Utah's Olson records second-fastest time in Western States victory; Hall captures women's race

The world's most iconic 100-mile endurance run once again delivered a dramatic showcase of human willpower over the weekend, as 369 ultrarunners attempted to make the journey from Olympic Valley to Placer High School in the Western States Endurance Run. Eight minutes separated the first- and third-place finishers, and Caleb Olson of Draper, Utah, notched his first Western States victory and ran the second-fastest time in course history at 14 hours, 11 minutes and 15 seconds. Olson ran Western States for the first time last year and finished fifth. Experience and improved fitness catapulted him to victory. "It feels really good. I never really thought that I would be a winner of Western States, so it's pretty amazing," Olson told iRunFar. Olson took the lead near Devil's Thumb around mile 48, but he was never comfortable in front. Second-place finisher Chris Meyers of Colorado battled Olson all day and finished at 14:17:39. Less than two minutes later, Kilian Jornet of Norway crossed the finish line at 14:19:22 to round out the fastest podium in Western States history, beating last year's mark by five minutes. It was the second year in a row that the top three finishers had the second-, third- and fourth-fastest times in course history. Three additional runners finished in under 15 hours as well: Jeff Mogavero (14:30:11), Daniel Jones (14:36:17) and Seth Ruhling (14:59:36). In the women's race, Abby Hall of Flagstaff, Arizona, secured her first Western States victory, crossing the finish line at 9:37 p.m., 16 hours, 36 minutes and 17 seconds after beginning her journey in Olympic Valley. Hall, who was sidelined from competing in Western States in 2023 due to a broken leg, was near the front of the pack all day and gained the lead around mile 55 near Michigan Bluff. She maintained just over a nine-minute mile pace for the rest of the race and never relinquished her top spot, fending off a late push from runner-up Fu-Zhao Xiang of China. It was Hall's second time at Western States after finishing 29th in 2021, and she shaved six hours off her first attempt. Her finish is the fourth-fastest women's time in course history. Xiang finished second for the second consecutive year and notched the sixth-fastest women's time, crossing the finish line nearly 10 minutes later at 16:47:09. Marianne Hogan rounded out the women's podium in third at 16:50:58. Xiang made her push for second place late, passing Ida Nilsson around mile 85 just past the Auburn Lake Trails. Nilsson went on to finish fourth at 17:00:48 and was never outside of the top four throughout the day. Notable finishers Canyons Endurance Run 100K winner Emily Hawgood of Zimbabwe placed 10th among women and 25th overall at 18:11:05. It was her fifth consecutive year running Western States and she has placed in the top 25 in every attempt. Adam Peterman, who won Western States in his debut in 2022, had a rough day in his second go on the course. The Missoula, Montana, native placed 68th overall at 23:09:29. He was in the top 10 for the majority of the first half of the race but fell out around Michigan Buff. From Cal 1 to Cal 2, Peterman dropped from 15th to 29th on a five-mile stretch. Ben Gibbard, frontman for the Grammy-nominated band Death Cab For Cutie, made his Western States debut and finished 154th overall at 27:15:11. Gibbard, an avid ultrarunner, told Runner's World he struggled with the heat but pushed through to the finish line. "I can't believe I made it, and that was a very rough patch. I have been doing all this for a while now and the physiological effect is that it makes you feel unsafe. If it wasn't for the volunteers at the aid station, I never would have made it. Everyone was so kind and did everything for me when I needed it," said Gibbard. The final official finish of the run belonged to Tokyo's Tatsuro Aoyama, who narrowly earned his bronze buckle with a time of 29:57:48.