Meghan Canfield

About

Meghan Canfield is an American ultrarunner, coach, and writer from Corvallis, Oregon, who built one of the most remarkable competitive careers in the sport by excelling at elite level well into her fifties, representing the United States at the IAU 100K World Championships for nine consecutive years and becoming a world record holder in masters competition. She began running in her twenties through road racing, qualified four times for the US Olympic Marathon Trials, and discovered ultrarunning around the age of 42. She ran her first Western States 100 in 2006 at age 45, finishing in eighth place — the beginning of a relationship with the race that would extend to 13 finishes, 10 of them in the top 10, all but one under 24 hours, and four under 20 hours. Her second-place finish at the 2010 Western States 100 in 19:15:58, behind winner Tracy Garneau, was among her most prominent individual results. She competed at the IAU 100K World Championships for nine consecutive years, contributing to team podium finishes in eight of them, and holds the world record for the 100K in the 55-59 age group alongside age-group records for the 50K and 50 miles. She was inducted into the UltraRunning Hall of Fame in 2025. In the years after her competitive peak she became a virtual coach at Zenith Coaching and a regular contributor to UltraRunning Magazine, channelling her experience into the next generation of long-distance runners.

Notable Wins

• — Western States 100 2nd 2010 (19:15:58)
• — 13 WSER finishes (10 top-10)
• — IAU 100K World Championships 9× USA team member
• — 100K world age record (55-59)
• — 4× US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier
• — UltraRunning Hall of Fame 2025

Race History