Caleb Olson Takes Control at Transgrancanaria
Plus more from TGC, the latest in the fight for Public Land, Hiroki Kai’s relentless race schedule, a new podcast I'm digging, and more from the world of trail and ultra running
Something changed in at Transgrancanaria.
For much of his career, he had been the patient hunter, working his way up through the field in the later stages of races. But this time, he raced differently.
The 29-year-old American didn’t just win his debut at Transgrancanaria—he took control from the start. He became the first American to win the prestigious race, finishing in 12:17:25 and shattering the previous course record by more than 25 minutes.
His pre-race Substack post, set to auto-publish at the race start (a power move, tbh), outlined a controlled but responsive approach: he planned to stay about one to two minutes behind the leaders through the early aid stations, keeping them in sight without expending too much energy. He expected Jon Albon to be his primary competition, but with Tom Evans pulling out before the start, he acknowledged that he might need to race more aggressively to pressure Albon.
When the race started, Olson didn’t settle in behind the leaders—he put himself in front early, something he had never done before in a major race.
“I honestly kind of felt like we were not going super fast at the beginning,” he said in his post-race reflections on Substack. “And it wasn’t that crazy to take the lead and push the pace a little.”
After leading off the front through the first couple of aid stations he decided to let off a bit, as his heart rate data suggested he was pushing harder than he intended. But the signal was clear: Caleb was there to win.
The pack dynamics quickly solidified. Olson found himself in a three-man battle with Josh Wade and Albon, the trio sticking together through the first half of the race.
As Olson described on the Singletrack Podcast earlier this week, Wade was the most aggressive, throwing in repeated surges and hiking hard on steeper sections, while Albon played the long game, falling slightly behind at times but always staying within striking distance.
The climb to the highest aid station on the course, El Garañón, at mile 54 was always going to be a decisive moment. Olson had predicted in his pre-race post that a small gap would likely open late in the race, possibly on the descent. But when the race reached the biggest climb, his chance arrived earlier than expected.
As he explained on the Singletrack Podcast and in his post-race post, Wade, who had been matching every move, stumbled slightly, and Olson saw an opening.
Camera runner Biel Rafols caught this exact moment (10:54):
“I heard him scuff the ground behind me, looked back, and for the first time all day, there was actual space between us,” Olson said. “I decided to push for a minute and see if he stayed with me. He didn’t.”
It wasn’t a massive attack—just a slight, calculated surge. But Wade didn’t immediately respond, and Olson knew he had to go all in.
“Break the elastic,” he told himself.
This was a new kind of racing for Olson. He had never been one to force moves like this, but he was learning—when you’re racing for the win, you have to seize the moment.
He surged ahead, creating the first real separation of the race.
“That was the moment,” Olson said. “I figured if I could get around the next few corners before he saw me again, it might break him mentally.”
By the time he reached the top of the climb, the gap had grown to several minutes.
Now alone in the lead, Caleb Olson had to manage the pressure—and Jon Albon, who was chasing hard on the descent.
For several miles, Albon closed the gap, and Olson knew he was pushing his limits. Olson was in the pain cave, trying to stay ahead without being caught.
“I tried to turn off my brain and just run,” he later wrote. “But I’m not really used to leading races, and I was running scared.”
His legs were aching, and the thought of Wade and Albon closing in weighed on him.
Were they gaining on him? Was the gap enough? Would it hold?
To keep pushing, he spoke to himself:
This hurts.
The only thing that would hurt worse than this is if they catch me.
If they catch me, they’ll control my pace, but right now, I control my pace.
Don’t let them catch me.
Ultrarunning is supposed to hurt.
So let it hurt. So make it hurt. At least I control the hurt.”
With this in his head, Olson pushed forward. He embraced the suffering, repeating:
“So let it hurt.”
As Olson approached the final stretch, he knew the race was his. He had executed his plan to perfection, conquering both the course and his own doubts. Behind him, Albon pushed hard but still finished nearly eight minutes back in 12:25:06, while Wade, after driving the pace for much of the race, held on for third in 12:40:17.
And as he crossed the finish line, he punctuated the moment with a fitting gesture—pretending to take a phone call before hanging up.
When I asked him about it, he explained:
“I guess it felt like I’d had an internal dialogue going for the past several hours trying to push myself to go faster, and the conversation was finally over.”
In his post-race reflections, he capped off his telling of this final phase of the race with something a bit ominous for future competitors, writing,
“It felt good to be in control.”
—
Olson’s rise in ultrarunning has been steady and calculated. A former soccer player turned high school runner, he later fell in love with the mountains through backpacking and mountaineering, which shaped his confidence on technical terrain. After moving to Utah in 2017, he began training in the Wasatch Mountains, balancing his running with a full-time job as a software developer.
His 2024 season included a fifth-place finish, and fastest-ever debut, at Western States, and his win at Transgrancanaria is arguably the biggest victory of his career so far. In his post-race writeup, Olson reflected:
“My finishing time was 12 hours 17 minutes. About an hour faster than I thought the winning time would be, or that I could finish. Yeah, the route was a bit different than previous years. Yeah, conditions were good. But that was fast… I have a feeling I’ve still got some room for improvement.”
This poses a tantalizing question: just how much better can he get?
While he hasn’t fully committed to racing Western States this year, he acknowledged on the Singletrack Podcast that Western is “the next big one” on his radar—though with a baby on the way, his season plans are still taking shape.
If he’s on the start line in June, he won’t just be a top contender. He’ll be in the conversation to win.
More from Transgrancanaria:
Henriette Albon nailed her debut at 100K+, letting Claudia Tremps set the pace before taking control after 80K and winning in 15:02:50—more than an hour ahead of the field. Tremps held on for second in 16:09:20, fending off a late challenge from Martina Klančnik Potrč, who finished just under two minutes behind to claim third. If you were watching the livestream you may have also noticed the plastic Albon had taped to her shoes. Turns out those indeed were improvised gaiters for the beach start.
In the Marathon, steadily chipped away at Robert Pkemoi’s lead in the second half before making a decisive move in the final meters to win in dramatic fashion. You don’t see moves like this every day in this sport, so it was special to share it with my son as we sat together watching on my iPad that morning. Inspired by Caleb Olson’s post-race Substack, Puppi published one of his own (a trend I can get behind), sharing how he missed his nutrition at a key crewed aid station but stayed focused, gradually reeling in Pkemoi. With about 5km to go, he found himself within 40 seconds, quickly calculating he needed to shave 8-9 seconds per kilometer to catch him. Like Olson, he turned to self-talk in the closing stretch, battling doubt but refusing to let up. When the moment came, he surged past Pkemoi in the final meters, securing the win in dramatic fashion. Pkemoi finished just 18 seconds behind, while Tiago Vieira rounded out the podium in third.
On the women’s side, Jennifer Lichter defended her title with a dominant 3:59:42 finish, nearly eight minutes ahead of runner-up Sylvia Nordskar and 19 minutes faster than her winning time last year—just a day after placing third in the Vertical Kilometer. Celia Balcells took third, completing the podium.Ida Nilsson lead from the start of the 82-kilometer Advanced race to take the win in 8:34:54. Despite experiencing early signs of cramping during the final 30 kilometers of downhill, Nilsson managed to maintain her lead. She later described the descent as “an interesting project to maneuver cramp attacks on a downhill with stones, stones and more stones.” Anna Tarasova finished second, just five minutes behind Nilsson, while Katarzyna Solinska secured third place.
In the men’s race, Raul Butaci added to his impressive Transgrancanaria resume by winning the Advanced category in 7:48:03. Butaci, who won the Classic last year, took the lead from Oswaldo Medina midway through the race and maintained his position to the finish. Medina finished second, and Tomas Hudec claimed third place.We mentioned it in our feature above, but Caleb Olson joined the Singletrack Podcast earlier this week to break down his win, reflecting on his shift from hunter to race leader, the psychology of dictating a race, and the moments that defined his performance. He even shares a mid-race negotiation with Josh Wade over whether they should stop to pee, plus insights into his training with Jack Kuenzle coaching him leading up the race. The YouTube version also serves as a low-key ad for Salt Lake City, with a stunning mountain backdrop behind Caleb. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
Additional Results
Tara Dower volunteered at the Red Hot Ultra in Moab before spontaneously jumping into the 15K, where she won and set a new course record (1:06)—despite still recovering from Black Canyon. She wasn’t the only standout from Durango: Robyn Lesh won the 33K, and Kyle Curtin took second in the 50-miler after a sprint finish behind Tyler Veerman who took the win. Dower also just launched a new podcast, DNF Diaries that I’m interested to check out.
Jeff Browning won the LOViT 100, setting a new course record in his 55th career 100-miler. Running solo off drop bags, he notched his 31st 100-mile win. Ashley Nordell finished second overall and took the women’s win, while Karl Meltzer completed his 88th career 100-miler.
Haroldas Subertas won the Salmon Falls 50K, finishing in 3:39:27 after a last-minute entry to test his speed (pretty decent I’d say). Kyle Roberts placed second overall and Emily Hawgood took the women’s win, finishing third overall.
Public Lands Watch
The Trump administration’s handling of public lands is drawing major attention, with new policies signaling potential land sales and deep staffing cuts at key agencies. I’ve linked to coverage of this in recent issues, so this week, I’m rounding up the latest developments in one place:
Andrew McKean reports that new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested during his confirmation hearing that developing public land could help pay down the national debt. He estimated the total value of federal land to be between $1 and $2 trillion and described “under-performing public land” as a stranded asset in his accounting. One of his first actions as Interior Secretary was Secretarial Order 3418, which directs department officials to draft a plan that could suspend, revise, or rescind protections for federal lands, particularly those with fossil fuel potential. Meanwhile, the Center for American Progress writes that the Trump administration’s newly announced sovereign wealth fund needs significant funding, and experts worry that selling off public lands could become a key revenue source.
reports that lawmakers are demanding answers after the Department of the Interior failed to release its promised public lands action plan on time. The plan—ordered by Burgum as part of Secretarial Order 3418 (mentioned above)—was meant to outline potential rollbacks of protections for federal lands, including national monuments. But more than a week after its deadline, no details have been made public, raising concerns that the administration may be preparing a land sell-off behind closed doors.
also reports that following public backlash, the administration has reversed its hiring freeze on seasonal National Park Service employees, restoring those positions. But the move does nothing to bring back 1,000 full-time NPS jobs or the 3,400 positions lost across the Forest Service, BLM, and USDA. He writes that the loss of these roles could have major impacts on park operations this summer, especially at high-traffic locations.
Evergreen Trail has launched Run for Public Lands, a virtual running event raising funds for conservation. Participants pay $10 to enter, and Evergreen Trail will donate an additional $0.50 per mile run (capped at $3k) to Runners for Public Lands, Trust for Public Land, and the National Forest Foundation. The event runs February 27–March 4. Register here.
Other News & Links
Black Canyon Ultras dropped a cinematic race recap by Drew Darby, pairing stunning visuals with a Western-style narration. “Ain’t no shortcuts in the desert. The desert decides.”
Brooksee debuted Laurel, a next-gen race timing system, at the Mesa Marathon, using 167 timing checkpoints to track runners in near real-time. The system updates athlete positions every 0.15 miles, provides safety alerts, and even uses AI to generate personalized race recaps. With faster setup and more accurate timing than traditional mats, I’m interested to see if this gets traction. Read more here.
Hiroki Kai, fresh off his Golden Ticket at Tarawera 102K, just dropped his 2025 race schedule, and it’s… a lot. Between now and Western States, he’s racing four marathons in March, Lake Sonoma 50, Canyons 100K, UTA50, and Broken Arrow, plus a relay and a trail race squeezed in for good measure. He’ll be in the U.S. April 8–28 for course recon and is looking for training partners.
The Take Off Your Shoes podcast just dropped an episode with Corrine Malcolm, flipping the script on the usual interviewer/commentator. The conversation dives into her running career, coaching, and advocacy, plus some new-to-me info—like the fact that she was a competitive skier before turning to ultras. I’m about ¾ through and have enjoyed getting to know more about Corrine, whose voice we hear all the time. This podcast, hosted by Bora Ergör, is also new to me, but with just 11 episodes in, the archive is already stacked. Looking forward to diving deeper. Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Billy Yang’s 15 Hours series—featuring past episodes on legends of the sport including Anton Krupicka, Ann Trason, Hayden Hawks, and more—returns with a new film on Tim Tollefson. The episode follows him through a day in his life, highlighting his shift from chasing personal race goals to building Mammoth Trailfest. He opens up about leaving his career as a physical therapist, the fear of failure that almost held him back, and why he’s finally found his true calling. Watch on YouTube.
That’s it for this week! This issue took a bit longer as I experimented with a more narrative-driven feature on Caleb Olson—hope you enjoyed it. I know some of this is old news by the time it’s reaching you, but I appreciate you sticking with me.
This weekend, I’m actually racing for once, jumping into the Dos Senderos 25K here in the Texas Hill Country. After that, no racing until fall as my wife and I are expecting our third boy in a few weeks, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that sleep is in short supply those first few months. Sticking to consistent training would be biting off more than I can chew… especially considering I’m barely managing what I do now (yes, that’s a link to my Strava in a ploy to connect with you there).
As always, if you enjoyed this issue, consider forwarding it to a friend who might enjoy it too, and encourage them to subscribe here. ✌🏼
Ken
I'm loving your Substack Ken and really appreciate you covering the public lands sell-off issue, please keep it up. I work for a large environmental NGO and I can honestly say that our public lands have never been more threatened than under this administration. This is not what we've seen in past republican administrations that ramp up oil and gas development, timber harvesting and mining, but truly an existential threat to the open and wild spaces we use and love. For us trail runners and our outdoor recreationists, this is serious and our voices can make a difference if we use them.
Thanks for linking video of Josh stubbing his toe. I totally get it. I raced this past weekend dropped my water bottle while trying to stick with someone at my limit. It was just enough distraction to make me walk to regroup myself. I lost contact and never caught up. Bravo Caleb for seizing the moment. Every one always wants to see sprint finishes at the end of Ultras. When in fact moments like this are when the race was decided. Crazy how competitive races are these days even if finish times do not reflect that. What if Josh doesn’t stub his toe and sticks with Caleb to top?