Defending champion Abby Hall arrives at the 2026 Western States 100 with the confidence of someone who knows what she can do on the historic course. In the following interview, Abby talks about what life has looked like since last year’s Western States, how she’s learned that she races the best when she’s all-in on the effort, her love of the Black Canyon 100k, and what she changed as well as what she kept the same in her preparation for this year.
To learn more about who’s racing, check out our women’s and men’s previews before following our live race coverage on race day.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Abby Hall Pre-2026 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Megan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Abby Hall. It’s a couple days before the 2026 Western States Endurance Run. You’re the defending champion.
Abby Hall: Pretty exciting.
iRunFar: How does that sound and feel?
Hall: It’s honestly been such a big year of just taking it in. Yeah, it still hits every time. It’s still special.
iRunFar: Watching your race last year, it was kind of a cool vibe to watch. Among the frenzy and among the fray, you were this calm, confident, quiet, just smooth-flowing-looking person.
Hall: Oh.
iRunFar: And we’ve talked after the fact about that’s how it sort of felt on the inside, too.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: When you look back at those 16-and-change hours of that day, do you still feel that vibe?
Hall: I do. Yeah. I remember standing at the start line last year just feeling so happy and so like I was right where I needed to be. And you know, of course, that’s a feeling you can’t force or invent.
iRunFar: Right.
Hall: But this race brings it out in me, and I just feel so grateful and happy to be back here. It’s kind of been on my radar since the track last year’s time. I’ve really focused on it all year, and I feel like I have probably put more into this race than I’ve maybe ever put into a race before. So I feel like I’m coming at it from a new way, but I think I’m going to be still standing on that start line feeling that same happy, electric. It’s not just pure calm. It’s like electric calm, maybe like this buzz.
iRunFar: I love that. Walk us through a little bit the last year. There must have been sort of a crazy media frenzy that followed winning a race like Western States. Then you tried to turn it around and ride that fitness high with UTMB. I think you took an honest off season after that.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: Talk a little bit about, yeah, I don’t know, like that arc of your story last summer.
Hall: Yeah. I mean, honestly, it felt like I was coming off of Western States feeling so good. And of course, Cordis [Hall] and I like to say, “When it goes well, it goes well.” Like you kind of recover well. You have this spring in your step. And I felt really good July, early August. And I think approaching UTMB, I was like, “I feel like I could kind of take it or leave it.” In hindsight, that’s probably not how I race my best. And I was curious if that would be a new feeling at a hundred-mile start line, like a lightness or like holding…
iRunFar: Nonchalant.
Hall: Yeah. Like not holding things so tightly. And then I got out there in the race and felt not super connected to what I was doing, pretty tired, not really able to muster what the day required. And so it just brought me back to that place of, first off, respect for these big hundred milers and what they require, and also just realizing that I think I do best, and the best me comes out when I’m really all in on something.
iRunFar: The psychological relationship is just locked in.
Hall: Yeah. Totally. And so I feel like I then kind of spent the fall kind of in those early phases of walking in for this year, maybe not… Yeah, it was kind of a down season, but we actually did a trip out to the course in late November, which was pretty fun.
iRunFar: Oh, that’s interesting.
Hall: It was really fun, actually. Yeah.
iRunFar: What interesting things do you see on the Western State course at that time of year?
Hall: Well, it was really interesting because there was a big snowstorm that was about to come in, like the first big proper one of the season. And I think I got one of the last days in the high country.
iRunFar: Oh, cool.
Hall: So it was pretty fun. And then came back in April and got out to the high country, and I felt almost-
iRunFar: Like the first person back again.
Hall: Exactly.
iRunFar: You’re like, “Hey.”
Hall: Yeah. First one out, first one back in. So yeah, it was fun to get out there in November and then kind of was even making race choices around it, like returning to Black Canyon [100k] and, then ultimately, the big build. So yeah, it’s kind of been all eyes on getting back here the best I can.
iRunFar: And on paper, you did a training race in December in Arizona, then you repeated Black Canyon, like you did in your build to Western States last year.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: You took the same position, but you ran a heck ton faster.
Hall: Yeah. That was crazy.
iRunFar: Given same-same, different-different, I mean, nothing is actually replicated, but how does this build and that performance at Black Canyon sort of resonate or sit with last year this time?
Hall:. I think Black Canyon this year, I felt like the aim was a little different since I wasn’t going for a ticket. I still think with these golden ticket races, the best performances are always going to come from the people who really want those tickets.
And again, maybe like a similar logic with the UTMB thing, I didn’t know if maybe I would feel a different freedom going into it not needing a ticket and was curious how that would work for me mentally and ended up just being… Like, what a historic day to be a part of. It was so cool. Ran a lot faster.
But even at that time of the year, the goal was really speed work and kind of getting a bigger ultra on the books to start the season, and then didn’t really start stacking the big weeks until later in March. So yeah, I feel like it was what it needed to be to start the season.
Black Canyon is kind of… nailing it one day is definitely kind of a sub goal. I don’t know if it’ll ever be the focus of a season or something, but it’s such a cool race.
iRunFar: It’s kind of local for you.
Hall: It’s kind of local and usually I spend most of the winter running on those desert trails. So it’s always a good fit, and I think I’ll probably keep getting FOMO and keep doing it.
iRunFar: Being the defending champion at a race like Western States, that’s a bit of a, I don’t know, large sign on your back, if you will. If this were the 1990s, statistical precedent would say it’s pretty likely that you’re going to win again. But in this modern era, statistics are against their being a repeat champion. There’s basically one person in the modern race who’s done that thus far. It has to be kind of fun to-
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: … butt up against like, “Okay, statistics say one thing, but I am me.”
Hall: Yeah, exactly. It feels like this really cool… Probably one of the cooler opportunities I’ve had in my career to really try and make history, add my little notch to our sport’s history. But I also feel like I’ve done enough hundreds to understand that nothing is guaranteed and got to go out there and earn it again every time. And each race has different challenges, unique curveballs.
And yeah, I feel well positioned from what I learned and experienced last year and how to execute. And there’s a lot to the plan that remains unchanged of things that were working really well. But I also want to swing bigger this time, and I think there’s more I can do on this course. So I’m sure that’ll have new challenges associated with it.
iRunFar: Well, you’ve already set up my next question for you. Obviously, a lot worked for you last year, so there’s probably some stuff that you just want to press repeat on and say, “That worked perfectly. I’d like to do that with no bugs in the system,” but we’re always refining and always evolving. So what are a few things that you’ve really thought about like, “Oh, that I bobbled with last year. I’d like to work on that,” or “Gosh, that really worked in Black Canyon. I want to try to bring that here”?
Hall: Yeah, totally. I would say nutrition right now just feels so solid.
iRunFar: Okay.
Hall: Yeah. And it went solid last year. And I feel really fortunate that that’s in a really good spot. Yeah. I am able to consume a lot during these longer races, which I think… I don’t feel like I maybe see the benefit of that at like a Black Canyon, but I do think for that-
iRunFar: Longer.
Hall: … eight-plus hours, I think it starts to really have a fun snowball effect. So I mean, of course nothing’s ever guaranteed, but that’s something that’s pretty steadily working across my training and racing and doesn’t have many changes to it. But I think last year from Foresthill to the finish, I feel like I ran pretty conservatively just thinking kind of like, “Just don’t mess this up.” Just kind of-
iRunFar: “Things are going so well.”
Hall: Exactly. Just kind of like, “Don’t do anything crazy,” and just kind of like keep on keeping on. And it was also then a lot to soak in. I mean, those final miles with Cordis, we’d be running, and I would just see him looking at me while we were running. And I was like, “Don’t make me cry right now.”
iRunFar: Can we keep our stuff together?
Hall: Exactly. I think there was so much excitement. And of course, yeah, it’s not like I want to avoid that feeling, but also I want to try and be more locked in those late miles and really see what I can do there without being kind of in this state of shock and excitement and fear of messing something up. So that would be one goal that I have.
iRunFar: I guess stating that a little bit differently, it’s like taking the narrative into your own hands a little bit as opposed to being like, “Well, what narrative is coming for me around the next corner?”
Hall: Exactly.
iRunFar: Western States always has a lot of repeat visitors. There’s an extraordinary return of the women’s field this year, nine of the top 10 returnees, some women from the events passed, some women who’ve given it a shot and haven’t gotten their first finish here, some up-and-comers and challengers. So there’s a lot of things that are similar. But I think it’s Tuesday evening now. That weather forecast has been sitting the way it’s been sitting for a couple days, so I think we can officially audibly say the race is probably going to look a lot different conditions wise.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: Thoughts?
Hall: I mean, it’s super exciting. Admittedly, I love a hot day, and so I was secretly-
iRunFar: You love to suffer.
Hall: I was secretly hoping for a little bit of a scorcher.
iRunFar: I love that everybody says that.
Hall: Do they?
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hall: Really? Okay.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hall: That’s funny.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Hall: I wasn’t sure.
iRunFar: Well, it’s because it’s what you have prepared for and you’ve been visualizing it, right?
Hall: Exactly. And I like that kind of connection. You know, some of the hotter days I’ve done at home down in the desert and all that. But it’s still going to be a physically warm day. It’s not like it’s going to be 45 degrees or…
iRunFar: Right.
Hall: So I think we’ll all get to still use our beloved heat training.
iRunFar: You’ll all be covered in salt and sweat and-
Hall: Exactly. So I think it’ll still be a warm day, but it definitely restructures some of the goals a little bit in terms of… I mean, dry high country, plus a cool year, which is crazy, too, because often the cool years are a snowy high country.
iRunFar: Very good point.
Hall: The splits are all a little different, and so it feels like a really cool opportunity to go big. And I’m sure everyone else is feeling that way, too.
iRunFar: Are you thinking about like, “Oh, I am just not going to look at my watch because these splits are going to be scary fast,” even when the effort is… You’re just not going to have the governor of the extreme heat. Like you said, it’s going to be hot, but it’s kind of like the altitude governor that as you get higher, the governor gets stronger. It’s the same thing with heat.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: So you’re going to feel hot, but you’re not going to have, I don’t know, that noose coming down on you quite so much.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: Times are going to be, I think, a little shocking at times.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: Did I say that right?
Hall: Yeah, I would agree. I think in reality it might feel closer to what it’s been like on scouting trips out here where it’s like, oh, just a mild nice day where I’m not using ice bandanas and all that and you’re kind of just like in a flow. I think I do kind of like looking at my watch and the numbers for a course especially. I like knowing different splits and all that. And I feel like I’m starting to have logged enough time in this course where the splits I can kind of do my math in my head.
iRunFar: Yeah.
iRunFar: So you’re still going to be looking at the watch?
Hall: Definitely. But I’m going to roll with it when it’s different than planned.
iRunFar: I’d really like to take a photo of you with google eyes checking your watch, coming into Dusty [Corners], being like, “Oh, all right. Okay.”
Hall: Yep. Exactly.
iRunFar: “This is what we’re doing today.”
Hall: Exactly. I mean, it’s such a cool opportunity, so yeah. In a lot of ways, I am excited for the chance to just go run a really fast time, hopefully.
iRunFar: Last question for you. Your watch sponsor just put out a video about you. And one of the takeaways or fun points of that was you saying that last year was just a big old fat question mark of like, “What can I do at this race?” sort of unknowing of your potential. Well, now you know what you can do at this race, so the mindset is sort of like a 180 switch. Talk about that for a moment if you could.
Hall: Yeah. I think for anyone who’s familiar with my trajectory at hundred milers before that, I was really hoping to kind of get one on the board last year, and I certainly had the hopes that it could be the year where it would suddenly work. I felt like I had been teeing myself up for that for a while with some of those harder march-it-in-type days. And I felt like my day was happening, and I was like, “This is the day I’ve prepared for for years.” I was able to finally reach what I believe my potential is at these kind of races for hundred milers.
And this year, it’s coming at it from this different angle of not this like, “Can I?” but more starting at like, “I know I can. So then how do I build up that confidence, that belief in the small moments that…” You know?
iRunFar: Then add up to something greater.
Hall: That add up to what I know I’m capable of. That doesn’t really make sense, but-
iRunFar: It does, though. Yeah.
Hall: Yeah.
iRunFar: Because we don’t run a hundred miles by running a hundred miles. We run a hundred miles by running a mile and a moment at a time.
Hall: Exactly. And there’s so many small moments like that in the training, in the lead up where you’re thinking, “Okay, I think this plus this plus this is going to get me this.” And it doesn’t always work that way, but it gives me more confidence in my equation, if you will.
iRunFar: I love that. Abby Hall-
Hall: Megan Hicks
iRunFar: – Western States Endurance Run defending champion, best of luck to you on Saturday.
Hall: Thank you, Megan. I appreciate it.
