The Western States Endurance Run (WSER) is the oldest and most prestigious 100-mile race in the world. This year will be the 51st running of the race and promises to be one of the most competitive yet. There will be tears and blisters and heat and drama and amazing human performances. One of the exciting things about the WSER is that there are three dramatic finishing times. First, the elites and outright winners; second, those reaching for the silver buckle in under 24 hours; And third, those striving to beat that drop-dead cutoff time of thirty hours. This may be the only race in the world where the winner hangs around and runs in with the last-place finisher.
How it Began
It began with horses. In 1955 Wendell T. Robie and five others wanted to find out if horses could ride 100 miles in under 24 hours. They did, riding from the post office in Tahoe City to Auburn, completing the ride in under 24 hours, and subsequently started the Western States Trail Organization and a race, called the Tevis Cup. A number of soldiers attempted to 'run' the course in the early 70’s, seven of them finished in under 48 hours. In 1972, Gordy Ainsleigh said, "Hold my beer", and ran the route in 20 hours and forty-two minutes, the first human in under 24 hours. The race was officially born in 1977 with 14 athletes, one finishing in under 24 hours, and two finishing under thirty. And ever since the race has grown in size, prestige, and competitiveness.
What the course is like
It's a tough course, no doubt about that. Though, perhaps, not the toughest in the ultra-world. The start line is in Olympic Valley (the valley formerly known as 'Squaw'), home of the 1960 Winter Olympics, at 6200 feet in altitude. The course immediately climbs 2500 feet, straight up the ski slopes to the highest point, Emigrant Pass, at 8750 feet. Roughly four miles of the trail, just after the pass, go through the Granite Chief Wilderness Area, the importance of which is explained below. It then warbles its way up and down, but generally down, for 30-some miles to Robinson flat. This is the high country section, averaging around 7,000 feet in altitude and parts of the trail are wet, even in low snow years.
Leaving Robinson Flat is a short uphill that marks the end of the high country section and beginning of the "boiling frog" half-marathon. It's about 13 miles of easy downhill that takes runners from the high country into the beginning of the canyons. 13 miles of gradually climbing heat to the Last Chance aid station and ghost town. Robinson Flat to Last Chance is a drop of 2000 feet in 13 miles, and after Last Chance, the trail falls into a canyon, Deadwood, and does almost the same amount of drop in only three miles, then you gotta climb 1500 feet back out of the canyon to Devil's Thumb. That's the steepest climb of the race. But of course, this is the canyons section –plural– and El Dorado canyon is next, with more drop and more rise than Deadwood, but a little more gradual, also, you pass the Deadwood Cemetery to remind you that this is serious business.
Temperatures in the canyons have gotten over 110 degrees in some races. This year, hopefully, it won't get that bad, but is still likely to be over a hundred. Heat training is an integral part of anyone's WSER training. The Michigan Bluff aid station marks the end of wicked canyons and the first spectator spot since Robinson Flat. Shortly thereafter there is a section on actual road and a bit of a tease of civilization with the Foresthill Aid station. An aid station that's actually in a town with full and easy access for everyone, so it's the best place for spectators along the route. We're now at mile 62 but it's time to head back into the wilds.
If it weren't for the heat, and the fact that you've already run 62 miles, the next part might be pleasant. It's 16 miles of relatively easy trail, mostly down, to the world-famous Rucky Chucky river crossing. Perhaps the best way to describe Rucky Chucky is to quote the WSER participant guide: "The ford is dangerous and SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED ON TRAINING RUNS." In high water years, they'll even have boats.After Rucky Chucky (fun name, btw, right?), which is 78 miles in, the route goes up, it goes down, it goes over a bridge, and it crosses the highway. Generally not that challenging (relatively speaking, of course), but the added complication is that most runners other than the elites will be doing some or all of the final thirty miles in the dark.
The trail goes over the No Hands Bridge across the North Fork American River, the lowest point on the course and it's uphill for a couple of miles and finally (finally, phew) downhill to the Placerville High School track and the finish line.
Along the way, there are 20 aid stations, most with medical support, some with access for the runner's crews, a couple that are spectator-friendly, all with charming and helpful volunteers passing out delicious treats and lifesaving water. And you want to know something that sounds really mean to me? The lowest point in the course is about mile 97. That's right, several of the last three miles are steeply uphill! But the nearer the finish it's downhill and finally ends on the high school track.
Basic Race Deets:
- The race begins at 5 am on Saturday, June 29th.
- The first male finishers are likely to be after 7:00 pm
- The first female finishers are likely to be after 8:30 pm.
- To earn the coveted silver belt buckle a runner must finish in under 24 hours.
- A finisher under 30 hours gets a bronze belt buckle.
- Finishing over thirty hours does not count as an official finish.
- The race began in 1977 with 14 runners.
- This will be the 51st running of the race.
Who to Watch
The favorite on the men's side is course record holder and three-time winner, Jim Walmsley. He'll be toeing the line with other fast runners such as Hayden Hawks, who had to drop last year with an injury, and Tyler Green, who's been second at Western States twice.
On the women's side, last year's runner-up and second fastest of all time, Katie Schide, is the favorite but it's a strong field with six of the top ten runners from last year returning. Eszter Csillag, third last year is back and raring to go, Rachel Drake is a newcomer to WSER but has been on fire this year, and let's not forget Kaci Lickteig, winner in 2016 and going for her 10th finish.
Getting In
From its humble beginnings of 14 participants in 1977, the number of entrants has grown to a congressionally limited 369 runners (see the trivia section). The lottery system was implemented in 1981.
There are two general ways to get into the race but first you have to prove that you're capable of running ultra-distances by finishing one of the qualifying races under a specific time, the shortest of which is 100k (62 miles in American). The first of the two ways is the automatic qualification. There are about 10 automatic qualifications, everything from finishing in the top ten the year before to being in the top two or three of a "Golden Ticket Race"--of which there are six--, to being a nine times finisher attempting your tenth to being Gordy Ainsleigh (seriously, he's specifically mentioned as an automatic entrant). The largest group of automatic entrants is the Race Admin category. Each volunteer organization that is managing an aid station can designate a runner for entry. All told the number of automatic entrants is usually a little over 100.
The majority of people get in by way of the lottery. This year there were 9388 lottery applicants for the 250ish spots. To get in via the lottery, you do your qualifying race then apply. Your first year you get one 'ticket'. If your number isn't called then you get double the number of 'tickets' for the following year's lottery.
Lottery day itself is a whole thing, not only is everyone invited to join in person but there are three entries up for grabs in a random drawing in the meeting. The results are broadcast live.
Live coverage
For those of you watching from home, WSER has a YouTube channel, [WSER YouTube], broadcasting a live feed of the race.
Ultralive, [Ultralive] , will be tracking runners as they pass through the aid stations.
iRunFar will be providing live updates on their website: [iRunFar] and also on Twitter:[iRunFar]
There is a WSER app, for both Android and iPhone, allows you to follow your favorites.
And I, will be posting as much as I can on:[Instagram]
[Threads]
[Twitter]
Keep in mind that much of the race is in the wilderness, and even in Auburn they may have transmission issues, the coverage can be quirky.
Interesting Trivia:
- The race has been canceled twice. Once in 2008 for fires, and in 2020 because of the plague.
- 2023 had the highest percentage of finishers with 86.5% (aside from when Gordy was the only starter and the only finisher)
- The fastest men will complete the race in the 14 - 15 hour range, the record time is 14:09:28, set in 2019 by Jim Walmsley, who is this year's favorite. The women will complete it in 15 to 18 hours. Courtney Dauwalter won the race last year in a record time of 15:29:34. She, unfortunately, will not be racing this year.
- The oldest woman to finish is Gunhild Swanson in 2015, this year the oldest attempting is Iris Cooper, 65.
- The oldest man to finish was Nick Bassett in 2018, this year Eric Spector will break that record if he finishes, he's 77.
- The route crosses twenty-two bridges.
- All crew, or anyone really, can run with competitors from the last aid station through to the finish.
- There are four miles of the race, roughly miles six to ten, that cross through the Granite Chief Wilderness. Normally, it's illegal to have events in Wilderness areas, but the law creating the Granite Chief Wilderness area explicitly gives permission for WSER to be run on these trails. The law states that the maximum number of entrants will be the number of competitors from the year before. Hence the 369 cap.
How to Spectate in Person
Due to the inaccessible nature of much of the trail, spectating is best in the places: the start, the finish, the escarpment, Robinson Flat aid station, and Foresthill.
The start is in the meadow, south of the Olympic House and Funitel Base in Palisades Village. There is plenty of parking, it is a ski resort after all. Good place for last-minute well-wishing, getting all amped for the race, hugs and high fives, and 'the before' picture.
Also, there are events taking place on the two days before the race, Thursday and Friday, that anyone can attend, like runner briefings (Friday) and elites and VIP panels (Thursday).
The escarpment is straight up the mountain, four miles from the start, and a great place to see the runners at one of the most physically demanding parts of the race (altitude, long uphill, and perhaps having started too fast due to excessive adrenaline). Also, the sunrise. It does take some work. You'll need to plan for that hard hike to get there before the runners do, and the leaders will probably be going faster than you expect. It's said to be quite magical seeing the runners gasping over the top of the hill in the sunrise.
Robinson Flat is just after mile 30 for the runners and should take you about 2.5 hours to get there from the start, according to the WSER website. It's a drive all the way down to Auburn then back up a narrow, winding, mountain road, and finally a shuttle from parking to the aid station. Quick note, on the WSER website section about spectating it says an hour to Robinson Flat. I believe this is a mistake, in the crew section they say 2.5 hours (as does Google and Bing maps).
Robinson Flat is the first big aid station where everyone is allowed, it's after almost the first third of the course and (roughly) demarcates the change in terrain from high country to canyons. The first runners should get there around 9:30 am, give or take, the 24-hour runners about two hours later, and the final cut-off is 2:10 pm. Another quick side note, many people recommend that spectators don't go to Robinson Flat, or, at the very least make sure to give up shuttle spots and the closest parking spaces to the crews.
Foresthill is a party. The course goes through the town, so there's plenty of parking, it's easy to get there, lots of room to see the runners, and facilities like restaurants. It's a good place to plant yourself and watch the race before heading to the finish just down the road. For the spectator it's ‘just down the road’, the runners still have 38 hot miles left. The first runners may get there as early at 2:00 pm (or earlier if they're on record pace), 24-hour runners will be there in the early evening and the final cutoff time is 11:45 pm.
The final recommended spectating spot is the final spot; the finish. The finish line is like Foresthill but more so: parking, facilities, viewing opportunities, and all the drama that a finish line entails. The finish line is on the track at Placer High School in Auburn.
Awards
The men's and women's winners each receive a cougar trophy and get their names engraved on the Wendell Robie Cup perpetual trophy (with the caveat that they do have to have finished in under 24 hours).
Sub-24-hour racers earn the silver belt buckle.
Sub-30-hour runners earn the bronze belt buckle.
There are age group awards for the top three finishers in each of five age groups: 39 and under; 40 - 49; 50 - 59; 60 - 69; and 70+
Pacers and Crew
Runners are allowed to have a crew and pacers. The crew can meet them at certain select aid stations, bringing them food and drinks and changes of clothing and love and encouragement.
Starting at the Foresthill aid station (or Michigan Bluff if it's after 8 pm ) the runners can have a pacer run with them. The two main jobs of the pacers are, to keep the runner entertained and motivated. And two, to keep them safe. Which makes a whole lot of sense, can you imagine running alone in the woods at night after having run for 12+ hours? Exactly, pacers act as the voice of reason. They are strictly forbidden from carrying anything for the runners.
