After finishing fifth last year, New Zealand’s Dan Jones returns for the 2024 Western States 100. In the following interview, our first with Dan, he talks about his background with endurance sports, what he learned at last year’s Western States 100, and what he hopes to accomplish at this year’s race.
To learn more about who’s racing, check out our men’s and women’s previews and follow our live race coverage on race day.
Dan Jones Pre-2024 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar here with Dan Jones before the 2024 Western States 100. How are you, Dan?
Dan Jones: Doing good. Very good. Thank you.
iRunFar: Welcome back to California here. You had a really great race here in 2024. But before we dive into that a little bit, I would love to know some of your background with sports and running. Like how did you get into running?
Jones: My family’s big into the endurance sport life. My dad was a professional adventure racer, so growing up I had that inspiration to try and follow in his footsteps. And I bounced around from marathon running through to road running and a bit of trail running, out to adventure racing, and then multi-sport, and then back to marathon running. I made that transition a couple years ago, really concentrating on the trails and the ultra scene again.
iRunFar: Got it. So was that in 2018 to 2021 kind of area?
Jones: Yeah, I was marathon running from 2019 to 2020, 2021. And then when COVID-19 hit, I had to concentrate my priorities a little bit more with the borders closing and everything. I wasn’t getting in the fast marathons that I wanted. So actually, I got inspiration. I was stuck over in Kenya for a little bit when all the borders were shut, and I was watching YouTube videos, and I saw Western States come across the screen. And I watched, what was it — Golden Hour and Jim [Walmsley], the Highway 49 YouTube clip, and I was like, woah. It really interested me. And I thought I’d love to do that one day. So I set my sights on this race and here we are. Got there last year and back again this year.
iRunFar: On the adventure racing side, were you doing these long, multi-day kind of events, or are you doing shorter adventure races?
Jones: I did a lot of stage racing over in China. That was my main gig for two or three years there. I was also working in an office full-time, so I was trying to sneak away. Luckily I had an understanding boss who would give me some time off. It was really cool. I got to experience a whole lot of China. And then I did actually do one six-day expedition race, the Godzone Adventure Race over in Wanaka, New Zealand, as well. So brutal, but I think that’s really set me up for these long endurance races in the trail scene as well.
iRunFar: You read my mind on that. You had some experience in shorter trail races and some shorter ultras, and you ran fifth at your 100-mile debut at Western States last year, which is quite impressive, but you came to that with some longer endurance background.
Jones: Yeah. And to be fair, I jumped in a couple of 100-kilometer races over in China as well. That was probably just dipping the toe in the water, so to speak. And I would maybe add that onto the back of a multi-sport trip, so I was usually pretty ruined anyway, but I feel like that gave me a pretty good insight of what’s involved.
When I made my first appearance, I guess in the American trail running ultra scene, that was at the Canyons 100k 2022, and it actually didn’t go very well for me. So, to come back a year later and have a really good solid race at the Tarawera 100k which got me my Golden Ticket, it meant a lot. I put a lot of effort, a lot of concentration, dedication into improving myself and really getting in the right mindset for what it took.
iRunFar: So what were those changes from 2022 to 2023?
Jones: With 2022, I actually had my eyes set on Western States. For me, it was go to Canyons, let’s get the Golden Ticket, then I’m going to Western States. But no, obviously Canyons has evolved into a super deep field, and I didn’t really respect how hard it would be to get a Golden Ticket. And so, with Tarawera 2023 being a Golden Ticket race that year, I was like, okay, let’s concentrate on one race at a time. Get my foot in the door, and then we go from there. Having a really good race there set me up to then have a little bit of a down period, and then start that next build into Western States. And I came to Western States last year confident, but also fairly inexperienced with the heat, and the course, and all of that. I think coming back now it’s like, okay, you’ve got that race under you last year. There’s a lot to improve on, and I think I’ll do that.
iRunFar: What did you learn at last year’s race?
Jones: [laughs] What didn’t I learn? That’s the question. I mean, you look behind us here and you’ve got, I don’t know, what would you call it? It’s like 600 meters to climb to the top of the Escarpment.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Jones: That’s one thing, running in snow to start with last year. It’s a lot drier this year round. But dropping into the canyons, El Dorado and Devil’s Thumb. They almost ruined me last year.
iRunFar: Yeah?
Jones: I come up into Michigan Bluff. My support crew, my parents, Michelle, they’ve told me, we didn’t hold much hope for you to rally, finish strong, and get through the next 70 kilometers to the finish in pretty good piece. Well, it’s all relative. I wasn’t in a great piece. Operating, probably like full cognitive functions going on by the end, but I still actually had a pretty good run from Foresthill to the finish. I managed to pick up a couple of spots there, and just made sure that I kept on top of nutrition.
Yeah, the heat wasn’t as hot as what it had been in previous years, but for me, it was still hot, right? Yeah, this year round, I’ve done all the heat training I think I needed to do, and let’s see what happens on race day.
iRunFar: Do you have any good strategies for dealing with the heat that you picked up from being at the race last year or researched afterward?
Jones: I, obviously, I wasn’t ill-prepared last year either.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Jones: But you just learn things each time you do it. How important it’s going to be to get ice into the bandanna and spend maybe five more seconds at an aid station for the ice to actually sink in, not just get dropped off you, because it makes it a hell of a lot of difference. Running cool.
And I went to the Western State training camp this year. We spent about four or five days afterwards to really learn the course, so I think just actually knowing the course and knowing those specific spots now where you can get wet, and where the ice is going to be is going to be pretty crucial.
iRunFar: Take 30 seconds or a minute to dip into streams along the way, or splash yourself.
Jones: Yeah, or grab the hat tip water, a couple of times rather than just one time. It just makes a difference. And then this year, I think we are not crossing in the raft. We’re going to be dragging ourselves across on the rope. So that will just be the extra bit of time as well to regroup and from there I think it’s about 30-odd k to the finish. And I feel you can make up a lot of time there if you take care of yourself.
iRunFar: If you’re feeling good, you can actually still process food and race to the finish.
Jones: Exactly. Race to the finish. And that’s what I want to do. That excites me, because I love racing. I love the flowing trails of that section. And I think I can do well on it and make up time.
iRunFar: What are you hoping to accomplish at Western States this year?
Jones: Fifth place last year was nice, but you’re probably going to hear it from everyone. Everyone’s going for the win. Everyone’s going for the podium finish.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Jones: That’s what being competitive is about.
iRunFar: And you think that’s within reach?
Jones: Yeah, absolutely. I want to carry across the performances that I know I’m capable of, and that I have produced in other races like Tarawera. I felt like those are super strong ones. And I know I can do that across the 100-mile distance. It’s just getting the race right and everything is dialed in, and it just has to be executed now.
iRunFar: So, you almost doubled your experience since last year’s Western States.
Jones: Yeah.
iRunFar: You ran UTMB and finished 12th. You won Tarawera again. How has that progression been over this past year?
Jones: When you think about it, it was 2022 when I first tried to make my mark on the trail running ultra scene. So it’s only two years, and I think even from Tarawera 2023 to this year, I had a really strong run at Tarawera. In 2023 I was running with Hayden Hawks at least half the race, so we were pushing each other. This year, I was running by myself for a lot longer, and pushing. Pushing hard. And just realizing that I’ve got the kind of mental fortitude to be able to push hard by myself and really make a good go of it. And I think my times are very comparable between years. It just kind of proved that it wasn’t a fluke first time around.
iRunFar: Well, right on. Best of luck out there this weekend. Take care.
Jones: For sure. Thank you very much.
