Singletrack

Two course records, a rookie champion, and a men's podium almost nobody predicted. Brett Hornig and Leah Yingling join me in Auburn to recap the 2026 Western States 100: Vincent Bouillard clawing back from ten minutes down at Forest Hill, Jennifer Lichter winning in her first 100-miler, the deepest women's top 10 in race history, plus buy-or-sell and our biggest questions for next year.

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David Roche returns to the show a few days ahead of the 2026 Western States 100.

Across 2024 and 2025, he put on one of the most memorable shows in our sport's history. He took us behind the scenes of his buildup to Javelina, Leadville, and Western States, fighting for wins and course records while running training experiments on himself.

This year he's back at Western States, on the ground as a coach for athletes like Hans Troyer, E...

Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, Jeff Colt, and Rod Farvard provide in-depth analysis, commentary, and predictions for the competition in this year’s men's field at the Western States 100. 

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
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Zach Miller is one of the greatest, most entertaining, and most thoughtful runners of his generation. It's a treat to have him in the studio ahead of Western States, a race he has patiently waited to run for over a decade.

Miller is coming off a memorable 2nd place golden ticket performance at the Canyons 100K, a race where he reunited with Hayden Hawks for yet another classic duel in their storied rivalry, which dates back to the 2...

One of the most exciting and versatile athletes in our sport, Tara Dower joins us in the studio to reflect on this year’s mission to race the vaunted Western States-Hardrock double. 

There’s a bit of a “revenge” narrative at play here as illness forced her to DNF at last year’s Western States and she was the very first person on the wait list at last year’s Hardrock, even suiting up for the s...

Jennifer Lichter is the newest star in ultra-trail running. She's been winning important races since her breakout at The Rut 50K in 2021, but it was only about 18 months ago that the wider world caught on and she became a household name. 

Since the start of 2025 she's beaten top fields to win the Transgrancanaria Marathon, Broken Arrow 46K, Speedgoat 50K, Black Canyon 100K, and Gorge Waterfalls 50K. Western States is her first ...

Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, and Leah Yingling provide in-depth analysis, commentary, and predictions for the competition in this year’s women's field at the Western States 100. 

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered ...

Kilian Jornet is the greatest trail and mountain runner of all time. He joins the show coming off a 3rd place finish at last year’s event, certainly questing for a victory in this year’s edition. He is the 2011 champion of Western States and debuted here in 2010 - the famous “Unbreakable” edition where he dueled with Geoff Roes and Anton Krupicka all day before landing on the podium in 3rd. Suffice it to say...

Scott Jurek is one of the greatest ultramarathoners of all time. His career ushered in an era of professionalism that enabled many that came after him to pursue this sport as a full-fledged career. 

Since 2024, we have had Scott in the studio for long-form conversations during Western States week. At this point, it’s become one of our favorite traditions. Sometimes we talk about the state of the sport, sometimes we reflec...

In this episode we share our final "power rankings" for both the men's and women's races. Stay tuned for additional, in-depth previews of both elite fields later this week.

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the m...

Simply put, Lotti Brinks is one of the best ultrarunners in the sport right now.

Over the last 2 years, she’s secured multiple top 10s at CCC, wins at Way Too Cool and Desert Rats, and a course record at the Gorge Waterfalls 100K this past spring that heralded her arrival into the upper echelon of the sport.

This is her second time at Western States. She was here in 2024, placing 14th in 18:53. But many expect h...

These are the times! Hans Troyer joins us in the studio for his first-ever (longer form) appearance on the Singletrack Podcast. 

Hans has had an exciting recent build to Western States, including a win at the Twisted Fork 30K and a training camp in Flagstaff with the Hoka team. Beyond that, on the biggest stages of the sport, he is on a roll demonstrating his greatness with a course record victory at the Black Canyon 10...

Francesco Puppi is a professional trail runner for Hoka based outside of Lake Como, Italy. For many fans of the sport, his debut at the 100-mile distance and Western States has been long-anticipated. It's finally here and we cover the usual topics around preparation, mentality, and racing strategy for the current moment, but I also take the opportunity to ask him about current anti-doping efforts in the sport, European vs American ...

Brett Hornig and Jeff Colt join the show to unpack Tom Evans' wild treadmill workout, our Western States sleeper picks, the ski brands entering the trail market, Broken Arrow hype, and whether the athlete-media landscape is changing.

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• R...

We discuss Gerda Steyn's "comfortable" Comrades record (and George Kusche's not-so-comfortable victory finish), Aaron Kubala's Tahoe 200 course record, Rod Farvard and Martina Valmassoi's dominant UTMB Andorra wins, Western States withdrawals from Keely Henninger and Seth Ruling, our Broken Arrow storylines to watch, Terignota's wild financials, athletes on the move (Canyon Woodward to Patagonia), Tudor's luxury trail play, and our...

We discuss athletes on the move (including, possibly, Michael Versteeg?!), Kilian Jornet's injury status, the Cocodona 250 lottery results, Tyler Andrews' Everest record, results from the Sunapee Scramble, Scout Mountain 100, and Twisted Fork Trail Festival, UTMB's latest event announcement in Vietnam, and our favorite content of the week.

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% o...

It was a heavy week in trail running, to say the least. Katie Schide officially withdraws from Hardrock as her foot injury rehab continues, and Kilian Korth faces season-ending surgery on a peroneus longus tendon tear that took place during this year's Cocodona 250.

Then the Cam Hanes situation. After Hanes admitted to using banned peptide BPC 157 in an Instagram thread following his 2:39 Eugene Marathon, Sage Canaday filed ...

Carl Morris, author of "Dirtbag Dreams: A History of Mountain, Ultra and Trail Running," joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of our community.

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains&n...