Caleb Olson Won Western States 100 in the 2nd Fastest Time Ever—While Working Full-Time, Raising a Baby, and Wearing the Wildest Shirt on the Internet

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Running, Sports

4.8 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you follow ultrarunning, you’ve probably heard the name Caleb Olson recently.

In 2025, he broke through in a big way, winning the Western States 100 in 14:11:25, the second-fastest time ever on that iconic course.

But his rise wasn’t sudden.

Raised in the Seattle area, Caleb was an All-ASUN runner at Liberty University, with PRs of 3:51 in the 1500m and 29:11 in the 10,000m. He entered the ultra world in 2018 and has built his career on quiet consistency and smartcoaching.

Now running for the Nike ACG team, working full-time as a software developer, and adjusting to life as a new dad, Caleb is hitting his stride. In the last two years, he’s racked up major results.

In 2023 he got his Golden Ticket at the Grindstone Ultramarathon; in 2024 he came in 5th at Western States in his debut, while also securing 2nd at the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 85K; and then in 2025 he set a course record during his win at Transgrancanaria in a time of 12:17:25.

This led to his historic victory at Western States this past July.

Trained by Jack Kuenzle and shaped by a background in mountaineering and triathlon, Caleb has become one of the most versatile and mentally tough athletes on the trail scene today.

In today's conversation, Caleb takes me through his win at Western States, all that went into it, how he handles doubts and builds confidence, his crazy NIKE shirt he wore that broke the internet, being a new dad, what is next for him, and so much more.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Ladies and gentlemen, before we get in today's conversation, I want to share a little bit about
0:04.2	Two Before, today's presenting sponsor of the podcast. I've worked with Two Before for over two years now,
0:10.0	and it's really cool to work with partners long term, and Two Before has been there for me for a long,
0:15.2	long time, and they make an incredible product that I'm always happy to talk to you guys about.
0:20.6	Breaking down Two Before for you, if you're unfamiliar're unfamiliar to before is made up of blackcurrant
0:24.7	powder. And if you're not familiar with black currants, they are antioxidant berries grown
0:29.1	in New Zealand. And studies have shown that consuming them regularly improves endurance by
0:33.9	increasing blood flow and removing lactic acid, and they also can manage inflammation
0:37.8	in kickstart muscle recovery, meaning you can hit your next training session just as strong
0:43.2	as you did the previous day. Today, I have a special code for you, the running effect 30,
0:47.2	which will give you 30% off of your purchase, and I'm really excited to hear the testimonials
0:52.8	of you guys trying it out because I firmly believe this stuff works and is a great asset to your training.
0:58.2	Without further ado, enjoy my conversation of the podcast today.
1:05.6	Set high goals for yourself. Be patient and like give it years of time, but if there's something that you're
1:11.2	excited about and you care about deeply, pursue it and see how far you can go in it and you might
1:17.4	surprise yourself, you'll probably surprise yourself. It's amazing how over time you can
1:23.5	achieve things that you never thought were possible.
1:32.7	That was Caleb Olson today on the Running Effect podcast, and if you guys have followed Ultramarathon recently,
1:35.6	you've probably heard his name because he just won the 2025 edition
1:39.3	of the Western States 100-mile, where he ran 14 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds.
1:46.0	The second fastest time ever on that iconic course in that iconic race.
1:51.2	He is running for the Nike ACG team, working full-time as a software developer and a new
	...

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