Dan Jones and Caitlin Fielder both line up for the iconic Western States Endurance Run chasing the same thing this year: the win. For Jones, it is his fourth attempt at the race; for Fielder, her second time over the 100-mile distance.
The race simply known as Western States runs point to point from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California, starting at 5 a.m. and giving runners just under 30 hours to reach the finish. In the first four and a half miles, the trail climbs 2,550 vertical feet from the valley floor up to Emigrant Pass at 8,750 feet, before following original routes worn by the gold and silver miners of the 1850s. From there the course piles on another 15,540 feet of climbing and 22,970 feet of descending, most of it through remote, rugged country a long way from the nearest road.
Jones has run Western States three times and finished top five every time, fifth in 2023, fourth in 2024, and fifth in 2025. His 14:32:29 in 2024 was close to an hour quicker than his debut the year before. A podium has eluded him so far, and he is clear about where he wants this one to end.
“My goal is to win Western States.”
Dan Jones
“If I aim for the win and end up on the podium, that’ll still be a massive goal ticked off.”
Read more about Dan’s buildup on his Substack here.
The confidence comes from a year of doing things his own way. Jones took over his own coaching last October and put together the heaviest training block of his career.
“This has been one of the biggest training blocks of my life,” he said. “I’ve incorporated double-threshold sessions across both flat and hill workouts, and worked closely with Marcos from Rehab Physio to build a strength routine twice a week. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life.”
The Wellington-based runner came to 100-mile racing through cross country, multisport, and road, with a marathon best of 2:16, and he thinks that range is why he holds up late in a long race. “The multisport endurance made me robust, and the road running gave me just enough speed in the legs to cross over to trail. I wish there was a bit more track and fast-twitch in that mix, though.”
That road speed suits Western States, one of the faster, more runnable 100-milers on the calendar, and it shapes his plans after California. “If I achieve [the win], I’ll likely pivot to UTMB or CCC. Those races require building the climbing and descending fitness, areas where I believe I have the most to gain. But right now I enjoy the faster courses, using the relative speed while I’ve still got it.”
Follow the Western States Endurance Run here.
For Fielder, her first Western States, in 2025, was a 100-mile debut that started well and then not so well. She tore a quad partway through and still finished eighth, dropping only one place after the injury hit.
“The first 110km of the course went really well,” she said. “Even though the injury held me back a lot, I was still able to finish it and only lost one position, which gives me a lot of confidence. I looked after myself well, still got in my nutrition, and paced the first 110km pre-quad really well.”
This year she is fit, prepared, and no longer thinking about simply reaching the finish. She wants to be in the fight at the front, with a big jump in time the first marker of that. “I’d really like to take off a significant amount of time compared to last year, which I think is achievable. Going into last year’s Western States, I didn’t feel very prepared training-wise, and this year I’ve had a good amount of time to prepare properly. Last year was about just getting to the finish, but I’m hoping this year I’ll be able to be more competitive.”
The field she is taking on is stacked with talent; most of the 2025 top ten are returning, and Olympic marathon medallist Molly Seidel is making her 100-mile debut. Fielder’s answer to that is to run her own race. “While I want to be up there in a competitive position, I’m usually pretty good at not getting carried away with someone else’s race. In my head I usually think everyone else’s race is none of my business, and I just try and race however I feel best on the day.”
Everyone else’s race is none of my business
Caitlin fielder
She prepared at her base in Andorra, training at altitude with her support team around her. The mountains there aren’t a perfect match for a runnable California course, but she likes the balance she has struck. “It’s pretty mountainous, which makes it harder to find flatter trails for training for Western States, but I feel really strong. We still have to climb over 5,000m and descend over 6,600m, so I feel confident about that. I also trained a lot on the flat at the beginning of the year for Tarawera, so I’m confident that will come through as well.”
Asked what it’s like to be part of New Zealand’s presence on the global trail scene, Fielder has nothing but pride for how Kiwis show up. “It’s always really awesome being able to represent NZ with some really strong athletes beside me, and I’m really proud of how we show up. To be honest, as trail runners we’ve been showing up for a while. We’re always consistently up there.”
She is chasing the win here, and bigger wins beyond it. “It’s been great seeing how much faster and more competitive the women are becoming, and I’m stoked to be part of the rising tide. I’d love to win some of these bigger races, and I just want to make sure I’ll have longevity in the sport.”
Two of New Zealand’s best will be out in the heat of the canyons that undo strong runners every year, both chasing the win.