Abby Hall won the 2025 Western States 100 with the fourth-fastest women’s time in the race’s history. In the following interview, Abby talks about her long road back from injury, how she’s surprised but also not surprised at her win, the dynamics of how the race played out, and how she never felt that she had the win secured until she crossed the finish line.
For more on how the race played out, read our in-depth 2025 Western States 100 results article.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Abby Hall, 2025 Western States 100 Champion, Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Abby Hall. It’s the day after her win of the 2025 Western States Endurance Run. How does that feel to hear that?
Abby Hall: It is surreal, honestly. I mean, I feel like it hit me a little bit more today just driving back up to the track for golden hour and just really soaking in what happened yesterday. I feel like I was so focused on not letting myself like, cling to the outcome before it happened. Like even with a couple miles to go, I was like, not yet. Even Robie Point, I was like, not yet. And that’s one of the reasons I just like, pushed hard through the finish.
Yeah.
Hall: Because I was like, I want to get to the finish and know, and then I can let go.
iRunFar: Be able to let it sink in.
Hall: Exactly. So, yeah.
iRunFar: It’s still just sinking in right now.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: A performance like this for anybody, any athlete, is a career defining performance. But given your history and your lead up to now, it seems even more like a long time coming. When I look at your career, this is something that I might have projected for you like, circa 2023.
Hall: Mm hmm.
iRunFar: And then your life entirely changed then, and the process was put on hold. What does that feel to have that career part of it and then plus, bringing yourself back to health for major injury for two years-ish added into that?
Hall: Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, it’s like a massive, massive affirmation to the process that I went through with that whole injury. You know, like, you put in the work. You do the exercises. You recover from surgery. You do the patient rebuild and all that in hopes that it gets you where you want to be, but I know that’s not always how these stories end. I mean, I feel really fortunate. I had really quality surgery, amazing coaches, mentors, PTs, you name it, to like, help me kind of hold that torch of belief.
iRunFar: Help hold it. Because you can’t bear that all yourself. Right?
Hall: Exactly. Yeah. But I mean to make it, I mean, I think earlier this season with like, the Golden Ticket races, I kind of was feeling like, okay, I’m back, but like also everyone’s gotten so good that me being back is now landing me further back in fields than it would have in 2022 or whatever. And so to be able to like, rise back to keep growing with the tip of the spear of the sport has been one of my goals. And so, yeah, it was really validating.
iRunFar: So affirming of, like, sticking with the process however long term it is.
Hall: 100%.
iRunFar: So for the folks watching who may not be familiar, give us a recap on your injury. 2023, big crash on the trail, major injury. Major surgery.
Hall: Yeah. I was on an easy run from home and about a half mile from the house on the trail that I, you know, always end on. Just, I hyper extended my leg so it came down really hard on my heel. My knee bent backwards out of socket.
iRunFar: That gives you the shivers. I feel that.
Hall: Yeah. Exactly. So I tore and damaged most of the ligaments, broke my tibial plateau because my femur came crashing into the tibia. Like, yeah, just damaged the whole knee and had a really major surgery about a month later at the Steadman Clinic. And along the way, I also had some blood clots and kind of complications. So like, it was, kind of for a while just felt like one low after the other. But it’s really interesting because during that time, our friend Tom Evans was staying with us training for Western States that year. I mean, Tom helped evacuate me on the trails.
iRunFar: And training to win Western States later.
Hall: Training to win Western States. And so this all happened like, maybe a week before the race and I was like I’m going to Western States. I’m going to be there. I felt like there was something like, healing, truly, about being here, being with our people, and like getting to watch Tom do what he’d been preparing so well to execute. And so I was out here two years ago on crutches watching Tom win.
iRunFar: Sitting in the infield with your poor leg extended out.
Hall: Sitting in the infield. Exactly. So it doesn’t feel like that long ago that that’s where I was at. And so to be here two years later, like, this feels really full circle.
iRunFar: And to talk about yesterday, you said off camera while we were heading over here that you felt it was in you all day. Can you share what that felt like or what that was like?
Hall: Yeah. I mean, I think. [clears throat] Sorry.
iRunFar: Did you run 100 miles yesterday or something? [laughs]
Hall: [laughs] I think so many athletes can like, relate to that feeling of, you know, like you’re finishing a hard workout or a long run, you’re like, dreaming. You’re like, if I’m entering the track winning Western States. I feel like you dream, and you dream, and you dream, and for it to finally come true is something that I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to do, but like, it also doesn’t surprise me at the same time. And I think usually we have to prove something to ourselves or know it ourselves before we can prove it to others. And, yeah. So I was definitely surprised, but also not surprised at the same time.
iRunFar: Yeah. And being able to carry those dueling emotions is kind of a cool thing. Right?
Hall: Yeah. Because there’s so much that just has to line up on the day. Like, the mind, the body, you know, everything.
iRunFar: Strategy of what’s going on around you.
Hall: Exactly.
iRunFar: So in terms of how the race played out, I think you and Martyna [Młynarczyk] and a couple other women were sort of bouncing around with each other for around the race’s first half before you moved solidly into the lead.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: Talk about that early dynamic because I think it was a lot of like, other women on the down hills, you on the uphills. And then it looked like at times you were working with some women.
Hall: Yeah. The women that I was running with were Martyna and Ida [Nilsson] and like, we were kind of swapping at certain points. And yeah, I think it was generally like, me putting in time on the climbs, them putting in time on the descents. But it was really cool because like, Ida and I had done some training in Flagstaff in this block. And so in a lot of ways, it felt like just another long run with Ida. Like, staring at each other’s heels.
iRunFar: Cool.
Hall: And I think there’s something really comforting about like, running with someone you’ve spent time running with before. So it made it feel less like a race during those points and more like I was just like putting miles away with a friend. And then, yeah, I think coming out of the canyons is kind of when the elastic broke. But then it was really curious to hear later in the race, like, how it was playing out behind me.
iRunFar: Behind you.
Hall: And with Fu-Zhao [Xiang] and Marianne [Hogan].
iRunFar: Getting closer and then moving back, and then getting closer.
Hall: Yes, exactly. Yeah.
iRunFar: Same thing I think downhills versus uphills. You were making time on both of them on the uphills, and then they were starting to reel you in on the longer downhills.
Hall: Totally. Yeah. Even running Green Gate, it’s so hard at that point in the race, but I felt like it was just like the right place for me to make up ground, and where I knew I could like, keep putting in like a minute here, a minute there.
iRunFar: And, you know, you had some real estate to second place, but you didn’t have a ton of real estate. Were you getting reports on sort of the coming and goings of the minutes or did you just feel the pressure behind you?
Hall: Yeah. I was getting any updates I could. So yeah.
iRunFar: Anybody? Anything?
Hall: Yeah. It’s like, I know it probably maybe sounds more like, I feel like if I was spectating the race I’d be like, oh, you know 10 minutes at Quarry Road, like, they got this or whatever. But I feel like when you’re in it, it feels a lot closer.
iRunFar: That’s just around the corner actually.
Hall: Yeah. Exactly. And like to have someone like Fu-Zhao chasing you, I mean she’s so strong. And then right behind that, Marianne. So it’s like, yeah, a daunting group to have on your heels.
iRunFar: Yeah. That’s the type of situation that is like they like they say the saying of a rising tide lifts all ships. And, you know, if the ships are rising behind you, it makes you rise to the occasion as well.
Hall: Yeah. 100%. I mean, I think those were fast times for the heat we had, relative to the heat and everything yesterday, and just, like, women showed up. It was sick.
iRunFar: And you showed up. You put down the fourth fastest time in women’s history on above average temperature year.
Hall: Yeah. That’s wild. It’s really surreal.
iRunFar: You said at the beginning of this interview, you didn’t let yourself accept the fact you were winning the race until you crossed the line.
Hall: Mm hmm.
iRunFar: So take us to that moment. You were, like, the overwhelm that was inside of you was coming out for all of us to feel. It felt so cool to watch.
Hall: Thank you. That’s exactly how I felt. I mean, yeah, like, I really, even like Robie Point, like, Cordis [Hall] and my crew that were running with me at that point were like, “Time to celebrate! Soak it in!” And even then it was like, yeah, still hard to accept until I really crossed that line. So I just really wanted to finish giving it everything. That my mantra, this whole block and race is like, you versus you. Which I know can sound counterintuitive when you’re racing such a dense field of incredibly strong women. But I also feel like it’s how I get the most out of me. And so even those last miles, Cordis was like, “Remember this isn’t for anyone else. This isn’t for, you know. This is for you. And so like, do it for you.”
iRunFar: What a sweet husband thing to say. It’s just beautiful.
Hall: I know. I know. He’s the best. I’m lucky.
iRunFar: This is a really sweet victory at the end of a long journey, and there are other people out there who experience their own challenges. And you were on the front end of it, and now you’re on the back end of it. Do you have anything that you’d like to say to other people who are maybe starting a journey like that?
Hall: [clears throat] Absolutely.
iRunFar: Strange.
Hall: I know.
iRunFar: I didn’t see any dust in the air yesterday.
Hall: Yeah. I mean my advice to anyone in a chapter like that would just be to like, keep your love for the sport, or like your love for whatever it is that you’re trying to get through. Like, your love for what you’re trying to return to back at the forefront. I really kept these dreams pinned at the front of my mind, even when it felt improbable, and even when it felt like a lost cause. But I really believe that like, I don’t know, trusting the process is, it actually works.
iRunFar: It’s never a lost cause.
Hall: Yeah. It’s never a lost cause. Yeah.
iRunFar: Congratulations to you, Abby Hall, on your win of the 2025 Western States Endurance Run. Let that soak in.
Hall: Thank you.
