Riley Brady has been steadily climbing up the ranks of ultrarunning since placing second in their first 50k back in 2014, but in the space of six months, the now-29-year-old has taken a massive leap forward onto the top tier — winning the Javelina 100 Mile in the fall of 2024, before setting a course record at the ever-competitive Black Canyon 100k in spring of 2025. As Brady — who identifies as non-binary but competes in the women’s race — gears up for this year’s Western States 100, we caught up with them to find out about their background and what’s clicked in their recent training to make them one of the top contenders for the win at this year’s Western States.
Riley Brady, the 2025 Black Canyon 100k women’s winner. Brady identifies as non-binary and competes in the women’s race. Photo: World Trail Majors
Early Years
Riley Brady grew up in New Hope, Pennsylvania, an hour north of Philadelphia, and was not born into a particularly sports-centric family. Nonetheless, they dabbled in basketball and soccer. Although Brady claims not to have been particularly gifted when it came to ball-handling, they added, “but I could just run all day. And I was the only person on the team who was like, ‘I can’t wait for the Friday time trial.’”
They added, “Also in high school, my dad took my brother and me to the ice rink every Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed ice skating.” By junior year of high school, Brady had taken up cross-country running, and although still playing lacrosse in the spring, they were leaning more toward individual sports.
In college, Brady’s growing love of running took an unexpected turn. They said, “I realized that there are other people out there who wanted to just go run for a really long time in the woods … I met my friend, Amelia [Kaufman], and she was like, ‘There’s this race in my hometown, Ithaca, New York, the Cayuga Trails 50 Mile, we should do it.’ And I was like, ‘That sounds fun.’”
Needing a qualifying race to access the 50 miler, Brady first signed up for the 2014 New Jersey Ultra Trail Festival 50k, and placed second to Kaufman. They said, “Between having some early success, even though it was just a really small local event, and having this friend who I was competitive with, that kind of launched getting into the sport more seriously.”
Riley Brady (left) at the 2016 Vermont 100 Mile. All photos courtesy of Riley Brady, unless otherwise noted.
The Western States 100 Golden Ticket Chase
By age 21, Brady had stepped up the distance, running the Vermont 100 Mile in 2016, finishing in 17th position. They continued to hone and improve, and in 2018 placed second at both the Vermont 50 Mile and 100 Mile, and third at the JFK 50 Mile.
Although only starting to make a name for themselves, Brady already had high ambitions, and said: “I got on the Western States 100 Golden Ticket chase pretty young, even when I had no business chasing a ticket.” Their first Golden Ticket race was the 2019 Black Canyon 100k, where they finished fifth, proving that securing a Golden Ticket to the Western States 100 was not an unattainable goal. While they racked up wins at distances ranging from 50k to 100 miles, the Golden Ticket continued to elude, until 2022.
A solo run during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Changing Up Training
Early in the year, Brady enlisted the help of David Roche as their coach, who still coaches them to this day. Their training quickly became more intentional, and they shared: “I actually started doing workouts instead of just being like, I’m going to run for as long as I can.” The structure was a welcome change for Brady, who said, “I didn’t come to running from a traditional running background. I was never on a college team, my high school was not very competitive. So, I just didn’t have an understanding of how to do workouts and stuff like that. Once I started doing them, I was like, This is fun. Although my favorite is always the long run.”
Later that year, an opportunity for the big break that Brady had been working toward presented itself, in the form of a newly added Golden Ticket race — the Javelina 100 Mile.
They shared, “When Javelina became a Golden Ticket event, I was like, Yes, this is my opportunity, because it’s 100 miles. The terrain didn’t really matter so much to me. It was more just that it was longer and I have always felt like I’m better at competing at the 100-mile distance than any of the below distances.”
Brady ran a patient race at Javelina, and moved up the field to take second place behind Devon Yanko, finally securing their place on the start line of the 2023 Western States 100.
2023 Western States 100
When Western States rolled around, Brady suffered stomach issues, which they put down to taking on too much salt. They shared, “Leading into Western States, I was like, Okay, I’ve got to get my nutrition dialed. I’m not taking in enough salt … And then after that I discovered that I am an extremely low salt sweater, and that I was probably taking in way too much. So, it was a learning experience … I just spent a lot of time throwing up on the side of the trail.”
Despite this, Brady still managed to make it to the finish of the bucket list race in 14th place, and said: “I feel like with Western States, you can’t go there and drop out. So many people work so hard to get there.”
Following on from their Western States debut, Brady knew they had more to give on the course, but had yet to solve the nutrition puzzle, which continued to be their Achilles’ heel. At the 2024 CCC, they again suffered stomach problems, and were forced to drop from the race.
Recalling CCC, their first experience at the UTMB Mont Blanc festival, they shared: “It was my first time ever at UTMB Mont Blanc, and that was just a huge investment. I didn’t have a sponsor at the time. It’s so expensive to get over there. I also just don’t really like the UTMB events … But you have to do them, and some of the courses are really nice.”
Life in Colorado
Brady, who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, prefers racing closer to home in the U.S. They are fortunate to have the perfect training ground right out the door, and also benefit from the strong trail running community that exists in Boulder. They said, “I have a really good group of about five friends who run together pretty regularly, or some combination of us. And then obviously I have other friends that I also run with. That’s one of the best parts of living in Boulder, just having so many friends and people who want to do the thing that I want to do.”
Unlike some of the higher altitude mountain towns around Colorado, Boulder has a good selection of trails that stay accessible year-round. Brady says, “There’s a bunch [of trails in Boulder] that stay dry throughout the winter. Like Lion’s Lair, it just gets a lot of sun and tends to dry out very quickly, even if we get snow.” They added, “But then in the summer, I definitely like to get to the mountains a little bit more. We have really amazing access here.”
A run with friends on the Pawnee-Buchanan Loop in Colorado. Pictured from left to right are Amanda Basham, Clare Gallagher, Brady, and Abby Levene.
The 2024 Javelina 100 Mile and 2025 Black Canyon 100k
In October 2024, returning to a race that had been kind to them before, Brady secured their second chance at Western States in a more decisive fashion than before — with a win at the Javelina 100 Mile and the Golden Ticket that followed.
With an entry to Western States already secured through one of the earlier Golden Ticket races, Brady could have enjoyed a quieter buildup to the race. However, never one to shy away from a competitive field, they decided to line up for the 2025 Black Canyon 100k. When asked what drew them to the start line, they reasoned: “Part of it is that it’s a really competitive race. The other part is it’s kind of a mini Western States — it’s net downhill. So that’s kind of nice. And then I really like that event. I like that trail, I like that the vegetation and terrain kind of change from where you start in Mayer, Arizona, down to Phoenix. I just think it’s a cool race and I’m a big fan of Aravaipa Running and everything they do for the sport.”
Furthermore, Brady felt they had never had a good race on their previous four attempts at the Black Canyon 100k, and so there was a sense of unfinished business on the course. The day unfolded beautifully, ending in another win and a course record. Brady recalled: “The were no real lows. I was just doing my thing. My big focus has been nutrition … and making sure I was staying on top of hydration. But yeah, no stomach issues. And I was just having fun the entire time, there was no point where I was like, This sucks. I need this to be over.”
Riley Brady winning the 2025 Black Canyon 100k in course record time. Photo: World Trail Majors/Howie Stern
Turning Pro
Outside of running, Brady has packed a lot into their young life thus far, and their professional resume is full of surprises. Having studied anthropology in college, they worked a broad range of jobs before recently securing a professional running contract with Nike.
They recalled, “I worked at a daycare for a while … I did enjoy that as a temporary thing, but also I was sick all the time, so I was like, I can’t.” They added, “I was just kind of doing a smattering of things. And then I ended up applying for a couple of jobs at bike shops.” In doing so, they stumbled upon an opportunity from Trek, who offered training as well as a job, opening a gateway to a career as a bike mechanic. Brady shared: “I got a ton of experience very quickly working in the bike industry. I really did enjoy being a mechanic for a while, and then I just kind of reached a point where I wasn’t learning as much as I wanted to be learning.”
While Brady has never ridden competitively, they enjoy bike touring, and cycling still forms a key part of their training for running. Securing sponsorship with Nike has now allowed Brady to run full time, while also working as a coach.
Cheeky parking on a U.S. West Coast bike tour with friends.
A Second Attempt at the Western States 100
Like much of the elite trail running world, Brady is now firmly focused on the 2025 Western States 100. Although in a very different place with their running than they were in 2023, they have nonetheless benefited from the experience and can approach their second run with a cool head.
They shared: “I think just getting the nerves out of the way the first time running [Western States] is a huge deal. The start line was kind of stressful for me. You feel like you’re in this press of people, it’s dark, you can’t see, but you don’t want to have a headlamp because it’s going to get light in 10 minutes. And so just knowing that, and I think knowing what to expect on that start line, makes me feel better about it.”
They added, “It started so fast and I wasn’t expecting that, and I think my mindset around racing has really changed. I’m much more willing now to just be like, Alright, we’re sending it from the start.”
Although not underestimating the competition, Brady was not shy about sharing their ambitions for the race, saying: “I think you have to line up to win, right? I think you have to have the unreasonable goal, because otherwise you’re never going to hit it.”
Beyond Western States, they have signed up for Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile later in the summer, and will then switch gears in the fall to train for a fast road marathon at CIM, the California International Marathon. For now, however, it’s hard to look past June 28, when we look forward to watching Riley Brady send it hard on the Western States Trail.
Call for Comments
- Have you seen Riley Brady in action? Were you impressed?
- What are your predictions for this year’s Western States 100?
