-in, with sharper fitness and eyes on repeating his historic 2011 season when he won both Western States and UTMB.
Then came the Walmsley bombshell.
On May 1, the four-time champion and course record holder announced he would accept a sponsor entry to chase a fifth title — a number nobody in the sport’s history has reached. After a DNS last year due to injury, Walmsley roared back with wins at OCC and the World Mountain Championships. His return announcement sent shockwaves through the ultrarunning community.
He wouldn’t throw his hat in the ring unless he means business. He’s immediately the favorite.
The Golden Ticket Drama Nobody Saw Coming
The men’s qualifier season was genuinely chaotic — and delivered one of the most thrilling race finishes the sport has ever seen.
At the Canyons 100K, Adam Peterman surged to a gutsy victory that drew direct comparisons to his 2022 golden ticket win — a race he followed up by taking the Western States title outright. Meanwhile, Zach Miller and Hayden Hawks engaged in a lung-searing duel for the final two golden ticket spots, simultaneously fending off China’s Canhua Luo in a battle that evoked memories of their legendary 2016 TNF 50-Miler showdown.
Francesco Puppi had been on an absolute tear heading into the season — until he dislocated his shoulder near the Black Canyon start line, then broke his arm in a training fall on April 1. He’s back in training and reportedly targeting the start line, but fitness and recovery remain genuine question marks.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Former high school teacher Will Murray earned his entry with a course-record win at Javelina, returning after a heartbreaking 2025 DNS caused by atrial fibrillation and a fractured ankle. Now running full-time and coached by John Fitzgerald, Murray is one of the most emotionally compelling storylines on the men’s side.
French UTMB champion Vincent Bouillard enters with a DNF from Western States already on his record, looking to prove the heat won’t beat him twice. Compatriot Thomas Cardin — a short-course powerhouse whose longest race to date may have been his Chianti golden ticket qualifier — faces the biggest distance jump of any contender in the field.
The Young Gun Turning Heads
Perhaps the most exciting development among the returning men is Hans Troyer, just 25 years old, who finished eighth on debut last year before winning the JFK 50-miler and breaking the Black Canyon course record outright.
He’s relocated from Georgia to Colorado to train at altitude — a move that signals serious long-term ambition. How he adapts to elevation training will be the defining variable in his 2026 campaign.
With Walmsley hungry for history, Jornet dialed in and dangerous, Seidel making her 100-mile debut, and a half-dozen other contenders with something massive to prove, the 2026 Western States 100 isn’t just America’s greatest day in ultrarunning.
It might be the deepest, most unpredictable edition the race has ever seen.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
