June 28-29, 2014
Full Results and Splits
And here is our 2014 Sizzle Reel from our friends at UltraSportsLive.tv
Next year’s race is June 27-28, 2015
MEDIA ALERT
CONTACT: John Trent, media relations, (775) 842-4871, president at wser.org
WESTERN STATES 100, ULTRA-TRAIL WORLD TOUR, TO ADDRESS ‘STATE OF THE SPORT’ AT PRESS CONFERENCE ON JUNE 27
AUBURN, Calif. – Media are invited to attend a joint press conference, “The State of the Sport,” sponsored by the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run and representatives of the Ultra-Trail World Tour (UTWT) on Friday, June, 27 in Squaw Valley, Calif.
The event will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will be held at the Squaw Valley Conference Center.
Several of the world’s finest ultra runners, along with representatives from the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, UTWT, and WS 100 presenting sponsor Montrail will be on hand to discuss this year’s Western States 100-Miler, the UTWT and its impact to date on the sport and upcoming events on the UTWT 2014 schedule. The UTWT is a series of 10 races held across the globe with rankings for runners of all abilities who finish the races. At the culmination of the year, the title of “Ultra-Trail World Tour Champion 2014” will be awarded to the top male and female finishers.
Western States is the only North American stop on the UTWT.
WHAT: Press conference, “State of the Sport,” sponsored by WS 100 and UTWT.
WHERE: Squaw Valley Conference Center, Squaw Valley, Calif.
WHEN: 2:30 p.m., Friday, June 27.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: John Trent, media relations, (775) 842-4871, president at wser.org
WESTERN STATES 100 FEATURES DEEP ELITE FIELD, TRIUMPHANT RETURN FROM ‘AMERICAN FIRE’
AUBURN, Calif. – The 41st running of the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race, the Western States 100-Mile Endurance, promises to be one of the most memorable in the event’s long and venerable history.
More than 360 runners, from throughout the United States as well as 25 countries, will toe the starting line in Squaw Valley, Calif., at 5 a.m. on Saturday, June 28 with a clear goal in mind: the finish line 100 miles distant at Placer High School in Auburn, Calif.
The field includes several of the top names in the sport of ultramarathoning, including last year’s women’s champion, Oregon’s Pam Smith, as well men’s runner-up Rob Krar, 37, of Flagstaff, Ariz. The deep competition at the front will be augmented this year with the presence of several international ultra standouts, competing as part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour (UTWT), a series of the world’s most prestigious ultra runs. The first-year tour has one North American stop: Western States. The group of international stars running at Western States includes such notables as Miguel Heras of Spain, who was second in 2013’s Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), France’s Thomas Lorblanchet, the 2012 Leadville (Colo.) 100-mile champion, Ryan Sandes of South Africa, Western States’ 2012 runner-up, and 2013 IAU world trail champion Natalie Mauclair of France on the women’s side.
As has been the case for the past several years, the depth of the men’s and women’s fields has been deepened thanks to the race’s ongoing relationship with presenting sponsor Montrail and the Montrail Ultra Cup, a nationwide series of trail ultras which guarantees top finishers a spot at Western States. The Montrail Ultra Cup’s men’s and women’s champions will also be crowned during race weekend.
Race Director Craig Thornley said if the talent at the front is any indication of race success, this year’s edition of Western States has the potential to continue the string of recent memorable runs at Western States, such as the “Unbreakable” duel and course record-breaking performance of Geoff Roes in 2010, Timothy Olson’s course record breaking run of 14:46 in 2012, as well as Olson and Smith’s courageous and scintillatingly fast runs in near-record heat in 2013.
“We have a great group of returning runners, some fresh faces we haven’t seen before and some faces we haven’t seen in a couple of years,” Thornley said. “It should add up to an extremely exciting and competitive race. Western States continues to be the most competitive 100-mile race in the world for both men and women. This year is no exception.”
In addition to Krar, who finished in second in 15:22 in chasing Olson (15:17) to the line in 2013, top contenders include: Ian Sharman, 33, of Walnut Creek, Calif., fourth in 2013; Dylan Bowman, 28, of Emerald Hills, Calif., fifth last year; Nick Clark, 40, of Fort Collins, Colo., sixth last year and gunning for Mike Morton’s master’s record of 15:45; Jez Bragg, 33, of Blandford, Forum, Great Britain, and a past top-five performer at Western States; and Max King, 34, of Bend, Ore., one of the most talented and versatile ultra runners in the world who will be making his 100-mile debut at Western States.
On the women’s side, Smith’s run of 18:37 in last year’s oppressive conditions where temperatures topped out well above 100 degrees, remains one of the most impressive efforts in recent memory. The 39-year-old pathologist from Salem, Ore., will be pressed by three-time Western States champion Nikki Kimball, who finished second in 2013; the ageless Meghan Arbogast, 53, of Cool, Calif., fourth last year and generally considered the finest over-50 runner in the world; Emily Harrison, 27, of Flagstaff, Ariz., seventh last year, as well as two young, talented ultra runners who will be marking their Western States debuts: Stephanie Howe, 30, of Bend, Ore., and runner-up to Harrison at the highly competitive Lake Sonoma 50-miler in April; and Kaci Lickteig, 27, of Omaha, Neb., who has third at Lake Sonoma and second at the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler in Texas earlier this year.
An added wrinkle to this year’s race narrative is the course itself. An iconic and historic section of the trail from Last Chance to near Devil’s Thumb was hit hard by last August’s American Fire. The fire, which raged from Aug. 10-29, consumed more than 27,000 acres, involved more than 1,900 firefighters and had a footprint of nearly 30 square miles. Western States, working in collaboration with the Western States Trail Foundation/Tevis Cup horse ride, mobilized a motivated group of volunteers who throughout the winter and fall accumulated more than 6,000 hours to bring the burned areas of the trail back.
The effort included installation of a new bridge where the Pacific Slab Mine Bridge once stood heading into the Deadwood Canyon section of the course (pieces of the new bridge were hauled nearly one mile into the deep, steep canyon, carried on the backs of a group of 50 volunteers), as well as mitigation efforts on burned areas such as the Pucker Point loop near the historic site of Last Chance.
Thornley said he was pleased to report that the approximate 10-mile stretch of the trail that was affected by the fire will be open, with no re-routing of the runners other than a river crossing by safety cable at the bottom of Deadwood Canyon at the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River.
“What our volunteers and the joint trail team between Western States, the Tevis Cup and our partners from the Forest Service have accomplished over the past few months has been really remarkable,” Thornley said. “The community of ultra runners and trail team workers has really come together to accomplish something very special. The Western States Trail is back and open for use. We couldn’t be prouder of what our people have done to help make this happen. A big ‘thank you’ to all of our volunteers.”
This year’s Western States will feature several special events leading up to the race start on the morning of June 28. Here is a brief recap of the week’s schedule:
Tuesday, June 24 and Wednesday, June 25:
8 a.m.-5 p.m., First Annual Medicine in Ultra-Endurance Sports Conference in Squaw Valley, led by Western States Medical Research Director, Dr. Marty Hoffman;
Thursday, June 26:
10 a.m., Trek to Emigrant Pass for annual flag raising at Watson Monument. Program begins at noon;
6:30 p.m., Veteran’s Panel hosted by Andy Jones-Wilkins, Squaw Valley Conference Center.
Friday, June 27:
9 a.m.-1 p.m., runner check-in and drop bag drop-off, Start Line Arch at Olympic Plaza in Squaw Valley;
10 a.m., Montrail 6K Uphill Challenge to High Camp;
1:30 p.m., pre-race meeting and briefing, Squaw Valley Conference Center;
2:30 p.m., Ultra-Trail World Tour Press Conference featuring several of the sport’s stars, Squaw Valley Conference Center.
Saturday, June 28:
5 a.m., race start from Start Line Arch, Squaw Valley;
Saturday evening: Men’s winner expected to arrive at Placer High School track, 7:45-8:15 p.m.; women’s winner expected to arrive at Placer High School track, 10-11 p.m.
Sunday, June 29:
5 a.m., last sub-24-hour silver belt buckle finisher has finished;
11 a.m., last official finisher has finished;
12:30 p.m., awards ceremony at Placer High School track.
Steve Marchi, a longtime river crossing cable captain at Rucky Chucky, passed away over the weekend.
Steve receives his Friend of the Trail Award in 2009
Steve, who was one of the prime contributors to ensuring the safe passage of all runners via a safety cable held by a line of volunteers across the American River just below a series of treacherous Class 4-6 rapids, was 59 years old.
Marchi’s wife, Jodi, informed race director Craig Thornley of Steve’s passing.
Steve had a long and notable career at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, where he worked from 1977 until his retirement in 2013. He was an active volunteer, giving his time not only at Western States, but also at local food banks.
“Steve set a wonderful example of how important all volunteers are to the success of our race,” said John Trent, president of the Western States Board of Trustees. “He not only braved frigid water through the day and into the early morning hours of the next day on race day for more than a decade, making sure that runners from all over the world could safely cross the Rucky Chucky river crossing, from what I understand he also actively recruited all his friends and neighbors to join him at the river crossing to do the same.
“Steve passed the spirit of our race onto many, many others, and for this our entire race owes a debt of gratitude to him. On behalf of the entire Western States board and our nearly 2,000 volunteers, I wish to express our sincere condolences to Steve’s wife, Jodi, and his sons, John, and Alex, for their loss.”
Friends and family are invited to a visitation on Thursday, June 12 from 6 to 10 p.m. and a funeral service at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 13 at Graham-Hitch Mortuary in Pleasanton. In lieu of flowers, Steve’s family wishes that donations may be made to the Alameda County Food Bank or Open Heart Kitchen.
To read more about Steve’s life, go to: Obituary from Contra Costa Times
The following was emailed to 2014 run participants on 4/29/2014
Presented by
Dear 2014 WS Entrant,
Hope your training is going well… Just 60 days until Dr Lind fires the shotgun in Squaw Valley to start the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run! This is your second Runner Update.
Preparations are going well from our end. The biggest challenge and effort has been getting the trail open after the American Fire burned approximately 19 miles of the Western States Trail last August. This has been an incredible collaborative effort on the part of the WSER trail crew and our dedicated partners: the Western States Trail Foundation (The Tevis), the US Forest Service, and the talented eight-member AmeriCorps crew, together with the many enthusiastic, skilled volunteers whose love of the trail inspires their hard work.
Pacific Slab Bridge Stringers
The fire burned two bridges that we use in the race. The smaller Pacific Slab bridge just west of Last Chance will be replaced this coming weekend. The Swinging Bridge over the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River will not be replaced until after the race. We will be fording that river with the aid of a cable. The crossing is not as long as the Rucky Chuck crossing at mile 78, but you will get wet. It is likely to be top-of-shorts level or less come Race Day. At mile 46, in the heat of the day just before you climb the steep switchbacks to the oasis known as Devil’s Thumb, this will be refreshing…and a special memory of Western States 2014.
To find out about upcoming trail work opportunities, please visit the joint trail work website wstrail.org.
Bib Numbers
Last weekend I assigned the bib numbers. I tried to give everybody the bib number they requested. Your number will not change so go ahead and use it on your crew shirts or drop bags.
Service Requirement and General Information Form
Your service requirement forms must received by May 15, 2014. Please check the confirmation page to ensure that your form has been received. Please don’t wait until the last minute, or make us contact you to ask where it is. This is a requirement of the WSER board, and has been so since 1998.
Please also take a few minutes to fill out the General Information Form so that Tropical John Medinger will have something to say about you as you run around the track at Placer HS on June 28 or 29.
Race Program
The 2014 race program will be available as a pdf download about two weeks before the race. You will receive your hard copy up at Squaw Valley when you check in. This will include a list of all runners, aid station information, shuttle service, etc.
Research and Medical Conference
In addition to trail stewardship and putting on a world-class 100 mile endurance run, the Western States Endurance Run Foundation is committed to supporting and promoting medical research to increase understanding of the effects of endurance sports on the human body. There will be several research studies this year. Details on participating in this year’s research studies will be sent out about six weeks before the race.
It’s not too late to register for the first Medicine and Science in Ultra Endurance Sports conference, which will be held on June 24 and 25 in Squaw Valley. Registration is $300, and medical professionals can get CME credits for attending. If you know somebody who might be interested in attending, please forward them the information.
Training Run Weekend
After the Cal St Memorial Weekend Training Run on Sunday, May 25, we have a special evening planned. Gordy Ainsleigh, Shannon Weil, and Dr. Bob Lind will talk about the birth of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. The discussion will be facilitated by 25-time WS finisher Tim Twietmeyer and 10-time finisher John Trent. Details can be found here.
Shannon Weil 1979
If we don’t see you at the training runs, we’ll #seeyouinsquaw.
Train Smart,
Craig Thornley, Race Director
Western States is a registered trademark of the Western States Endurance Run Foundation copyright © 2014 Western States Endurance Run Foundation.
