The Western States ® 100-Mile Endurance Run is the world’s oldest 100 mile trail race.

Race Date: June 27-28, 2026
Lottery Registration: November 1-21, 2025
Lottery Drawing: December 6, 2025

The Western States ® 100-Mile Endurance Run is the world’s oldest 100 mile trail race. The Run starts in Olympic Valley, California, near the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and ends 100.2 miles later in Auburn, California. In the decades since its inception in 1974, Western States has come to represent one of the ultimate endurance tests in the world.

Traversing the traditional lands of the Nisenan, Washoe, and other neighboring Indigenous Peoples, the Western States Trail climbs more than 18,000 feet and descends nearly 23,000 feet before runners reach the finish at Placer High School in Auburn. In the miles between Olympic Valley and Auburn, runners experience the majestic high country of Emigrant Pass and the Granite Chief Wilderness, the crucible of the canyons of the California gold country, a memorable crossing of the ice-cold waters of the Middle Fork of the American River, and finally the historic reddish brown trails that led many travelers, including gold prospectors, to Auburn.

For five decades, Western States has been home to some of the sport’s most stirring and legendary competitions. With more than 1,500 dedicated volunteers helping to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the Run continues to ignite the spirit of runners from all walks of life, from all over the globe.

Offering the sport’s oldest and most prized possession – a sub-24-hour silver belt buckle and a sub-30-hour bronze belt buckle – Western States remains one of the undisputed crown jewels of human endurance.

October 8, 2025 in General Interest, WSER Foundation

Diana Fitzpatrick Honored With Little Cougar

Diana Fitzpatrick, a longtime Western States Endurance Run (WSER) board member whose tenure as the organization’s president was one of historic achievement for the organization, has been named a recipient of the prestigious “Little Cougar” award, WSER President Topher Gaylord announced. The Little Cougar is awarded to individuals who have served the Western States Endurance Run organization through the years in extraordinarily significant ways. The Little Cougar is considered the pinnacle of all WSER awards and is not awarded annually. The most recent recipient of the Little Cougar was Ted Knudsen in 2019. “Diana’s contributions to the Western States Endurance…

October 8, 2025 in General Interest, Research, WSER Foundation

Hew-Butler Named WSER Medical Research Director

Dr. Tamara “Tami” Hew-Butler has been named Medical Research Director for the Western States Endurance Run, WSER President Topher Gaylord announced. Hew-Butler succeeds Dr. Emily Kraus and Dr. Megan Roche, who had served as Co-Medical Research Directors for WSER since 2022. “Tami brings an impressive array of professional achievement as a clinician and scientist, having been published extensively in some of the world’s most important exercise science journals,” Gaylord said, noting that Hew-Butler was the lead author and organizer of three International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Guidelines and previously was awarded two WSER research grants, as Principal Investigator/PI, which in turn…

June 30, 2025 in Race News

2025 Race Recap

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: John Trent, WSER Media Relations, press@wser.org HOT DAY, HOT FINISHES: OLSON AND HALL CAPTURE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TITLES AT 52ND WSER AUBURN, Calif. – On a day where the high temperature on the course reached 99 degrees at one point, men’s champion Caleb Olson and women’s champion Abby Hall posted two of the fastest winning times in race history during the Western 52nd annual Western States Endurance Run, held June 28-29. Olson, 29, of Draper, Utah, outdueled one of the deepest men’s fields ever assembled at Western States and came very close to establishing a course…

Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute

Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute Project – 2025 Update

The Western States Endurance Run (WSER), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service’s American River Ranger District (USFS) and the Western States Trail Foundation (WSTF), have made significant progress towards completing a project in Granite Chief Wilderness that will yield over 7 miles of new and rehabilitated trail. The existing trail was never really designed, contained unsustainable grades, and traversed stretches of sensitive habitat. The new trail was designed to current USFS trail building standards, has been re-routed out of sensitive habitat, and is higher up on the ridge with commanding views of area. After years of planning the project was approved in 2019. The USFS secured $1,200,000 in funding through the Great American Outdoors Act, and with an additional commitment of funding by WSER and WSTF construction began in the summer of 2023. In spite of a short 3-month snow-free construction season, the USFS, its contractors, and WSER & WSTF volunteers have made substantial progress these last 3 summers, and hope to have a significant portion of the new trail open for use in 2026, with the balance of the new trail open in 2028. Click here for more info.