A year after dropping out of his first Western States 100, Vincent Bouillard came back on Saturday and did something no one from France had ever done at the 53-year-old race: win it.
He also broke the course record, finishing in 13 hours, 46 minutes and 15 seconds. That figure trimmed 23 minutes from the previous best of 14:09:28, set by American Jim Walmsley. Two more runners crossed the line in under 14 hours behind him, marking the first time the men’s podium at Western States has gone sub-14 across the board.
Caught at mile 85
For most of the day, the race belonged to Francesco Puppi. The Italian, running his first 100-miler, set a hard pace through the high country and stayed in front through the canyons. Bouillard, 32, kept him in sight without ever forcing the issue.
The pass came late, on a quiet section near mile 85.
“I wanted to try and be a little more conservative,” Bouillard said after the finish, alluding to the inexperience that had cost him the year before. “I was really trying to focus on my own effort. We pushed each other really well. I didn’t have a strategy to pass him at mile 90. It was not foreseen, but I’m going to give it my best, and if not, there will be a better champion than me.”
Puppi held on for second in 13:51:08, less than five minutes back. Ryan Montgomery, of Park City, Utah, came through in 13:53:55, climbing from seventh place a year ago to a podium spot.
A win that puts him in rare company
Bouillard joins a short list. He is the seventh runner in history to win both Western States and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. He took UTMB in 2024 as a complete outsider, racing without a sponsor while working as a product and innovation engineer for HOKA. The result was treated as a surprise at the time. Saturday’s win, against a field built around him, was not.
He failed to finish here in 2025, his rookie attempt at the distance. The 2026 run answered any lingering questions.
A custom shoe from his old employer
HOKA, which sponsors the race and now sponsors Bouillard, put him on the start line in a one-off HOKA Tecton prototype shaped around his stride and feedback. The brand said the project drew on his background as an engineer with the company, and described it as an ongoing collaboration rather than a single product.
“Race day at Western States represents more than competition for HOKA. This race is woven into our DNA and every year we return to push the limits of what’s possible on the trail,” said Steve Dekoker, HOKA’s senior director of global sports marketing. “Vincent has shown what it means to master this course. What made today even more special was the full team performance. Our athletes competed with everything they had across the board, and that’s a true reflection of the dedication, talent, and grit that define this team.”
A brutal day for the favorites
The front-end pace was punishing, and several pre-race picks paid for it. Walmsley, a four-time champion and the holder of the old course record, did not finish. Neither did Kilian Jornet, one of the most decorated mountain runners of the past two decades. Hans Troyer, who set a course record at Black Canyon 100K in February, spent a long stretch at the front and helped pull the lead group through the early miles before stepping off.
Top men’s results
- Vincent Bouillard – 13:46:15
- Francesco Puppi – 13:51:08
- Ryan Montgomery – 13:53:55
- Thomas Cardin – 14:07:58
- Zach Miller – 14:20:09
- Adam Peterman – 14:26:11
- Jeff Mogavero – 14:38:36
- Canyon Woodward – 14:45:24
- Will Murray – 14:26:18
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