Here for the women’s race. The 2026 Western States 100 will be the most competitive women’s 100 miler in the U.S. this year, and one of the most competitive globally, too. On Saturday, June 27, the women will be challenged by the net downhill point-to-point course that gains 18,000 feet and loses 22,000 feet on its way from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California. It’ll be the 53rd edition of the historic race.
Abby Hall crossing the American River in the lead of the 2025 Western States 100, on her way to the win. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Nine of last year’s top 10 are expected to return, including 2025 winner Abby Hall and two-time second-placer Fu-Zhao Xiang. You can read more about how their races played out in our 2025 Western States 100 results article. Newcomers include 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel, and perhaps most notably, new Black Canyon 100k course record-holder Jennifer Lichter. Lichter beat Hall, Seidel, and several other Western States contenders in that incredible February 2026 run.
The women’s field is increasingly international. Including five-time top-10 finisher Emily Hawgood, who is from Zimbabwe but lives in the U.S., seven of last year’s top 10 women were from outside the U.S. This year’s international class includes Poland’s Martyna Młynarczyk and Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen. Młynarczyk, the 2025 CCC champ, is back for a redemption run after dropping last year, and Kaspersen returns after a fifth-place finish in 2024, followed by a year away.
Between Hall’s title defense, Lichter and Seidel’s 100-mile debuts, and Xiang’s cougar chase, this will be another competitive women’s race! Read on to learn about more of the top runners. We’ll continue updating this article through race day with any last-minute changes. You can see who else is racing on the 2026 entrants list.
You can trust the iRunFar team to be there reporting on how the race plays out, starting at 5 a.m. U.S. Pacific Daylight Time on Saturday, June 27. Stay tuned!
Make sure to read our 2026 Western States 100 men’s preview, and follow along with our live coverage on race day.
The start of the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Returning Top 10 Women
Almost all of the top 10 women will return for 2026. Norway’s Ida Nilsson, fourth last year, withdrew from this year’s race in May with a hamstring injury.
Abby Hall – 1st, 16:37:16
Abby Hall was good but not great in the build-up to last year’s Western States. She was fifth at the 2025 Black Canyon 100k and fourth at the 2025 Chianti 120k. And then she hit a home run at Western States. Her 16:37 finish time ranks as the fourth-fastest ever. Hall executed a great race, never running far from the front in the first half, and then leading alone for all of the second half. Hall has raced three times since then. She dropped at the 2025 UTMB, set a new course record at Arizona’s McDowell Mountain 50 Mile in December 2025, and then was again fifth at the Black Canyon 100k in February 2026. Her Black Canyon time this year, though, was 23 minutes faster than in 2025. Hall will surely enter Western States with confidence after last year’s run. With another year of training in her legs, how much faster can she go?
The 2025 Western States 100 champion, Abby Hall, running early in the race. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Fu-Zhao Xiang – 2nd, 16:47:09
Chinese runner Fu-Zhao Xiang ran the race’s third-fastest time ever when she finished in 16:20 in 2024, second behind Schide. She was second last year, too, behind Hall in the race’s seventh-fastest finish ever. Xiang started slow in 2025 and closed really well. She was just eighth at Robinson Flat at mile 30 before running into third by Michigan Bluff at mile 55, and then to second in the last 10 miles. Might Xiang be more aggressive early in this year’s race? She’s raced at least 12 times since Western States last year, with her more interesting results including a 13th at the 2025 CCC and a win at the 2026 Buffalo Stampede 100k in Australia in March.
Fu-Zhao Xiang during her second-place run at the 2025 Western States 100, the second time in a row she took second at this race. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Marianne Hogan – 3rd, 16:50:58
Canada’s Marianne Hogan was third at Western States in both 2025 and 2022, and in between, she was third in 2024 and second in 2022 at UTMB. She’s consistently been on the podiums of the biggest ultras, but not yet in the top spot. Hogan won the EcoTrail 45k race in Paris in March and recently completed a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim training run with Xiang as part of the pair’s extended Western States training camp.
Marianne Hogan on her way to placing third at the 2024 UTMB, one of her multitude of podium finishes at top trail ultras. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Fiona Pascall – 5th, 17:21:52
At Western States in 2025, the U.K.’s Fiona Pascall consistently moved up throughout the race. Only 17th at the top of the Escarpment, a few miles in, she was still just 11th at the halfway point, and then eighth at mile 80. Pascall closed well and, like Xiang, might look to position herself closer to the front earlier this year. Since Western States last year, Pascall was 15th at CCC and has gone undefeated across three ultras in 2026. Most recently, she won the Lake Sonoma 100k in April 2026. It’s worth noting that she’s the younger sister of 2021 Western States winner Beth Pascall.
Fiona Pascall winning the 2025 Chianti 120k, which has been seen as Pascall’s breakout race onto the international trail-ultra stage. Photo: Chianti Ultra Trail/Marzia Benigna
Hậu Hà – 6th, 17:23:47
Vietnam’s Hậu Hà made her 100-mile debut at last year’s race. She was 16th at the 2025 CCC after finishing fourth at the race in 2024. She closed out 2025 with a win at the Chiang Mai Thailand 100k, and in January 2026, she tied for first at the Hong Kong 100k. Recently, she has been training on the Western States course with Xiang.
Hậu Hà (left) and Veronika Leng (right) tying for the win at the 2026 Hong Kong 100k. Photo: Hong Kong 100k
Hannah Allgood – 7th, 17:39:02
This will be Hannah Allgood’s third 100 miler, and she’s likely eyeing something better than her 2025 finish. Allgood was second at the 2024 Javelina 100 Mile in 14:38 before last year’s Western States, where she was fourth at mile 55 before losing a few spots in the race’s second half. Allgood followed last year’s Western States with a 13th-place finish at the 2025 OCC and a third-place run at the 2025 JFK 50 Mile. In 2026, she won the Lake Sonoma 50k and just recently shared on the Andy Jones-Wilkins “Crack a Brew With AJW” podcast that she has a time goal that, if reached, would place her very high at this year’s race. Is that a sub-17-hour finish, or faster?
Hannah Allgood with her crew, running into the Foresthill aid station at mile 62 of the 2025 Western States 100, where she would finish seventh. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Caitlin Fielder – 8th, 17:47:26
Last year was Kiwi Caitlin Fielder’s 100-mile debut, and she left with an eighth-place finish and a quad injury. She recovered from that to finish 43rd at the Trail World Championships Short Trail in September 2025 and won Les Templiers in October 2025. In February 2026, Fielder was again second to Ruth Croft at the Tarawera 102k. Fielder’s 8:45 finish time this year, in very wet weather, was 15 minutes slower than in 2025.
Caitlin Fielder finishing second at the 2026 Tarawera 102k. Photo: Tarawera by UTMB
Emily Hawgood – 10th, 18:11:05
From Zimbabwe but now living in the U.S., Emily Hawgood has been in the top 10 at Western States for five straight years. From 2021 to 2025, she finished seventh, fifth, fifth, fourth, and tenth. After last year’s Western States, she had a challenging UTMB and finished 69th. In 2026, Hawgood was just seventh at the Tarawera 50k but then finished second at the Lake Sonoma 100k, where she was 17 minutes behind the winner, Pascall.
Emily Hawgood enjoying crossing the American River during the 2024 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
More Top Contenders
Even with nine of last year’s top 10 returning, we think it’s entirely possible that this year’s winner comes from this contenders group.
Jennifer Lichter
Western States will be Jennifer Lichter’s 100-mile debut, but she might just be the race favorite. In February 2026, Lichter won the Black Canyon 100k and pushed the course record under eight hours. She won the Gorge Waterfalls 50k two months later, ahead of third-place Tara Dower, who is also racing Western States this year. Lichter set a new course record at the Speedgoat 50k in 2025 and won the competitive 2025 Broken Arrow Skyrace 46k, too. Lichter missed last year’s Trail World Championships Long Trail race due to injury, but has otherwise been rock-solid over the last couple of years, rarely finishing off the podium.
The 2026 Black Canyon 100k women’s champion, Jennifer Lichter, in the early miles. Photo: Howie Stern
A cold wrecked Tara Dower’s race last year, and she didn’t finish. Dower came back from that, though, to win the October 2025 Javelina 100 Mile with a sensational 13:31 course record. In February 2026, she was third at the Black Canyon 100k, 14 minutes behind winner Lichter and under the old course record, too. She was then third at the April 2026 Gorge Waterfalls 50k, again behind winner Lichter. Dower will race the Hardrock 100 less than two weeks after Western States.
Tara Dower during the 2024 Hardrock 100. This year, Tara’s attempting the Western States 100-Hardrock 100 double, with the races two weeks apart. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Martyna Młynarczyk
Poland’s Martyna Młynarczyk ran at the front of last year’s race for the first half before dropping. She earned a trip back this year with a big win at the 2025 CCC. Młynarczyk has had some injuries since, though. She couldn’t finish the World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race in September 2025 and spent a lot of time cycling, but she did win the Trail Alsace 50k in May 2026. Like many other contenders, Młynarczyk has been training in Flagstaff, Arizona, in the lead-up to Western States.
Martyna Młynarczyk on her way to winning the 2025 CCC. Photo: UTMB
They’re definitely not all home run races for Riley Brady. They were just ninth at this year’s Black Canyon 100k, almost an hour slower than in 2025, and then 11th at the 2026 Big Alta 50k after that. At the April 2026 Canyons 100k, though, Brady hit that home run with a 9:41 win against some of the same women on this year’s Western States entrants list. Brady’s 100-mile record is similarly up-and-down. They won big money at last year’s Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile but dropped at last year’s Western States. This followed a 14th-place finish in 2023. Brady identifies as non-binary but competes in the women’s division.
Riley Brady, the 2026 Canyons 100k champion. Photo: Howie Stern/The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB
Molly Seidel is most known as the 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist. She’s traded the roads for trails and longer distances, though, and has raced three ultras in 2026. Seidel won the Bandera 50k, was fourth at the Black Canyon 100k, and finished third at the Canyons 50k. The Black Canyon run was her longest race to date, and she showed some grit in overcoming mid-race challenges. She earned a Golden Ticket entry to Western States there and was 28 minutes behind race winner Lichter, but two minutes ahead of defending Western States champion Hall.
Molly Seidel after winning the 2026 Bandera 50k, her first trail race. Photo: Misty Herron/@misty.dawns
Lotti Brinks
In 2024, Lotti Brinks was 14th at Western States and has gotten much faster since then. From Germany but living in the U.S., Brinks improved from ninth at CCC in 2024 to sixth in 2025, cutting 82 minutes off her time. That result gave her a Golden Ticket to this year’s race. It was an exceptionally competitive edition of CCC, too, and Brinks was only 20 minutes behind race winner Młynarczyk. Brinks won the Gorge Waterfalls 100k in April 2026 in course record time, running more than 45 minutes faster than she did in 2024.
Lotti Brinks, the 2026 Way Too Cool 50k winner. Photo: Keith Facchino
Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen returns to Western States after a year away from the race. She was fifth in 2024 in 16:50. She had at least five ultra finishes in 2025, but dropped at her two biggest races, Transgrancanaria and CCC. Kaspersen earned a Golden Ticket entry to this year’s race with a second-place run at the March 2026 Chianti 120k.
Yngvild Kaspersen ran a smart race en route to placing fifth at the 2024 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
After a five-year absence, Addie Bracy is back at Western States. Bracy was ninth in 2019 and dropped in 2021. She earned her way back with a third-place finish at the October 2025 Javelina 100 Mile, where she ran 14:45. It was Bracy’s best 100 miler to date and surely gives her confidence to improve on earlier Western States runs. She was an early drop at the Canyons 100k in April 2026, but went on to win the Ram Party 55 Mile in Colorado a few weeks later.
Addie Bracy, the 2025 Sawatch Ascent 50k winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Lauren Puretz
Lauren Puretz is quietly becoming an international-level ultrarunner. In just the last year, she took eighth in the 2025 UTMB, her debut at the event, fourth in the 2025 Javelina 100 Mile last fall, and fifth at the 2026 Chianti 120k this spring. Two years ago, she finished 13th at her first Western States, but she’s grown as a runner since then.
Lauren Puretz climbs her way to eighth place during the 2025 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Still More Fast Women to Watch
- Honoka Akiyama (Japan) – 3rd 2026 Tarawera 102k; 12th 2025, 9th 2023 & 14th 2021 Trail World Championships Long Trail
- Amy Cameron – 7th 2025 Javelina 100 Mile; 2nd 2025 Miwok 100k
- Sarah Humble – 4th 2026 Canyons 100k; 18th 2026 Black Canyon 100k; 1st 2025 Bear 100 Mile
- Ellaney Matarese – 5th 2026 Canyons 100k; 7th 2026 Black Canyon 100k
- Sarah Ostaszewski – 14th 2026 Gorge Waterfalls 100k; 3rd 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile; 3rd 2024 High Lonesome 100 Mile
- Holly Ranson (Australia) – 3rd 2026 Ultra-Trail Australia 50k; 4th 2026 Tarawera 102k
Call for Comments
Well, who’s it going to be? Who are we too low on, or who might sneak into the top 10 that we didn’t identify?
Honoka Akiyama at the 2023 Trail World Championships Long Trail, where she placed ninth. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
