The highest-placed returning runner from the 2024 race, Rod Farvard is back at the 2025 Western States 100 and looking to improve on his second-place finish. In the following interview, Rod talks about his race last year, his advantage on the rest of the men’s field, how he thinks this year’s race will play out, some changes to his training leading up to the event, and what he thinks the winning time will be this year.
To learn more about who’s racing, check out our men’s and women’s previews before following our live race coverage on race day.
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Rod Farvard Pre-2025 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Rod Farvard. It’s a couple days before the 2025 Western States 100. Hey, Rod. Good morning. How are you?
Rod Farvard: Good morning. Doing great.
iRunFar: It’s the Wednesday before Western States. You are, let’s see, the fastest returning man to this year’s edition. You now hold the third fastest time in this race’s very venerated history. And you also have the fastest time for a guy who hasn’t won this race. How does it feel to come back to the starting line of a race with that at the top of your C.V. now?
Farvard: It feels like I’m ready for it. I think last year I felt like I didn’t necessarily belong there, or maybe deserve to win, but I don’t know what else I have to do now to prove to myself that I have what it takes.
iRunFar: I mean, it is kind of like, last year was such a transitional year for you. You came to this event with a Western States P.R. in the 16s and you left with a Western States P.R. that’s, you know, near the top of the historical record. That’s a giant transition.
Farvard: Yeah. It was a big jump. Every year is a big jump for me. And what’s giving me more confidence than just like, the time compared to other people’s in the field, is just my experience. Like, this is my fifth year now, and I don’t think there’s anyone else that I’m thinking about that I’m racing that has done the race more than twice. So, I’m going to use that experience and all the different kind of mini battles I’ve gotten into on the course over the years to really lean on.
iRunFar: So like sort of in summary, is that looking back at that sort of transcendental experience last year, the biggest thing you took take away from it is like the psychological aspect, the confidence building part of it.
Farvard: Definitely. I got a front row seat to what it looks like to win, and what you need in the last bit of the course. And yeah, I think like, previous champions that are in the race this year haven’t been quite as contested. And I don’t know. I feel like this is the year where it’s going to be a big pack for a while. It’s not going to break away early. The champion isn’t going to be crowned super early into the race, like a lot of years. It’s going to take battles all the way to the finish. And yeah, I know what I need to do in order to get myself into that position.
iRunFar: To zoom in on sort of what happened at last year’s race, to set the stage for how it sounds like you think this year will be different. I think if memory serves me, you took things out hot, led up at the top and then sort of settled into being near the front of the chase pack for a good long 40 miles before you and the ultimate winner, Jim Walmsley, played a really like, from a fan standpoint, a really great game of cat and mouse until somewhere late race, right?
Farvard: Yeah. Jim and I broke off at Michigan Bluff. There was a, you know, for a while I didn’t really know where I was running. Like, I knew where I was running up until Robinson. And then it seemed like I was getting passed. I couldn’t tell if we were making up ground down to the swinging bridge. And then all of a sudden there was a massive regroup at the bottom of Devil’s Thumb and that, you know, I think probably ten guys were within a minute of each other down there.
iRunFar: Wow.
Farvard: And then some things happened on the Thumb. I kind of crossed over the top and descending down into El Dorado. I passed Hayden [Hawks]. I caught up to Dan [Jones], passed Dan on the climb. And then it was still very unclear where Jim was in the race. And it kind of seemed like the canyons are where he would be able to pull away from people. So, I didn’t really expect him to be at Michigan Bluff, ran through, still thinking I was in second. And then.
iRunFar: Oh, right. You ended up leading out of Michigan.
Farvard: I did lead out of Michigan.
iRunFar: You transitioned out of the aid station quicker.
Farvard: Yeah. And then I heard some noise behind me and thought it was just camera men. And I look back and I see Jim. And that’s where that’s where our cat and mouse kind of started. And yeah, where we were able to pull away from the field, I think, just honestly more just working together.
iRunFar: Okay. And was it during that time when you were cat and mousing, was it more of like, Oh, hey, I’m feeling good, and so I just transitioned in front of him. Or were the two of you sort of gaming and making moves just to test the waters and see where the other person was? What was that like?
Farvard: Yeah, I can’t speak for him and his psychology. But for me, I was just trying to run, to be honest. And wherever that that got me, it had me leading out of some aid stations. It had me catching him on some stretches on Cal Street. But I want to say I was never intentionally trying to make a move. I was trying to, I didn’t feel like I had control of the race necessarily in order to feel like I was in a position to make moves. It was more just survival and yeah, and seeing how far I can make it with him more than anything. Yeah.
iRunFar: Looking back now on that, like this year, is it pretty interesting for you that you felt like you were, I don’t know, just doing your thing and that meant leading the race, leading this race of all races at that time? Like, does that offer you some perspective for this year, I guess, is my question?
Farvard: Yeah, now that you mention it, definitely.
iRunFar: [laughs] Sorry to all the other guys, but hey.
Farvard: Yeah, I mean, that should give me a lot of confidence. I don’t feel like I was, you know, and I’m not saying like I have more to give. You don’t know what the day is going to give you. And that day gave me a lot, and it gave me a lot of life. And I was able to do things I never imagined possible without it feeling really that difficult until like, the last 10 miles where I was suffering. But like, I didn’t really feel like I was ever overextending early in the race, and I was just able to flow. And all I could ask for this year is to feel similar.
And when I think about the times that are going to be run this year, yeah, sure, they might be slightly faster than what I ran, what Jim ran. But it’s not going to be out of this world faster. So, if I could just do what I did last year and close better, I think I’m going to have a really great day.
iRunFar: Well, so maybe you either answered or started answering my next question. Now that you have that perspective of how things went last year and the dynamic of how it played out, will you choose to do anything different? Or did you learn like, Hey, I did this really solidly. All I need to do is get as close to replication as possible.
Farvard: Yeah.
iRunFar: What are you thinking about there?
Farvard: No. I don’t need to do anything different, but the race might cause me or force me to have to do something different. The dynamics, I think this year are going to be extremely different. But ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, in the picture of the race, all I have to do is, I think, have contact with the person leading the race by the canyons, and by Devil’s Thumb. And then I think we’re in terrain that I feel extremely comfortable in at that point. And I don’t think I’m going to lose the pack by Michigan Bluff. And then I think at that point, people are starting to feel it. And you’ll know who’s going to be a threat at that point to not. But I can’t lose contact with the front of the race in the canyons. And yeah, and that’s what happened last year, and it led me to be able to have that battle with Jim. And that’s all I have to do this year, too. I just hope I’m going to feel the same way I felt at the Thumb last year as I did, or I hope this year I feel the same way as I did last year.
iRunFar: And so I think what I’m hearing you say about how you think the dynamic of the men’s race is going to go is you think the pack or like, the group of lead men are going to, there’s going to be more of them and they’re going to stay tighter till a lot later in the race. That’s what you’re anticipating?
Farvard: Correct. I think it’ll be faster, too. I think there’s going to be some people borderline time trialing, and I think a lot of, you know, as everyone should. I think this year people are very motivated. They see a wide open door, and there’s more belief that they can win the race. And I totally agree. Like, I think there’s a lot of men in this field that have the chance to win. And without Jim in the picture, Jim is always a figure like, someone with aura that like, people naturally want to stay behind.
iRunFar: Key off of.
Farvard: Exactly. And there isn’t really that in the field. I guess there’s Kilian [Jornet] this year, but Kilian isn’t Jim at Western States. Yeah.
iRunFar: How is the whole field not earmarking a person like you who ran 14:24 last year? That’s insane. If, yeah, sorry. That’s insane if people are not keying off you this year.
Farvard: Maybe they are, maybe. We’ll see. Yeah.
iRunFar: You might have an entourage at the escarpment.
Farvard: For sure. I’ve thought of every scenario and I thought that was an option, too. I just don’t feel like I give the same aura that Jim gives. And I think like, and everyone in this field has beaten me at a race at some point, you know, and I think that’s kind of funny, too, and interesting. But I think like, Western States for me is, again what I’m leaning on is the fact that I’ve been here five times and each time has gotten better. So, I think something is going to have to go wrong for me. And it very well can, for me not to P.R.
iRunFar: I mean, like, that’s the joy of 100 miles. There’s so much that is predictable, but there’s so much that remains unpredictable till the very end.
Farvard: Yeah, exactly. And it’s cool coming back to States because every year feels a little less unpredictable versus like, any other race I go to. I’m still nervous of what will happen. And I don’t know. I just feel like I could play out every step of this race, and that gives me a lot of confidence.
iRunFar: That’s cool. Yeah. We talked off camera about how you’ve had a slightly different style to your training in your block leading up to Western States. Do you want to share a little bit about what you’ve been doing?
Farvard: Yeah. A lot more treadmill work this year. And it really started like, something else that’s been awesome is I’ve had fairly little interrupted training since December, versus previous years I was chasing a Golden Ticket. And, you know, you’d be peaking for a 100k in February. You’d be peaking for a 100k in April. And, you know, if you got the Golden Ticket, then you have to peak again for States. So, it’s very hard to do that well. And I don’t really think you can peak for three races like that in six months. Where this year it was like, the entire focus is Western States.
And we started the year just by doing a lot of treadmill work in a certain zone that we tested with lactate and heart rate and found our paces at different gradients, and just kind of keyed in workouts with intervals in this zone that I knew I was going to race Western States in. And my coach and I have like, four years of data of how hard I run Western States.
And like, every year I’m a little fitter, but it’s typically in this heart rate zone unless like, I spectacularly blew up like my first two years running the race. Then you’re just kind of walking and your heart rate’s like 100. But if I’m running the race well, it’s in the zone between zone 2 and zone 3. And that’s been a zone that I feel like we’ve neglected over the years in workouts. So, it’s been really high intensity, like close to zone 4 work. Or, you know, long runs around zone 2. So, we tried to dial things in a little bit, and did a lot of work there. We also did a lot of heat training, again on the treadmill. So, yeah, a lot more treadmill miles. But I have run, at this point, more miles in the first half of the year than I have in any year I’ve ran.
iRunFar: The public discussion about heat training for Western States this year, I mean, people have heat trained for this race for decades at this point. But the public discussion about the degree to which people are heat training this year is something that I’ve not seen before.
Farvard: Yeah. And TBD, if it’s going to work or do anything, you know. And I will say, like, I’m doing all that treadmill stuff in the heat suit and everything you see on Instagram and whatever. But I don’t think there is a replacement for getting out in 100, 110 degrees and getting through a long run and like understanding, you know, your intake needs in a long run like that in a certain temperature. Like, you throw on the heat suit, you get on the treadmill, you’re doing an hour session, right? So, you can kind of get away with whatever. To really get good in the heat, I think you’ve got to understand what you’re feeling at three hours in the heat, and know what you have to do intake-wise to not feel really bad there.
So, I don’t think there’s a replacement for that. And like, sure, this heat training stuff indoors is like if you have no other option, it’s better than nothing. Right. But I don’t know. I don’t think it’s the replacement. So, we’ll see. We’ll see how it affects the field. I think there will be less discomfort from heat, especially because I don’t think it’s going to be that hot this year. I think it’ll be pretty similar to last year. So, blow ups happen. I don’t think necessarily it’s from people not being heat adapted or whatever, but yeah, I don’t know.
It’s cool that this sport is progressing. I feel like every year we’re trying to find something new to do, and we’re just taking it from other sports, right? Like cycling has been doing this. Triathlon has been doing this. The same thing happened with nutrition. And I think last year was a big breakthrough for people in nutrition. So, I don’t know. It’s all part of the natural progress of endurance sport, so, yeah.
iRunFar: It sounds like you’ve thought a lot about how you envision the men’s race going. What finishing time do you think it’s going to take to win Western States this year, given we’ve got a good handle on the forecast, we know the field? You’ve thought through the dynamic.
Farvard: I think like 14:10.
iRunFar: 14:10.
Farvard: Yeah. Probably. I don’t see it going under 14 hours because I think at the end of the day, like, everyone’s been talking about that, but people want to win, you know, and it’s still going to be a race to win rather than to try to break that 14-hour barrier. And that typically comes with doing as little as you need to get to the finish line feeling strong. And yeah, I don’t see some like, massive push to go under 14 hours, but I can see the race being very similar to last year and what Jim ran. Yeah.
iRunFar: Best of luck to you.
Farvard: Thank you.
iRunFar: Is there a fifth trip from Olympic Valley to Placer High?
Farvard: Yeah. This will be, if I finish, my fourth buckle. So yeah. Amazing.
iRunFar: And best of luck in running that 14:10.
Farvard: Thank you. Yeah. We’ll see.
