Returning after an eighth-place finish at his debut last year, Hans Troyer lines up for the 2026 Western States 100 hoping to do something special. In the following interview, Hans talks a bit about his pathway to trail running, how his racing goals changed while midway through Western States last year, his racing strategy and how he wants to continue to be aggressive, and the advantages of being slightly inexperienced in the sport.
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.]
Hans Troyer Pre-2026 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Eszter Horanyi with iRunFar. I’m here with Hans Troyer. We are two days before the 2026 Western States 100. Hans, how are you?
Hans Troyer: Doing really well. Super excited to race. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this race. The fact that it’s two days away is very exciting.
iRunFar: Down to the final 48 hours. This is your first on-camera interview with iRunFar, so I just wanted to touch on your background a little bit. I believe you were a successful collegiate runner. And you went from collegiate running to maybe, maybe not breaking Jim Walmsley’s course record at the Bandera 100k. Talk to me about that period in your life.
Troyer: That was a really interesting time for me. I finished college running in the spring of 2023. I had never experienced life without running, so I took two months reasonably off. Then I was like, wow, I really like to run, actually. I want to keep doing that, so I ran 50 miles just for fun one morning with no training in the heat of July in Georgia. It was brutal but it was so much fun. So then I was like, wow, I’d really love to get into this and see what I’m capable of doing. I just wrote up this massive training plan and started running 120-mile weeks for months on end. Then Bandera 100k 2024 was my first really successful race, I would say. I went like 7:45. Slightly different course than Jim’s, so we can’t officially claim it, of course. But maybe I’ll go back eventually and try to get it officially. It was a crazy time, super exciting. I was super surprised to see how well my body responded to all the high mileage and the longer runs. Obviously, huge learning experiences early on. But I’m super happy to be here now.
iRunFar: And then after that, you sort of went on a hero’s journey, a well-documented hero’s journey. You even gave yourself rhabdo[myolysis] at Black Canyon 100k in 2024, which, regardless of what you do from here on out, you’ll be known for that, whether you like it or not. And then you tried to come back in 2025 to get a Golden Ticket there. Redemption arc, you got sick. And then the hail mary, Canyons 100k, got your golden ticket. Given a year’s perspective on that, how does that all look now that you’re not in the thick of it?
Troyer: Oh man, it’ll probably always be the most hectic year and a half of my life, especially mentally. All the ups and downs of that were just unbelievable. I remember having some of the lowest times trying to build back up, then the highest times of getting the golden ticket. And building for months on end to get to a race, to then get the flu and not getting to race. Being so confused and trying so hard. And then finally getting that golden ticket was just like, oh my goodness. I can’t believe that happened. And then getting to run Western States last year was a dream come true. It was a great year and a half.
Obviously, I learned a lot. I think I matured a lot in my running. So now, coming into 2026, I have a much better grasp on everything, and I feel more confident as a runner. I’m maybe not as dramatic mentally as I used to be. I needed it back in the day. And I still need a lot of things in the sport, and I’m very hungry for a lot more. The race nerves aren’t nearly as nervy as maybe they used to be, because early in my career, every race was absolute life or death. It was absolutely wild. But I’m very grateful for that journey because I think it really sculpted me into the runner I am today.
iRunFar: I want to talk a little bit about your Western States last year. You started off fast. You started off in that lead group of men who were going incredibly fast. And then midway through, you almost dropped out of the top 10, and then you clawed your way back to that safe position in the top 10. I’m curious, what were your goals going into the race, and how did those evolve throughout the race?
Troyer: I went into the race with the intention to try to win, but I really just wanted to see what it was like to race at the top of the race. I think this is a race I can see myself at for years to come and maybe being very successful at it, so I really wanted to race it. I wanted to race the top guys and just see what racing at the front was like and gain that valuable experience. It was going really well until it went really bad. Even at the 35-mile range, I was like, wow, I’m going to win this race. I feel amazing. Nothing’s going wrong. Everything’s great. I took the lead for a mile. I was like, wow, I’m about to shock the world.
And then by mile 45, I was like, I am not going to finish this race. [laughs] My quads are so wrecked. There’s no way this is happening. From mile 45 to probably Foresthill at 62, it was like, I don’t know if I’m going to able to finish this race. I was overheated. Quads were so destroyed.
And then when I got to Foresthill, I saw the crowd and that hyped me up. I was running through, hyping up the crowd, just having a good time. And then I was like, oh wait, maybe I’m still in this thing. I think I was in eighth at the time. But I thought maybe I could rally and catch a few people.
Ten miles later, I was like, no, I’m just surviving, just surviving. But it was such a crazy experience because I was so destroyed for that entire second half of the race. But I think everybody was, because it went out so fast. It was just a battle of whoever could suffer the best. And seemingly, I was not losing position. Ryan [Montgomery] passed me late in the race, but besides that, I just held firm in the top 10. It was really cool to see how hard I could push myself, because I knew there was still value in getting top 10, obviously getting an entry for the next year. Absolutely wild race. So much fun, though.
iRunFar: You were like the average suffer level.
Troyer: Say that again?
iRunFar: You were the average suffering level of the top 10.
Troyer: I felt like I was the high end of suffering, but yeah, I guess looking back on it, average is, yeah.
iRunFar: I think you’ve built a little bit of a reputation, at least when, your whole ultra career is a couple years old, so it’s hard to say back in the day. But you had a reputation of like, run until you either win or you give yourself rhabdo, right? And I think we saw a little bit of that at the JFK 50 Mile last year, which you won, where you took it out fast. You didn’t change your shoes so you could get a gap and get out of sight. And then in the back tail end of it, you faded, but you took it out fast. And then versus Black Canyon this year, which you also won and set a course record, it just felt like a race of attrition where you were controlled at the front and just ran hard until everyone else dropped off. Do you think your racing strategy has evolved between those races, or since Western last year?
Troyer: Yeah. JFK played a little different than I expected it to, because we were actually rather slow on the trails. I think we were five minutes behind what David [Sinclair] and Eli [Hemming] ran the year before. I remember getting off the trail and just thinking, “Oh, we’re already off course-record pace. This is a bummer.”
I do like to make these races into a real aerobic fitness battle. I like to squeeze and squeeze until there’s no one left. That’s what I like to try to do, and Black Canyon was a big example of that, where we went out fast, pushed in the middle, and then just seemingly pushed the entire race until I was solo. But it’s a little more calculated than maybe it was early in my career, where I understand hydration and nutrition a lot better. I understand my body and how it reacts to these races a little bit better, which is great.
So it’s not changing in the aggression, but it is changing in the knowledge around aggression, I think. Where I like being aggressive, and I like to make moves, and I’ll continue to do that. I’m sure there’ll probably be some moves made on Saturday, but it’s a lot more knowledgeable now, and I think in a smart way.
iRunFar: So compared to last year, lining up this year, you’re on a new team. You’ve moved to Boulder, you’ve moved to the West, you’re living at altitude. Talk to me about how your approach changed or how you’re feeling differently this year versus last year.
Troyer: I’m a lot more confident than last year. Last year, obviously I wanted to race really well, but at the end of the day, I was just really happy to be in the race because it had been such a journey to get there. This year, I’m putting in all the marbles. I moved to altitude. I haven’t done a big race since Black Canyon. I’ve had a really long training block. I’m doing so much to try to do good in this race, and because of that, I am very confident, and I think I could do something special, perhaps.
iRunFar: Interesting. Of the golden ticket winners and of the returning top 10, you’re the second youngest. When people talk about the next generation of ultrarunning, you are the next generation of ultrarunning. You’re racing against people like Kilian [Jornet], who I believe you were 10 years old when Kilian raced his first Western States. From your point of view, what are the advantages of youth versus that much experience when it comes to a course like Western States?
Troyer: I think Western States is a big experience race. I think running it last year helped me out a lot, but I also think, I say young and fit all the time. It’s like my catchphrase, but I think that also comes with a mentality of I just have a lot of fun. I really enjoy these races and I’m not afraid to hurt. I kind of look forward to it in a weird way, where I’m training for months on end to experience this super difficult race, and maybe I just haven’t experienced enough 100-mile pain to be scared of it, but I’m not really scared of it right now, which I will be when it happens, because something bad always happens, and it’s going to be very painful. But I’m excited. I think excitement is the word.
iRunFar: Given that it’s going to be a pretty cool, not hot Western States, how do you think that’s going to play into like, will it favor the more aggressive risk takers, the people who like to make moves? How are you approaching the much cooler weather?
Troyer: I think it’ll change the paces. I think the entire race will be faster, and I think maybe it almost evens the playing field from a fitness standard a little bit more. I think there are a couple people in the field who would probably deal with heat better than everybody else, and now that’s more of an even playing field. I think it makes it more into a fitness battle and less of a durability contest or an experience contest. I think it plays in my favor a little bit, because I do have a lack of experience compared to some of the guys in this field. I’m reasonably excited that it’s going to be a little bit cooler. I was prepared for a hot year, so if I run it next year and it’s super hot, then I’m ready for that, too. I think it’s making it more into a fitness battle, and I like to squeeze fitness, so I’m excited.
iRunFar: Hans Troyer, best of luck on Saturday.
Troyer: Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
iRunFar: We will see you out on course.
Troyer: For sure.
