After having a rough go at the event last year, 2022 champion Adam Peterman arrives at the 2026 Western States 100 healthy and ready to run. In the following interview, Adam talks about his run last year and why it was important for him to finish, hiring a coach for the first time since running in college, his successful spring racing campaign, and his thoughts coming into this year’s race.
To learn more about who’s racing, check out our men’s and women’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 watch it.]
Adam Peterman Pre-2026 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Eszter Horanyi with iRunFar. I’m here with Adam Peterman, ahead of the 2026 Western States 100. Adam, how are you?
Peterman: Sweet. Yeah, thanks for having me. I’m good. Yeah.
iRunFar: So you have a bit of history with this race, a bit of a relationship. You won it at your 100-mile debut in 2022. You missed it due to injury in 2023. Kind of like residual injury leftovers from 2024, didn’t run again.
Peterman: eah, I didn’t qualify.
iRunFar: But you tried and-
Peterman: I tried.
iRunFar: And then, last year you came, and I feel like you were pretty confident going into it.
Peterman: Oh, yeah.
iRunFar: And then you had yourself a bit of an epic.
Peterman: Yeah. Last year was tough. Yeah, that was kind of confusing to me because I actually felt like I had a really good training block going into last year, even better probably than I felt in 2022. But, yeah, unfortunately, my race kind of derailed at Michigan Bluff, mile 55, something like that. And I finished, but, oh, yeah, I had to walk for a really long time and … Yeah.
iRunFar: It was a thing.
Peterman: Yeah, it was epic for me, for sure.
iRunFar: So, with the hindsight of 12 months now, like what went wrong there?
Peterman: I feel like, obviously, it could be a lot of things. I think what I’ve figured is maybe I didn’t do enough intentional downhill running, like kind of shocking-the-quads type things, and so, actually, right after Western States last year, I decided to hire a coach. That was the first time I’d worked with a coach since college. And that’s kind of what we came in agreement upon is, going into this race, we need to do some more intentional downhills.
And it’s not like last year I wasn’t doing that, but, I don’t know, that’s like my only explanation, because it felt like I wasn’t overheating. I felt like my nutrition was pretty solid, but from Robinson Flat to the bottom of Last Chance. Like I felt great, moved up a few positions, but my quads were starting to get like shaky feeling. And then you go up Deadwood, go back down to El Dorado and, at the bottom of that, it was like lights out. I was, like, “Oh, how am I going to salvage this?” So,that’s kind of what happened last year. And it was unfortunate because, like I said, I felt really good, felt really confident, but the quads kind of said, “No.”
iRunFar: Yeah, they weren’t having it.
Peterman: Weren’t having it.
iRunFar: I’m curious because I feel like, in sort of this day and age, like as a professional runner, a lot of people, if they’re not having a good day, they pack it up and they go home. They save it for the next race. You gutted it out. You walked it in. Like why was that so important to you to finish that?
Peterman: I feel like I owe it to my crew. And then, also, the race organization did a really good job kind of convincing me to stay in it, so, like, yeah, I tried to drop out at Foresthill. It was too early. My crew was, like, “Look, you’re still …” I wasn’t in the top 10, but I think I was maybe 12th or something like that. And they were, like, “Look, you could maybe start running, pass some people and get top 10,” And so I’m, like, “All right, I’ll give it a go.” And, yeah, I was able to run like that nice road section by Foresthill, but then, once you drop into the canyon, it was like back to walking, hands on knees.
iRunFar: “You lied to me, guys.”
Peterman: Yeah. I was, like, “Oh, gosh, you guys tricked me, and now I can’t get out of this canyon.” But, yeah, I tried to drop at Cal 2. And, unfortunately there, if you try to drop out there, you can’t leave until the aid station packs up and goes, so that’s like 3:00 a.m. So that was part of the reason there. And, also, I wasn’t injured, I just really… I couldn’t wrap my head around walking 40 miles, 30 miles. I just couldn’t wrap my head around that.
But, I mean, in hindsight, that’s part of the reason why we do ultra. It’s hard to wrap your head around racing a hundred miles. And so, I guess, in hindsight, that was kind of cool that I was able to still finish even when it felt quite impossible. And I’m proud to have another 24-hour finish, although, admittedly, I was really disappointed. Even on the track, like getting there, I’m, like, “What the heck just happened?” But, yeah, I’ve never DNFed to race. And I’m proud of that, although, if I ever have an injury or something, I’ll definitely have to stop.
iRunFar: Okay. So, when you finished, was it, the thought, “I need to come back and do this better immediately?” Or was it more like, “Oh.”
Peterman: Oh, yeah, like immediately. Yeah, probably immediately, I think, because I know what it feels like to do well at this race. That’s like one of the best feelings in the world. I was just so frustrated to have a great training block and then the race just derailed halfway through. So, yeah, I was pretty much immediately, “How do I find my way back to here?” Yeah.
iRunFar: And is that like the motivation for hiring a coach and trying something new?
Peterman: Totally. Yeah. I mean I definitely took it as a point of pride that I wrote my own training. And I really look up to athletes like Kilian [Jornet], and Jim [Walmsley], and Courtney [Dewaulter]. And none of them had coaches, or have had. I think actually Kilian might work with someone now like Jesus I think is his name. I’m not entirely sure. But I think I held onto that for a long time. I was like, “I don’t need a coach if these guys don’t need one.” And, eventually, I started to look … You look at the guys I’m competing against last year, the women in the top 10. Most of them have coaches now and, at the end of the day, I was like, “I try to write my training, be meticulous about it, but these coaches are going to push me beyond what I’m doing for myself.” So, it’s been awesome. It’s been cool to have that relationship. I work with John Fitzgerald. And he actually coaches quite a few of us in Missoula, which is sweet. We have a little group.
iRunFar: Yeah. And it really seems like your season turned back around. Like after Western, like you went to OCC and played sixth, and then eighth at [the Trail World Championships Long Trail].
Peterman: Yeah. I feel like those were pretty solid. Yeah, the World-
iRunFar: Did you want to be better?
Peterman: Oh, yeah. I’m so bad. I feel like I come across as like chill and happy about stuff, but I’m always so frustrated when I place like eighth and give it my all. And you’re, like, “Oh, man,” but, yeah, that was a good race. That was a really loaded field for the men at World’s, so, yeah, no, it’s been awesome. And then, working with John through Canyons [100k], and I was able to get a ticket and … Yeah.
iRunFar: Yes, I guess that’s the next question. Were you happy with your Canyons run? If you weren’t happy with the stuff last fall, like were you-
Peterman: Oh, yeah.
iRunFar: … happy with that?
Peterman: Yeah, that was awesome. I felt like a lot road on Canyons because I wanted to run States or one of the UTMB Finals. I pretty much had the podium at Canyons to do either of those. And, yeah, I felt pretty good for most of the race. And it was really cool finishing with Zach [Miller] and Hayden [Hawks] right behind me because, yeah, I love those guys. And just to be all in the finish shoot together was like a pretty cool moment.
iRunFar: Yeah, and like they never let up. Like that gap between the three of you never got bigger, never got like…: Or what was that like just like full on the last 20 miles?
Peterman: Yeah. Well, it was funny because I took the lead a little before Foresthill, and so, I guess, that was probably a little before halfway, but I just never saw those guys again. I didn’t hear anything, and so I thought actually maybe I’d extended the lead bigger than it was just because I hadn’t heard like a cowbell or anything like that whole section through Cal Street. So, yeah, when I got to Driver’s Flat and get reports that they’re like two minutes behind me, something like that, I was definitely a little bit surprised. And I was feeling a little bit rough just because you’re 45 miles into the 100K race, so I was happy I was able to hold them off. And, yeah, that was fun.
iRunFar: Yeah. So what sort of confidence does that give you coming into this weekend?
Peterman: It’s good. I mean, I guess, it was Canyons 2022 that I got my golden ticket for the first time and then ended up doing like… That was when I won States for the first time. And I feel like it’s good confidence because it’s the same course on the back half. And then you’ve also seen other athletes do well from Canyons to States. But, yeah, it’s good. It was a little bit of a tight window though, for sure, with the training. Like you take a week off, build up again and then you’ve also seen other athletes do well from Canyons to States. But, yeah, it’s good. It was a little bit of a tight window though, for sure, with the training. Like you take a week off, build up again and then you’re kind of back at it with the volume, so that was tricky. Yeah, I was happy to have John help me through that.
iRunFar: Nice. And so you’re arriving at the start line fit, healthy, ready to go?
Peterman: Yeah. Everything’s been pretty good. I mean, I’ve had a bit of an Achilles injury. I wouldn’t even call it an injury, just kind of inflammation ever since the Black Canyon 50k, of all things, like four months ago, so I haven’t been able to touch on a whole lot of threshold work, stuff like that. Luckily, it’s a hundred-mile race, so I hope that we aren’t doing that, but we’ll see. You never know anymore. But, yeah, I’m excited. And, yeah, I had a really good like three-week condensed period at the end of May and beginning of June, and then it’s nice to taper now and get some energy back.
iRunFar: The question that everyone’s asking, we’ve all seen the weather forecast, it’s going to be a cool year, what are your thoughts on that?
Peterman: I’m excited. The two times I’ve done States, I think it was in the… Last year was like low 90s. And the year I won, it was like 98 or something. I’m just excited. As runners, we love fast times, I feel like, so that would be really cool to run a faster time here. But then, also, I feel like the heat just always adds some element of uncertainty. Maybe that could have been what happened to me last year. You never know. I’m kind of relieved to hear that it’s a little cooler. I mean, I heat train, and I feel like I’m good in the heat, but I do live in Montana and it’s like not that hot there. So, yeah, I’m really stoked. I hope that holds.
iRunFar: Well, Adam Peterman, best of luck this weekend. And we will see you out on the course.
Peterman: Yeah. Thank you so much.
