The Untamed Rise of Hans Troyer: Wild Training, Near-Death Collapse & His Plan to Win Western States, The Superbowl of Ultras
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.8 • 686 Ratings
🗓️ 27 June 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Hans Troyer is the epitome of raw talent meeting ruthless resilience.
From a near-collapse in the desert to record-breaking dominance, his story is one of fearless grit, second chances, and an audacious leap: from college steepler to 100K trail crusher.
In just over a year, Hans has gone from collegiate standout to ultramarathon phenom: winning national titles, smashing course records, and landing podiums at some of the biggest races in the U.S.
He’s the 2024 USATF 50-mile national champion, a 2025 Canyons 100K Golden Ticket recipient, and a pro for Altra and Hyperlyte Liquid Performance. His PRs are wild: 3:19 in the 50k, 5:16 for 50 miles, and 7:45 for 100k.
But his life isn’t just one long highlight reel.
There’s the hospitalization that nearly ended his season. The comeback that turned heads. The quirky fueling rituals. And somehow, in between elite racing, he’s juggling grad school, coaching, and content creation.
The mini-documentary “The Kid” on YouTube captures the chaos, recovery, and relentless drive that define him, and is absolutely worth a watch.
Hans is fast, fearless, and full of heart. And we’re pumped to have him on the show today.
In today's conversation, Hans takes me through his remarkable journey thus far as an ultra-marathoner; his wild training tactics include "car saunas", his goal to win Western States at just 25yrs of age, his ambitions for the future, his thoughts on Backyard Ultras and so much more.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | And then when I decided, like, post-college that I wanted to get into trail running, I actually, I wrote down on this like goal list at Fleet Feet. |
| 0:06.8 | We were doing need our end-of-the-year goals. And I said win Western States 2025. This is before I'd ever done an ultramarathon. |
| 0:13.0 | And I was just kind of joking around, but it's actually really cool now that I've made it into the race for this year for 2025. So if I could win it, that would be like the coolest note card of all time. |
| 0:26.3 | That was Hans Troyer today on the Running Effect podcast. If you don't know the name, remember the name. |
| 0:32.1 | This man is a dog, certified animal in the ultramarathon space and he's running the classic the |
| 0:38.6 | infamous the legendary Western States 100 mile race and I think he can win it I |
| 0:44.2 | think he can really do it or at least he's young I think he's like 24 25 so at |
| 0:49.5 | least he can put his name on the map and have many more years for a shot at history |
| 0:53.7 | but nonetheless one of you actually DM'd me this recommendation. |
| 0:57.4 | I looked into his page and I was like, this guy's a dog. |
| 1:00.5 | And he is doing some remarkable things in the ultramarathon scene as a young. |
| 1:05.0 | And so I wanted to get him on the podcast. |
| 1:07.2 | Hear his stories. |
| 1:08.1 | Here his journey. |
| 1:09.0 | Really thoroughly enjoyed this one. |
| 1:10.8 | Hans and I kicked it off. |
| 1:11.9 | Really, really good light energy in this one |
| 1:13.6 | while diving into his training, racing mindset, |
| 1:17.0 | a decision to do ultramarathons at a young age |
| 1:19.2 | if he'll ever do a last man standing backyard, |
| 1:21.7 | ultra type of race, crazy stories of carsanas, |
| 1:25.5 | eating a pizza every day, all sorts of fun fun stuff this podcast was a banger so if |
... |
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