Western States 2026 Women’s Preview: Abby Hall Returns To A Field That May Be Deeper Than Ever

Yngvild Kaspersen

Defending champion Abby Hall returns to Olympic Valley after one of the most impressive performances of her career last year, yet this edition of Western States looks less like a title defense and more like a genuine multi-runner battle. Between proven 100-mile specialists, top-10 returners and a strong crop of Golden Ticket winners, the women’s field has the depth to become one of the strongest of the summer.

Abby Hall Returns With A Different Kind Of Pressure

Hall’s 2025 win was one of the defining performances of the race. After battling back from major injury setbacks, she ran 16:37:16 to take the biggest victory of her career and finally turn years of promise at Western States into a breakthrough result.

This year, the challenge looks different.

She is no longer arriving as a contender trying to break through. She is the defending champion, and that brings a different set of expectations. It also brings a different kind of field around her. Hall has remained active since last summer and showed solid form at Black Canyon earlier this year, but there is little room for a conservative day if the race unfolds as expected.

Fu-Zhao Xiang Remains One Of The Most Reliable Threats In The Race

If there is one athlete who feels impossible to overlook, it is Fu-Zhao Xiang.

The Chinese runner has finished second at Western States in back-to-back years and has become one of the most consistent 100-mile performers in the sport. She does not always arrive with the loudest hype, but she repeatedly places herself in contention deep into the race, and that matters at Western States as much as raw speed.

In a field full of exciting newcomers, Xiang may be the most dependable podium candidate of the entire race.

The Returners Make This Race Hard To Predict

One reason this year’s women’s race looks so strong is the sheer number of proven Western States runners coming back.

Marianne Hogan returns after finishing third last year, while Fiona Pascall, Hậu Hà, Hannah Allgood, Caitlin Fielder and Emily Hawgood all add further depth to the top end of the field. It is not often that a women’s 100-miler can lean this heavily on both proven course history and fresh Golden Ticket talent, but Western States 2026 has both.

That matters because Western States is not just about fitness. Heat management, pacing discipline and the ability to stay composed through the canyons tend to reward experience. A deep field of returners makes it harder for first-timers to control the race early and easier for the event to turn into a long tactical contest.

Jennifer Lichter, Riley Brady And The Newcomer Pressure

If the returners give the race stability, the Golden Ticket class gives it volatility.

Jennifer Lichter enters after a major breakthrough at Black Canyon and looks like one of the most intriguing women in the field. She has already shown high-end speed and technical range at shorter distances, and now steps into the 100-mile conversation with real momentum behind her.

Riley Brady is another key name. Brady already knows the course, has the engine to race aggressively and returns after earning another ticket at Canyons. The Western States results have not yet fully matched the talent, but that is exactly why Brady feels relevant here: the upside is obvious if the race clicks.

Then there is Tara Dower, whose profile continues to rise after Javelina and a growing reputation as one of the toughest runners in the American ultra scene. Yngvild Kaspersen also deserves real attention after proving in 2024 that she can handle both the distance and the heat better than many expected, while Anna Tarasova and Lotti Brinks add further quality to a Golden Ticket group that feels unusually capable of influencing the front of the race.

Hannah Allgood for Coros

The Women’s Race Fits The Broader Trend In Trail Running Right Now

There is also a bigger reason the women’s race feels so relevant in 2026.

Some of the most important performances in trail running this season have come from women. Rachel Entrekin won Cocodona outright. Tove Alexandersson rewrote the Zegama record books. Across the sport, the women’s side has repeatedly delivered results that shape the wider conversation rather than sitting beside it.

Western States arrives in the middle of that trend.

The men’s race will still carry the biggest pre-race spotlight, but the women’s field may be the stronger race in purely competitive terms. It has a defending champion, a two-time runner-up, a deep line of returners and a Golden Ticket class that looks capable of breaking into the podium.

That is usually the recipe for one of the best races of the weekend. At Western States this year, it might be the race.

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