Hans Troyer | 2026 Western States 100 Pre-Race Interview

These are the times! Hans Troyer joins us in the studio for his first-ever (longer form) appearance on the Singletrack Podcast. 

Hans has had an exciting recent build to Western States, including a win at the Twisted Fork 30K and a training camp in Flagstaff with the Hoka team. Beyond that, on the biggest stages of the sport, he is on a roll demonstrating his greatness with a course record victory at the Black Canyon 100K back in February and an impressive win at JFK late last year. 

Hans took 8th place at his debut here last June, but expectations are higher for his return. Many consider him one of the favorites for the win here and part of the cohort of superstars that could break the fabled 14-hour barrier on the course. 

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• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains 

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Norda is the official footwear partner of our 2026 Western States 100 coverage. All the rage this summer is the imminent release of their new model, the 055, the shoe that Rachel Enterkin wore start to finish en route to her course record victory at the Cocodona 250 earlier this year. Go check it out at NordaRun.com and make sure you are subscribed to their mailing list to get exclusive early access to the shoe. I've put a bunch of training miles in it. It's the real deal. We're back for the fourth consecutive year. We are here in our Olympic Valley studios celebrating the 2026 Western States 100. And we're kicking things off with Hans Troyer, but I also have to introduce my trusty co-host Brett Hornig, who is back with me in the trenches again. Brett, it's fantastic to have you here.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

It's been another another lap around the sun. Feels like birthday week. Maybe even better. Best week of the year. Best week in the single track HQ.

SPEAKER_04 0:57

And we've got Hans Troyer here. Someone who I guess we had you on the podcast very briefly for the Hoka announcement earlier this year, which was exciting news, but haven't had you for like this type of conversation. So thanks for joining us. Absolutely. Really excited to be here. We got to start with a burning question. I just found out that you're super into Super Smash Bros. And I think Which one? Melee.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

On the GameCube. Okay. Okay, so you're on the GameCube. I was on the 64, I think 664, but I've dabbled in melee, but I'm not as good at it because the movements are just, they're all different.

unknown 1:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Well when I when you say like really into it, that doesn't mean I'm good. I was I was like okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

I mean that's a sandbag of answer. No one talks about Super Smash if they're not actually pretty good. And I've I I've never actually asked Brett what's who's your character in Smash? So one of my main things was that like I was pretty even across the board with players, but I would love to troll people with Yoshi. Because I had a pretty mean spike with Yoshi.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

What was your main well when I was playing Melee? It was Pikachu, really. I loved Pikachu. Like growing up, Pikachu is my character because I just do the be down lightning move. And you just jump past people, and then lightning like goes where you had clicked the buttons, you know. Yeah. Uh but then when I started playing Ultimate later, I switched to Toon Link primarily.

SPEAKER_03 2:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

How come? So with with Toon Link, the spike move is the pogo stick with the sword. And if you if you miss it, it's like a suicide mission. So it's like you have to hit it, and there's like uh when you do hit it, it's super special and it feels awesome.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

That's like the the jigglypuff sleep on the 641. Like if you hit that and someone goes flying, you look amazing. I wonder how many people have turned off this interview by this point.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

Well, I told Hans that I was Captain Falcon and I got a smug look back.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

So that's high risk, high reward.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

I don't know about Captain Falcon. It's like that's like the cop out answer.

SPEAKER_04 2:54

He's he's pretty bad at jumping.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:57

Everyone in my friend group was Kirby. Because Kirby's easy.

SPEAKER_03 3:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:02

Kirby is easy. He can rescue himself. So well, we were, I mean, hours removed from a pretty exciting broken arrow weekend. I know that you have Western State top of mind, but you've been here on the ground. Any highlights, any takeaways, what like anything that excited you, or just yeah, like what did you take away from this broken arrow experience?

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Yeah, I mean, exciting weekend. I saw a little bit of each race. Um, like I just climbed to the top of the first hill for the ascent. Uh, I saw the finish of the 46k, and then I climbed up and saw the runners right before they did the final descent of the 23k. Um, and everybody's really fast, first of all. Uh especially the 23k watching um Al Husin and who was it? Philemon. Philemon. Yeah, I saw them at the very top and like uh they were absolutely flying. And I didn't get to see the finish, which I heard is electric, but um I was surprised to see that there wasn't as many road road athletes as I was expecting with the with the price pool. But uh it was kind of cool to see the trailrunners still kick a button. Pretty validating. Yeah, but this has its own sport.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Not this year, maybe next year. Did that surprise you? I guess we talked about this on I think it was the last longer knock. I was like, do you think it'll be a a floodgates opening where there will be like a significant switch between one year to the next? And I said no. I think it'll be kind of a slow trickle. Um, I think there needs to just be more like more proof points. Because it I mean it's a huge career transition. You're yeah, like you're changing sports, so you gotta be ready to like go in and hopefully be successful, especially if you're having success on the roads with a track. It's kind of a big risk. So I think once we see a few more uh like road or track athletes stick it, then everyone will want to in.

SPEAKER_04 5:00

We were talking media landscape uh out on the deck, and I didn't realize again, there's a little bit of background here from because I didn't realize that you go like kind of way back in the sport. Like you were watching i run far interviews in 2016, like Jim before his first or two, like one or first or second Western States is.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Well, I didn't watch it in 2016. I watched it like two years ago.

SPEAKER_04 5:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

But I watched the I've what looked back at all the interviews now.

SPEAKER_04 5:24

What was your reaction watching those videos?

SPEAKER_02 5:26

Oh, they're great. Uh Jim is he was pretty cocky back then. I mean uh the one of him by Lake Tahoe, and uh, I think he rumor was he was like three beers deep or something, and um he's just talking about running fast, and I just loved it. I watched it um last year before States and it got me super hype.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

Do you do you like that kind of attitude coming into races?

SPEAKER_02 5:49

For myself or for others? I think for the sport. For the sport, absolutely. Yeah. I I'm a fan of uh villains of the sport in a way. Really? I I like it. I think it's good storytelling.

SPEAKER_04 5:59

Wait, when when when you think of your favorite athletes across any sports who come to mind?

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Are they the villains? Are they the villains? Um sometimes. Like I think Jakob Ingberston, when he was like kind of starting to light up the world, it's like he was just in every interview, he's just like, Yeah, I'm the best runner in the world. Like, that's just the way it is. And I eat that up. I think Marco Langdon now.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

It's like I like those interviews. I think they're entertaining. I do love his interviews. They put uh they bring more eyes to the sport. Absolutely. Like people were tuning into NCAAs because they just wanted to see him race the 5K.

SPEAKER_04 6:37

Wait, for the for the because this audience is very trail. I think we've talked about Yakka before, but not Marco. Like, give us give some context on like what he's said or his his approach to this stuff.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Pretty much from what I've seen, it's like if he's not winning, he's just angry as can be, and he's willing to like semi-call people out and just say, like before race, he's just like, Yeah, I'm the best run in the world and I'm about to win this race, like, no questions asked. And then after the race, if he doesn't win, he's just like not acceptable. Yeah, this is not acceptable. I will do better next year, like promise you that. And uh, I don't know, he's just like emotional in a good way, which just it's fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

He's gotten DQ'd in a couple races too, and had some like questionable tactics, which like it kind of goes with the emotion of his interviews too. It's like, oh, I would expect him to race the way that he talks pre-race as well.

SPEAKER_04 7:29

Do you feel like the way that you entered the sport is the way you are now? Like, because I think that where I remember you from is the Strava post. Post Bander's like, Jim, come get some.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

And I was like, I love this guy.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Yeah. That was, I mean, that was kind of a joke at the time because I was like, no one's ever gonna see this. I was like, it's just my college friends are gonna be like, Jim reads everything. I read everything, and then yeah, that's kind of haunted me over the past two years that I called out Jim Walmsley at my first run ever. Um, but no, I I like to kind of play into the storytelling where like I think it's fun to create competition. I don't actually ever want to like call, I would never call somebody out and just be like, oh, this person, I'm definitely gonna beat this person. Like, that's not how I want to play it, but I think friendly rivalries are good for the sport.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah, I guess on the topic of friendly rivalries, you are on one of the, if not the strongest trail team in the world, and looks like you've had a pretty pretty fun training block across a couple different places with some Western States veterans. How has that change been? Because that's probably got to be one of the bigger changes from last year's buildup.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Oh, it's been amazing. I mean, taking notes from everybody on the team, like um Hayden and Adam and I were at a house in Flagstaff for a while. And so we chatted a lot about the race and we chatted not a lot about the race, just about life. But uh, I think one of the coolest things is just seeing these everybody on like a more personal level now. Um, like last year walking around the valley, I remember just seeing anybody and everybody. I was just like, no freaking way, like that's so-and-so, that's so-and-so, and everything was so so exciting. And now it's like a lot of these guys are my friends, which is really, really cool. Um, and on top of that, just all the knowledge I've gotten from them and training tips and getting the train with them uh has been awesome. What'd you pick up from Hayden? Like specifics for a race or just lifestyle? Anything. Could be lifestyle too. I'd say he he doesn't take himself too seriously, which is really cool. Like he's actually the most relaxed trail runner I think I've been around. Because I crewed him at Canyons, and we are he's tying his shoes like three and a half minutes before the start. I was so stressed for him, but he's just like, oh, like I'll get there, it's whatever. And like for training, he's just so relaxed about it. Um, and so he's really good at kind of rationalizing, I guess, races versus life, and he's a pretty easygoing guy.

SPEAKER_04 9:58

Has he said it's been like that since he got in the sport, or did he has he had like so many races under his belt where he can he can chill ten years on?

SPEAKER_02 10:07

I'm not sure what he looked like ten years ago in terms of pre-race.

SPEAKER_04 10:11

Well, I know that he signed up for speed goat like the night before. I think. I think he was working a shift at St. George Running Center and like was scrambling to get that covered. And then the next day, like I think he drove up the morning of the race and Can I get a bib? Anyways. Launching this Tuesday, or Chews Day, as they're calling it, June 23rd. If you've utilized their original or mint and lemon flavored chews before, you'll probably be stoked. I received a sample a few weeks back. The taste is great. The watermelon is there, and it's kind of like a chewy, jolly rancher sensation. Same as always, each packet contains two chews efficiently, delivering 15 grams of carbs each. They've got a high carb to weight ratio, making them a great choice when you need to travel light. They contain no artificial ingredients, they're vegan and gluten-free, and batch tested for anti-doping. And again, they taste amazing. And to celebrate the launch, Precision is going to be at Trailcom with a watermelon stall by the Precision Fuel and Hydration stage in the Event Village. And then they're going to be supporting their athletes all weekend out there on the Broken Arrow and Western States courses. If you want to try these out for yourself, head over to their website, pick up a pack, and please use code single track at checkout for 15% off your next order. Thanks to Precision for making this content possible.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Do you think that training with people like Adam, Hayden, uh, do you gain more from running with them on the mental side or physical side of things?

SPEAKER_02 11:49

Honestly, I would say mental side of things. Um, in fact, I'm kind of an advocate for solo training most of the time, just because I think that, you know, like I know my body pretty well and how it operates. And so when I'm running by myself, I can do what I need to do day in, day out. Uh, but yeah, training with them, I think mentally, I've I you know I've had issues with like imposter syndrome in my career thus far, because you know, I wasn't a very fast college runner. Um, you know, I grew up and ran in Georgia my entire life, so definitely some imposter syndrome, but then getting to train with these guys, it's like I have a more of a sense of belonging in the sport where it's like, wait a minute, we're kind of doing the same training, like um, and I'm I'm doing it well alongside them. And so now it's like I'm getting proof outside of just racing, which is good for me. Uh, and it's helped my my confidence a good bit.

SPEAKER_04 12:37

Who was the main crew? Was it Hayden, Adam? Was Jim with you on some days?

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Some days, yeah. Yeah, Jim um obviously he has a flag or uh house and flag staff. So he was at his house primarily, and then yeah, it's me, Hayden, and Adam in a house.

SPEAKER_04 12:50

How about Adam? Like we played the game for Adam. Like, what are his superpowers? What'd you pick up from him?

SPEAKER_02 12:55

He's he's hilarious, first of all. He's so he's such a funny guy. Um his superpowers, I think his superpower for trail running would just be a go-with-the-flow attitude. Um, it's like seemingly, we we went on this one Grand Canyon run, and it was like um he did like a four-hour run, and it just wasn't his day. And like he was just cracking jokes the whole time and he just muscles through it, and then we like finish up, and then he does like a five-hour run the next day, and it's like completely fine. But uh, he like doesn't panic seemingly about a bad run, and he's just go with the flow, he's getting it done. And uh, I respect that.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

That does seem to be a lot of uh a theme for especially something like Western states, because it is a pretty dynamic race, it's not all of one thing, it's a little bit of every single thing. Now that you've got one under your belt, was there anything major from last year, even you know, could have even been within the first like couple hours of finishing where you're like I know one of these, like if I fix this or don't do that, I'm knocking time off.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Oh yeah, there's lots of things. Um my cooling methods weren't great. I think I had this idea where I was like, oh, anywhere I can put ice at all is gonna be great. So I was like stuffing it down my shirt and putting in my arm sleeves, and half the spots I was planning to put ice would just end up being like baggy, like the ice would just be bouncing up and down on my body. So I'd leave the eight stations and just dump it all out like almost immediately. So that was no good. Um, my sodium was so far off last year. I took way too much sodium. Too much too much. And so I had all like the symptoms of having too much sodium, and that tore me up for the final like 55 miles of the race. Like my body was not right with sodium to the point where I mean it was a little scary near the race, how my body was reacting to some things. Um and then uh my quads weren't really prepared last year. I think I was you know running in my 700-foot hill in Georgia up and down non-stop. And so being able to run mountains, like actual mountains this year, not that Georgia Mountains aren't actual mountains, they definitely are, but not what I was running. I was running my hill. I've been to Delanaga. Yeah. Um, so so getting the quads figured out, getting sodium figured out, um, practicing more with cooling, just practicing more with like everything I'm using um is definitely helpful because like I'm learning as I go with um certain aspects of my gear and whatnot. And then um I'm not afraid of the the pace. Like a lot of people are like, oh, did you just go out too fast last year? I don't think so. I think I think the pace was fair. I think it was just uh some other controllables that maybe I wasn't doing correctly.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

So there are quite a few things that have changed between last year and now. Actually, it sounds like most things.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Yeah, and I'm younger and fitter this year.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Younger and fitter. Man. I mean, what more could you ask for?

SPEAKER_04 15:48

Um Do you think you've done enough in training this time around? I think so.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

Yeah. Um, you know, me and David, we talked about it uh kind of going into this training block where, you know, I was doing let's say 100 to 115 mile weeks most of last year. And uh I just remember telling David, I was like, dude, I feel good every single day. I was like, I haven't been injured in a long time, knock on wood. Uh and I was like, I my energy levels are high, like I'm eating plenty. And so if you're okay with it, like I'm I'm ready to push a little bit more. And he was like, Yeah, let's absolutely push a little bit more. So mileage went up. Um, you know, I pretty much had a training block through Black Canyon, and so I've been running 120 mile weeks, uh, all the way up to 145 a couple weeks ago with uh bigger long runs. And um, I think my body's done really well handling it, and like I still feel really good every day. Energy levels are still high, and so I'm excited to see what it'll look like in two years, you know? It could be quite high mileage um if everything goes according to plan. But yeah, it's been borderline a picture perfect training block for me, which it's uh you know, that's scary to say because obviously a lot can go wrong, but um I feel very fit.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

How did it feel like you were taking an inherent risk upping the mileage from last year to this year, or did it feel like this is just what I'm supposed to do?

SPEAKER_02 17:14

It felt like this was what I was supposed to do. Like I said, I felt so good, and I still feel so good all the time with training. It's just carbs, man. Carbs are carbs are so helpful, but I eat so many carbs all the time, and so yeah, um, like I said, there was no even small injuries or anything in this training block. Uh I was just trying to sleep a ton, you know, eight to nine hours every single night if I can control it. Um, Tony's pizza five times a week. Uh five times it's waiting over there for you. Probably five times. I've been eating more lately.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Is that a lunch or a dinner thing or both?

SPEAKER_02 17:51

So it's lunch. So the what you gotta do is perfect. Yeah, what's the protocol?

SPEAKER_00 17:54

So for Tony's.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

You wake up, you drink coffee, you go running, and then as soon as you get back to the house, you start preheating the oven. And while you're preheating the oven, you post on Strava. Um, and then when you post on Strava, oven's preheated. Throw the Tony's pizza in there. I cook it for 15 minutes. It says 18, but 15 minutes I think tends to make for a better pizza.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Altitude adjustment.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Oh, I was doing it everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Like pasta.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

I can't cook pasta out. I cannot figure that out. I guess you just have to try it.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Yeah, you just have to keep eating the noodles.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Yeah, see, I've never I'll work on it. But so then when your Tony's pizza's in the oven, you go take a shower, get out of the shower, and you have about three minutes, pizza's done. You put on the disc golf coverage from the day before, and you watch disc golf eat pizza, and then you take a nap. It's a perfect recovery.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

God, I wish I was good at running. Man.

SPEAKER_04 18:47

Well, awesome. My other takeaway there is you are very good, like, you don't waste any time, it doesn't sound like. You are getting a lot of things done. You have a lot of moving parts, and you're yeah, you're balancing a lot of things, and you're getting a lot of things done in a very specific time frame. Yeah, I would do one of those things. I would just like wait for the pizza.

unknown 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

I I try to be pretty uh good about that. I mean, a lot of my diet has been the thing that people have talked about the most, I'd say, in my career. A lot of people do not like my diet, but I think it's very good for getting what you need in a timely manner, so then you have more time to do what's important. And it's just calories. Did you ever watch Hard Knocks back in the day?

unknown 19:28

No.

SPEAKER_04 19:29

On HBO. Uh they did this uh one of the years they profiled the Cincinnati Bengals, and they have this famous episode where they're following Chad Johnson, who was one of their premier wide receivers at the time, just around on his daily excursions, and every this is the best wide receiver in football in 2007. McDonald's three times a day. He did like the Big Mac, I think like an extra large orange juice and the fries, and he it was amazing. And it worked three times a day. Three times a day.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Well, you got like DK Metcalf is being like, I just eat gummies. He's like, I wake up, I drink a coffee, I do a workout, it's 1 p.m. I have a bag of gummies, I do another workout, I drink another coffee, it's 6 p.m. I put two bags of gummies in a bowl, make a little gummy salad.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

That's been something super exciting for me lately. So historically, I've had very sensitive teeth. Like my teeth, I can't really drink sugary sodas because it just makes my teeth hurt, candy, all the above. But I switched toothpaste like six months ago, and I can eat candy again. I have been eating like I figured that out. That's toothpaste that enables this. It was sensodyne something. I don't know. But uh was it toothpaste before? It was a different sensodyne. Oh same brand, just different. I don't I don't know what changed. Maybe I was joking around and saying maybe I actually've just done so much damage to my teeth now that I've got past the nerve receptors. But um, but I can eat candy again. So these past few weeks, like every time I go grocery shopping, I asked like two new bags of candy because I haven't been able to eat candy in like five years.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Wow. It's exhilarating. Any any elite candies out there standing out?

SPEAKER_02 21:08

I like the joyride candy. You guys know Ryan Trahan, the YouTube. I love his YouTube channel. Nemo alert, Nemo Alert.

SPEAKER_04 21:16

Have you never watched the episode where he wore the uh Apple, yeah, the Apple glasses around for there was only one guy that he could hail an Uber from through the app on his face. And so it was just his name was Nemo. And so anytime he was hailing a cab, it was just Nemo. He'd be like, Nemo alert.

SPEAKER_02 21:35

So he has his own brand of gummy candy. Yeah, it's called Joyride. Um, but that was actually the first candy I started eating once I figured I could do it because it's less sugar. Um, but I really like it. It's good candy.

SPEAKER_04 21:46

Raid Research is the official equipment and apparel partner of our 2026 Western States 100 coverage. You've definitely heard me talk about their LF5L Vest launch and their trail tech shorts in the past, and yes, they are both already sold out, but they're gonna be responsible. Stocked in early July. So make sure that you are subscribed to their mailing list so you don't miss the update. In other news, Raid has many new summer trail products set to release later this week. They are relaunching their first running tee that's going to be followed by an ultralight Anorak Rain Shell, women's cargo crop top, and a very exciting women's specific belt in the first half of July. So again, join their mailing list so you don't miss a beat. Other than that, if you are listening to this during the week of TrailCon and in the area, Raid is going to have a booth there. So go say hello. Thanks again to Raid for supporting our coverage this week. Go check out all of their products at raidresearch.com. And if you end up buying anything at checkout, please let them know that the folks at Single Track sent you. Since we're just going through all the sports, give us uh a professional ultimate player to follow.

SPEAKER_02 22:48

Who's the Jim Walmsley of Ultimate? Ultimate, I don't know. I could give you disc golf. Give us disc golf. Okay. Uh Gan Ember. Gan Ember, he's he's 20 years old. He's six foot seven. And he is incredible. He's like practically unbeatable right now. Is height important? Is height important in this? Yeah, it just creates a better lever for your arm. You can throw it much further. Um, not everybody's tall in disc golf, but I think in in 20 years, I think everybody will be tall. But uh yeah, he's 20 years old with like the best mindset in disc golf, and he makes good decisions. He's smooth as can be, super consistent, and uh he's just dominating everybody right now. European open is going on right now, and I think he's like six strokes ahead. Is it like YouTube live stream? How does it work? Yeah, there's there is like uh like live stream um like on the disc golf network, but uh it's like 20 bucks a month, and then the live coverage is slower, it's like hard to watch. So I'd recommend watching Jomez Pro. It's uh next day coverage, so they'll do like the front nine will take 35 minutes, back nine, 35 minutes, and it's just beautiful coverage, fun to watch. Uh, and I watch it a lot.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Okay, last question on disc golf before I bring it back to Western states. Is there really a decent amount of money in the sport now? Like this guy's gotta be. This guy's gotta be a full-time pro.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

Oh, yeah. I mean, the top, the top disc golfers, they're signing like 10-year, 10 mil type of deals.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Like big kid contracts. Yeah. Okay. It always amazes me how every sport seemingly has a professional league. Like if you if you tell the right the story the right way, people watch it.

SPEAKER_04 24:33

Is it like McDonald's or is it like disc golf brands?

SPEAKER_02 24:35

Like how to it's typically disc brands, yeah. Okay. Um like like Paul McBreth, Macbeth. Um, he he was like the first like massive deal. It's probably five years ago, and he signed 10-year, 10 mil with discraft. Um, but yeah, it's always different discs.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

It's yeah, it's just like blows my mind, like 10 $10 million contract. 10 years?

SPEAKER_02 24:57

That's a long time. I mean it's it's similar to trail running in a way where it's like a participation sport. It's like the people that are really into disc golf, they they play disc golf, you know. And they follow the top and they follow the top pros and they want to throw the same discs as the pros. And so it's like it's very interactive in that way.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Yeah, I found that really I've found that really unique about trail running in that a lot of people who are at these trail races actively follow the sport and know who a lot of the pros are. But you go to a road race and so many people participating, you know, most people participate like, oh yeah, I've just been training for this. Yeah. Do you know who won last year? And they're like, no idea. It's yeah, it's just interesting how it's a big like running is a big participation sport, but trail running has a high percentage of people who pay attention to the top end of the sport. And I I don't quite have an answer for why, but I like it.

SPEAKER_04 25:49

Okay, so the 6-7 guy, what's his name again? I got a six-seven. Oh, Ganimberg.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

Sorry, I thought I thought you brought the meme. I was like, I don't know, the original 6-7. It's on the basketball player. It's the best golf player's name.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

I know what you're talking about, but yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Ganimberg, that's the disc golf club.

SPEAKER_04 26:05

Okay, okay. I'm gonna look him up. Yeah, uh, maybe just a few more things on Western States. Um yeah, I feel like we're gonna talk. I mean, we're gonna do a preview episode later this week. People like you, Jim, Killian, Francesco, Hayden will get a lot of airtime. Rightfully so. You guys are favorites to win. Based on you following the sport or people that you've gone to training camps with, who do you think we're gonna be overlooking for race day that we should be putting some shine on?

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

Um, I will say, I mean, you mentioned him, but Hayden, Hayden's very fit. I think that um I think he's gonna have a really good day out there.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

I've kind of gotten those feelings from his past few training videos that have come out where they've just been like extra swaggy, like where he's just like walking around like, yeah, this is good, and then you know, he's like doing these like great runs and stuff, but it's not anything that he's like never been able to do, but almost like the the aura around that run. It's like, oh yeah, you only get to that point. Same with I watched your Canyon's vlog where you were crewing him, and it was the same thing where Hayden had no problem letting people go early, and he was like, Oh, I'll get them this next section of the course, this is good for me, I'll catch back up to that. And he was right, like he had the confidence to be like, no, that's okay if they go. Um, because there's a lot of we see a lot of mistakes, most travellers, especially Western states, where people have a hard time committing to either making a move or not making the move. And is this the right decision? Is this not? And there's some somewhat higher consequences for those types of moves in the first half of the course, which is somewhat unique. And yeah, someone like Hayden seems to be like just pretty confident in what they're doing right now.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

Yeah, I mean, we we saw at Canyons that like the veterans like vet being a veteran helps, knowing what you're doing helps, and he has a lot of Western States experience and he's he's healthy, he's fit, and from our talks, I mean he's hungry for it. Like he's ready to have a good race, so I'm really excited to race alongside him.

SPEAKER_04 28:20

One thing that I fe I would imagine has to feel amazing coming into this race is you've already had sort of the hero's journey at Black Canyon, where it took you three times to absolutely knock it out of the park, but when you knocked it out, 720 course record. That's gotta feel like a massive confidence boost coming into this race. Obviously, you got eighth last year, fantastic debut, not what you wanted, but that's gotta feel like you you know that's a big result can be right around the corner at any given moment.

SPEAKER_02 28:47

Oh, yeah. I mean, the the past years since Western States last year, it's like I feel like um each race, like I've gained something new, something helpful. Um, and obviously I feel like I'm I'm getting more fit as I go. And yeah, Black Canyon was a really cool one, uh, because like I didn't need a golden ticket. So that one was just it was personal, you know. I just wanted to go out and give it my best shot. And I think the most like the biggest confidence booster coming out of Black Canyon is that like I don't actually feel like I knocked out of the park. I feel like I made, I mean, I made three big glaring mistakes on race day. And so I think leaving that and being like, wow, I think that I could have gone a good bit faster. That was that was the confidence booster where it's like there's there's definitely more on the table. And then and I also I mean, I think that I I operate really well uh physiologically with long training blocks, and this year, you know, I've I've set my schedule up in a way that I was able to have that. So psychologically it's not the most helpful to not race for a long time, but that's why Twisted Fork was so awesome because I got to I got to race and uh you know get the the race nerves out of the way a little bit. So yeah, but I'm ready to go.

SPEAKER_04 30:00

Well, dude, I mean we I mean Brett and I hear so many athletes of your caliber all the time being like, we're in this era of the sport where you can make zero mistakes on race day if you want to be in contention. You made three glaring mistakes and took a course record at black. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

What excites you most about this year's edition of Western States?

SPEAKER_02 30:26

I think what excites me the most is just that I mean, obviously the field is, in my opinion, the the greatest field ever assembled. And I think that potentially it could be for a long while. I mean, because how often are you gonna get Jim and Killian in the same race? And so I think historically we're gonna look back on this in 10 years and be like, oh, Western States 2026 was absolutely incredible. And I think what really excites me is that I could play a really cool story in that Western States 2026, and so yeah, get to get to race the greats and compete with them, hopefully. So that's pretty exciting.

SPEAKER_04 31:07

You're gonna meet the moment.

SPEAKER_00 31:08

Yeah, that's a really good answer. Like, yeah, the the field uh it seems like there's I don't know if it's like a converging of errors, as opposed to you're saying, like the experience of canyons, you got like Jim and Killian, and you know, how many more years is are is that group going to be like still firing on all cylinders and get that opportunity to race them? And looking ahead, we were I was just I don't know if you've checked the the weather yet, but people love talking about the weather in western states and Brett's our chief meteorologist here at Single Track HQ. I've heard different from like four people, so yeah, it just depends on like which weather app you have, but the trending word was cooling.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

So it seems like it's gonna be cooler.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Do you think with I don't know, the the the playbook that's been somewhat figured out at Western States with like extreme cooling, better feeling. Like how much does a cooler day actually influence the fast times? Because last year was really fast and it's still pretty hot.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

I think it still influences it a pretty good bit.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

Um you know, I'm I'm no expert, of course, but from what I've heard, it's like heat is always relative to effort.

SPEAKER_01 32:31

And so obviously if it's cooler, put out more effort, less heat.

SPEAKER_02 32:37

Um but I agree with like like cooling is so good now that maybe if it's it's hotter it doesn't matter as much.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

But um I think it still matters.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

If the heat or lack thereof puts less pressure on that system, is there anything then that you could foresee, not not for yourself, of course, but for like other people in the field? Like, oh, if it's not the heat, we now gotta worry about this a little bit more. Or is it just more like everything from a performance standpoint gets elevated?

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Um, I think it's everything. Uh I think I you know, I was talking about this a few days ago where I was like, I really do think at the top level, everybody's fitness is actually really similar. Um, I think there are certainly people that if we all race a marathon, obviously some people would race faster than other people, but in general, it's like a pretty similar level. And so it's just gonna come down to execution and who's doing everything right for the longest. Um, because everybody's gonna make at least one mistake, but who can make the least amount of mistakes? Um and if it's a cooler year, I do think that benefits some people more than others. Like I I I actually I think there's people that are better at racing in the heat than others, even with cooling. Um so it kind of it it makes it a little more interesting that it's cooler. I think it it almost levels the playing field in a in a kind of a cool way. Where it's like maybe now if there was five people that were really, really great in the heat, it's like, well, now they're you know, right back there with everybody else if it's cooler.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

But we'll see. It does almost turn it into more of a pure fitness contest to eliminate the heat variable.

SPEAKER_01 34:21

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

You mentioned like being similar fitness if it was like marathon. If you wake up Saturday morning and they just announce like all of a sudden, like we're all being teleported to a C-level flat marathon. What do you think you're running on Saturday?

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Oh, I I can't say the time. I can't I won't say time because I feel like that's just so risky.

SPEAKER_00 34:44

Would you rather say place?

SPEAKER_01 34:48

I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 34:49

I will say um could you break 220 on Saturday?

SPEAKER_01 34:53

Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:55

Could you break 215?

SPEAKER_01 34:57

I think so.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Cool. I mean, I okay now we're getting too we're getting too close. That's too much. I'm done there.

SPEAKER_00 35:04

No, this is I doubt I I with a pretty high probability doubt that you're gonna wake up on Saturday morning and it's gonna be a marathon at sea level.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

I don't I I'm curious. It's kind of a fun, fun thought. It's like if that was the case, like would that benefit me more for placement for the Western States?

SPEAKER_01 35:24

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Well, I remember like I would I ran with you for gosh, must have been solid 450, 460 meters at Twisted Fork, out on the roads.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

You looked pretty smooth. I was like, huh.

SPEAKER_00 35:42

I thought we were going fast. Apparently we weren't.

SPEAKER_02 35:45

But we weren't going as fast as the year prior because I think they went on like 520 last year. Yeah. And so I was fully ready to run like 5'10 because I assumed we'd go faster. And then we were going like it was like six minutes. And I was like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_04 36:02

Well, I have maybe I have maybe one rapid fire question for you before I'm good. Do you have any any other topics?

SPEAKER_00 36:11

Oh, I mean, I could go down the training rabbit hole for hours. Um I'm not I'm not gonna ask about shoes. I'll just wait until race day. Because that sounds like the answer enough.

SPEAKER_04 36:26

What do you got, Finn? You have to give us a number here. What I'm not saying you win, but what time wins Western states on Saturday?

SPEAKER_02 36:36

Oh my oh my gosh. Um that's a hard question.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

If it is in fact a cooler than average year, it's not a snow year, I'm gonna say 1352. What time how many runners are under 14? Two. Someone's getting cajelchid.

SPEAKER_00 37:10

That's I'm gonna get a shirt ready that says I got kajelchid.

SPEAKER_04 37:17

Well, Hans, we cannot thank you enough for joining us in studio. Thank you, Brett, for kicking off. A really fun week in trail running. And yeah, any any final thoughts from you?

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Um, I look forward to next Saturday. I think it's gonna be a show. So I want to give my best shot. Looking forward to competing. Thank you for having me on the show. These are the times. These are the times. Well said. Young and fit for life.

SPEAKER_04 37:40

All right. Thanks for tuning in to our 2026 Western States 100 coverage. This is our fourth year doing it, and we're having the time of our lives. Before we go, I wanted to ask the following from you. If you're motivated to contribute to what we're doing, please consider leaving a detailed rating and review on Apple and Spotify. Leave a comment on any of these episodes on YouTube and support our partners and let them know that we sent you. For example, uh, go get one of the new vests from Raid the LF5L, let them know that we sent you at checkout. Same goes for Nord or Precision. Use our discount code in the show notes there. And use the link as well to complete their nutrition planner for your next race. These are the specific actions that truly keep the lights on for us and make this annual pilgrimage to Olympic Valley, this tradition, this great tradition possible. Thanks for considering, and we will see you on the next episode.