The Comeback That Redefined Ultra Running | Western States Winner Abby Hall on Pain, Purpose & Perseverance
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 822 Ratings
🗓️ 14 November 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After two years of rehab and earning her spot via a Golden Ticket roll-down, Abby Hall stormed into history at the 2025 Western States 100, running 16:37:16 for the fourth-fastest women's time ever and finishing 11th overall.
Hall has since cemented herself as one of the premier athletes in the 100K–100-mile range, highlighted by podium finishes at UTMB’s CCC (2nd in 2021, 3rd in 2022), a win at the 2022 Transvulcania 73K, and a debut finish at Western States in 2021.
Her résumé includes a 16:37:16 100-mile best and an 8:52:35 trail 100K at Black Canyon — showcasing world-class range when it comes to varying terrain and courses.
But her rise did not come without adversity. Early in her ultra career, she scraped under the cutoff at the Leadville 100 in 2017 and 2018. And in June 2023, a training fall resulted in a tibial fracture and major ligament damage, requiring reconstructive knee surgery and a long, uncertain recovery.
From scraping cutoff times at Leadville to running one of the fastest Western States in history, Abby Hall’s comeback is the ultimate story of resilience and redemption–and you won’t want to miss how she did it.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | That was something that really stuck with me early on. |
| 0:02.7 | I was kind of like always in the back of the top seven, |
| 0:06.6 | like fringe of, you know, being like on our state team. |
| 0:10.6 | Like always kind of in this like chasing position. |
| 0:13.2 | And kind of that theme continued for me through college |
| 0:15.7 | was like on the edge of being an alternate for nationals |
| 0:19.2 | and just being on that cusp enough that I always felt |
| 0:22.1 | like in this chasing position. And so I think that that mindset and that hunger really stuck |
| 0:28.6 | with me for a long time. That was Abby Hall today on the Running Effect podcast. I'm your host Dominic Schleader. I'm honored |
| 0:39.7 | and privileged you have decided to click on this episode and spend some time with me this day. I never |
| 0:44.0 | take it for granted. And I hope that I continue to provide you value through the incredible guests I get to speak to. |
| 0:50.2 | Abby is one of those people. She recently won Western States, which as we dive into in this |
| 0:55.7 | conversation is kind of the Super Bowl of trail running. I come from a background of, I guess, |
| 1:00.6 | marathons, track and field cross country. So anytime I get to speak with someone in the trail |
| 1:04.5 | running world, it's always a treat because I feel like I'm in preschool or kindergarten again, |
| 1:09.0 | learning all sorts of new stuff. And so this conversation with Abby was no different. Got to understand and learn about the world of trail running and all of the excellent things that she's pursuing in the sport and a lot of her background and mindsets that had made her successful. I'm confident you guys will be able to take away and implement into your own running and life and hopefully make you better as a result. If you do enjoy this one, give us a five-star review. It takes next to no time to do. Hit the fall button so you don't miss more conversations like this in the future and specifically share the podcast or this episode or your favorite episode with a friend as that is the easiest way in which we can grow this thing. I'd be forever indebted to you if you did |
| 1:45.0 | that. Without further ado, enjoy this conversation with the one and only, Abby Hall. |
| 1:53.1 | Ladies and gentlemen, across from me is a woman who runs faster than I ever well, runs farther than |
| 1:59.8 | I ever well, and has done some remarkable |
| 2:01.7 | stuff for the past year. So I've wanted to get her on the podcast. Abby Hall, welcome to the running |
| 2:05.9 | effect. How are you doing? Thanks so much, Dominic. I'm doing well. I'm happy to be joining you today. |
| 2:12.0 | I vaguely follow the sport of trail running, so I have some understanding of it. But so when I hear Western |
... |
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