David Laney

About

David Laney is an American professional ultrarunner from Portland, Oregon, who grew up in a running household — his father a marathoner who led him and his three siblings on long hikes — and as a boy watched a PBS special on the Western States Endurance Run and decided, 'I'm going to do this race one day.' After running track through high school and college, he moved to the mountains of southern Oregon in 2007, and in 2012 fell in with Waldo 100k course-record holder Erik Skaggs and two-time Western States champion Hal Koerner, who introduced him to serious mountain racing. He broke through immediately, winning the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon in 2012, then the Chuckanut 50k and Oregon's Waldo 100k in 2013. His breakout came in 2015: an 8th-place finish at Western States 100 followed two months later by 3rd at UTMB, a combination that made him, at 27, the youngest Ultrarunner of the Year in the award's history. He has continued winning at the highest level since, taking the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile in 2019, the Desert Solstice 100 Mile in 2021, and the Gorge Waterfalls 100k in 2022, while also qualifying for the 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:17:02 marathon personal best.

Notable Wins

• — UTMB 2015 3rd
• — Western States 100 2015 8th
• — Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile 2019 winner
• — Desert Solstice 100 Mile 2021 winner
• — Gorge Waterfalls 100k 2022 winner
• — Chuckanut 50k 2013 winner
• — Waldo 100k 2013 winner
• — 2015 Ultrarunner of the Year

Race History