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2018 Runner Survey Results

Here are the results of the independent Western States Endurance Run (WSER) Runner Survey from the June 23-24, 2018 race, conducted by ultralive.net.

WSER runner registration takes place in Squaw Valley Friday before race day and 2018 allowed for another year of the ultralive survey team to be in position. Runners are happy to participate while they wait in line for check-in providing us a 95% participation rate of the 369 starters.

Here are the surveys from 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Survey Questions

The runners were asked the following questions. Data was recorded by bib number allowing us to correlate the responses to finish times to make the analysis even more interesting. All data however is compiled and reported anonymously:

  • Number of 100’s completed
  • Number of years running ultras
  • Will they use a crew?
  • Will they use a pacer?
  • Did they attend the Memorial weekend training camp
  • Shoe brand
  • Sock brand
  • Pack type/brand
  • Lighting brand
  • Did they pay for coaching services?
  • A few questions about lodging for the race to share with host sites

This year’s race was the 9th hottest on record but that fact did not seem to impact the runners. Of the 369 starters we saw 299 finishers (81%) under 30 hours of which 123 (33.3%) finished under the coveted 24 hour mark for a Silver Buckle.

A total of 284 of the 299 finshers (95%) are in the survey.

Note: All graphs show numbers related to runners who participated in the survey and finished the race. DNS and DNF are not included in the final graphs.

Finish Hour

For sub 24 hour finishers completing the survey, 43 out of 123 (35%) finished in the 23rd hour of the race to get a silver buckle (compared to 36.2% in 2017 with only 69 Silver Buckles). In the last two hours of the race, there were 101 (40%) finishers. The busiest times on the track are typically between 4-5 AM and 9-11 AM on Sunday morning and 2018 proved no different. The graphs show the distribution of finishers by hour (14 hours to 29 hours).

Despite the heat in this year’s race, the finish rate of 81% is much higher than last year’s 67.2%.
An interesting data point for this year is that only “experienced” runners had a DNF – at least one 100 completed and over a year of ultrarunning.

Shoes

This is the fifth year Hoka was the most popular shoe (34.9%) for all finishers with Altra staying in second place with 23.2%. Salomon (10.9%) again was ahead of Brooks (6.0%) which was the second most popular shoe just three years ago (2015). The rankings remained the same for the top 3 most popular shoes with the sub-24 hour finishers as well. We acknowledge some runners did plan to change shoes during the race and may have changed to a different brand so we asked that they provide the brand they planned to start the race wearing.

Socks

Injinji was just barely the favorite over Drymax for the most popular sock choice for finishers. And it was Drymax ahead by sixteen over Injinji for the sub-24 hour finishers. The “other” category was quite large this year and runners seem to like a large variety of socks.

Paid Coaching Services

A little over a quarter of the runners use a paid coaching service for both the overall and sub-24 hour finishers. And from the data it seems that using a coach does not decrease the chance of a DNF compared to the finishers.

Memorial Weekend Training Camp

The training camp held on Memorial Weekend is a great weekend to get on the course for those running, supporting or spectating the race. Only a third of the runners in the survey attended the camp. However, attending camp does not seem to decrease the chance of a DNF as 38% of the runners who did not complete the race were at the training camp.

Lighting

Petzl’s remains the favorite light brand for all runners regardless of finish time (sub or over-24 hour) with Black Diamond second again. Only one runner was able to complete the course without a light – Jim Walmsley (and he did have a Petzl just in case!)


Packs

Salomon was the top choice for all runners (sub 24 and overall) with Ultimate Direction and Nathan in second and third. Not everyone chooses and pack and 38 responded to the survey saying they would only use handheld bottles for the race.


Crew and Pacer

The use of a crew and/or pacer are personal preference during a 100-mile race but may be more popular at WS – what are your thoughts? The following chart shows the correlation of using a pacer or crew to finish hour.


Special recognition should go to the 18 runners in the survey with no crew and no pacer. Five of them managed to finish in less than 24 hours to earn a well deserved silver buckle.

Data Accuracy

369 runners started the 2018 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run

Ultralive.net team surveyed a majority of those runners through the registration process at Squaw Final survey reflects N = 353 (95.6%) athletes though individual questions may vary if athlete did not answer or know answer. And also note that this analysis was done by amateur statisticians and inspired by the Ironman “bike survey” in Kona.

Credits

The team would like to thank all of the runners who took time to talk with us and answer these questions. Many thanks to the ultralive.net survey team: Kara Teklinski, Emily Yu and Jessi Goldstein.

Any feedback or insights are welcome!

Posted in General Interest, Race News, Surveys | on: July 5th, 2018 by Craig | Comments Off on 2018 Runner Survey Results

Western States Radio Communications

This article originally appeared in the 2018 WSER Race Program and was written by Joe Steinmetz, WSER Ham Radio Coordinator

One of the most challenging aspects of the Western States Endurance Run is its rugged, remote trails, most dating back to the Gold Rush era. As much as these trails pose a challenge for the runners, they also provide a challenge for communications and the team of volunteers responsible for tracking them.

In today’s connected world, we can take communications for granted.  However, there is little or no cell coverage at most of the 21 aid stations that span the 100 miles of the Western States Endurance Run. Where there is limited cell phone coverage, network congestion can make reliable communication problematic, which can hinder any emergency operation that may be required.

Because of this, the Western States Endurance Run has always relied heavily on HAM radio communications for the safety and well-being of the runners, crews and volunteers. HAM radio is also used to track the location and time of runners along the course.

There are 369 runners (and their associated crews) and over 1500 volunteers along the Western States course. Of the 1500 volunteers, there are roughly 100 HAM radio operators.  You will find the “HAMs” spread out along the course: as radio-equipped sweep runners, aid-station radio operators, and “Net Control” at the finish.  They all play an important role in ensuring every runner’s safety.

Net Control: Net Control is the nerve center of all race logistics, communication, and webcast. Race management is on station for the entire event, and they work closely with the HAM radio operators to track all runners’ status and ensure access to emergency services  to anyone along the course, if needed.  At any time, there can be as many as 20 people inside Net Control efficiently coordinating the status of all runners on course.

Net Control (credit: Laurie Thornley)

Aid Stations: All aid stations, except the last two, have dedicated radio operators providing voice communications back to Net Control.  These HAMs use voice communications to communicate runner bib numbers and times, logistics related to evacuation or supplies, and most importantly any emergency communications.

Because there is no power at most aid stations, all radio communications must be done “off the grid”. So, you may see radio setups connected to car batteries, solar panels, or small generators. Because some of the locations are so remote, large antennas at heights of 35 feet may be required to reliably get a signal back to Net Control. The figure below shows the radio tent, antenna and equipment at Lyon Ridge for a typical remote site.

Lyon Ridge (credit: David Nishikawa)

Sweep Runners: Sweep runners ensure all runners are accounted for between aid stations. Each sweep team has at least two radio-equipped sweeps that can communicate with Net Control along the trail.  In this way, Net Control can quickly be notified of any runners requiring medical assistance or evacuation.

Two Sweep Runners (credit: Megan Barkve)

Repeaters: Linking all of these HAMs together is complex. Repeaters must be used by HAM radio operators along the race course as well as by Net Control for all voice communication. Repeaters are used to “relay” communication for one location to another. The Western States Endurance Run uses approximately 12 different HAM radio repeater systems to provide adequate coverage as runners spread out along the course. The repeaters are generally located on various mountain-tops. They are owned by HAM radio organizations and are provided to special events such as the Western States as a public service. The repeaters allow multiple aid stations to be active with communications simultaneously. They are used strategically based on their location relative to the location of the aid stations to ensure the best possible signal.

Voice Repeater

 

In some strategic locations, it may also be necessary to temporarily place a “portable-repeater” to ensure reliable communication for our sweep runners. These “portable-repeaters” will link in to other repeaters to reliably form a network of robust coverage throughout the course. The following figure shows how a portable repeater solves problems for the race.

Portable Repeater

WinLink: Voice communications are just part of  the Western States communication infrastructure.  It use to be quite tedious and error prone to verbally communicate runner numbers and arrival times at every aid station. To solve this problem, the Western States Endurance Run makes use of a technology called “WinLink 2000”. This technology essentially allows you to send an email over the radio consisting of a list of runner bib numbers and arrival times.  As amazing as this technology is, the speeds are still very slow at 1200 baud (remember dial up modems?) This is because of the complexity of reliably sending digital “data” over amateur radio. Despite the slow speed, because of the improvements in accuracy, WinLink can be used to communicate a runners status from the most remote location with minimal delay.

Rucky Chucky Radio/Winlink Setup (credit: Steve Tjonpiangi)

Digipeaters: WinLink equipped aid stations don’t use voice repeaters to get their emails back to Net Control. Instead they must find a particular “route” through various “nodes” before ultimately finding a suitable “gateway” to deliver the email to the internet. In some cases, there are gateways that can be directly accessed from an aid station. In other cases a message must “hop” from one node to another before finally being able to access the internet through a gateway. The ability to “hop” from one node to another is accomplished using a Digipeater or a KA-node. These are simply “digital-repeaters”, just like the voice counterparts, but optimized for digital traffic. Some are located on high mountain-tops, just like the voice repeaters, while others are temporarily placed in a strategic locations just for the race.

Hot Spots: There are just a couple of aid stations with reliable access to cell phone data networks. At these aid stations the runner bib numbers and arrival times are transmitted directly into the webcast database.

Keeping runners, crews and volunteers safe is our #1 priority. We are very appreciative of all the HAM radio volunteers as well as the local HAM radio community for making valuable radio infrastructure available to Western States Endurance Run.

Posted in General Interest | on: July 3rd, 2018 by Joe Steinmetz | Comments Off on Western States Radio Communications