How A 16-High 5K Guy Had The Biggest Year In Trail Running: 145 Mile Weeks, 120g Of Carbs An Hour, Leading Western States For 62 Miles, And A CCC Podium | The Year Of Hans Troyer

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST · Sep 19, 2026 · 48m

Hans Troyer led Western States for 62 miles, DNF’d, and still calls the day a win.

Eight weeks later he was on the CCC podium, which tells you most of what you need to know about how he metabolizes a bad race. Dominic welcomes back the 26-year-old for the first time since before his 2025 Western States debut, and Hans admits the stretch since has felt like three years crammed into one.

He traces the self-belief back to Bandera in 2024, when a few coachless months in Georgia were enough to prove to himself he could hang with anyone. On Western States, he is unsparing and unbothered at once: he…