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2022 WSER Lottery Numbers

Last updated: December 2, 2021 at 21:46 pm

The 2022 race lottery will be held on December 4, 2021 in front of a live audience at the Placer High School auditorium in Auburn, CA beginning at 8:00 a.m. PST. We expect to be done by 11:00 a.m. As names are pulled from the hat, they will be posted at https://lottery.wser.org as close to real-time as possible. There will also be a live video feed on our Facebook Page.

Each applicant ran a qualifying race of 100k or longer within the last two years to be eligible to enter. Some have done so for many years. Each runner who enters the lottery and fails to gain entry into the Run (and otherwise doesn’t gain an entry via other means such as an aid station, sponsor, or HOKA Golden Ticket spot) will have additional tickets in the hat when entering the lottery the following year, thus improving the probability of being selected. Every lottery applicant will receive 2^(n-1) tickets in the hat where n is the number of years entering the lottery without gaining entry. That is, 1st year applicants = 1 ticket, 2nd year = 2 tickets, 3rd year = 4 tickets, 4th year = 8 tickets, and so on. The maximum number of years for the 2022 lottery is 8 years or 128 tickets.

You can view the final 2022 applicants and their ticket counts. And here are final tickets that will be printed and put in the big drum.

Beginning with this lottery, the requirement to enter consecutive lotteries has been relaxed. See our post from March 2021 for more details.

After the cancellation in 2020 and then starting fewer than our allowed 369 starters in 2021, The US Forest Service is allowing us to start 385 runners in 2022 (then 380 in 2023 and 375 in 2024). As we began in 2017, we are using a wait list model instead of overbooking like we had for decades to get the target number of starters which is the number we are legally allowed to run through the Granite Chief Wilderness. 162 of those 385 are automatic entrants. 223 will be drawn in the lottery. The final three entrants to get to 385 will be drawn from those in the audience. We will also draw an additional 75 names for the ordered wait list. The probabilities of being selected as one of the 223 in the lottery or 75 on the wait list (298) are as follows:

  • 18 runners with 128 tickets, each has a 77.2 % chance of getting drawn
  • 59 runners with 64 tickets, each has a 52.3 % chance of getting drawn
  • 186 runners with 32 tickets, each has a 30.9% chance of getting drawn
  • 328 runners with 16 tickets, each has a 16.9 % chance of getting drawn
  • 514 runners with 8 tickets, each has a 8.8 % chance of getting drawn
  • 722 runners with 4 tickets, each has a 4.5 % chance of getting drawn
  • 1063 runners with 2 tickets, each has a 2.3% chance of getting drawn
  • 3318 runners with 1 ticket, each has a 1.1% chance of getting drawn

So what are the chances of getting into the race if you are selected for the wait list? In 2021 we exhausted the wait list which was rolled over from 2020. In 2019 the last person to get a spot on the starting line was drawn 31st. In 2018 the 36th person on the list got in, in 2017 the 39th person got in. All the historical data from the wait lists can be found here.

Good luck to all.

Posted in Race News | on: December 2nd, 2021 by Craig | Comments Off on 2022 WSER Lottery Numbers

Dylan Bowman Named to WSER Board

The Board of Directors for the Western States Endurance Run has named Dylan Bowman to the board, WSER President Diana Fitzpatrick announced Monday.

Bowman, 35, a three-time finisher at Western States has been an elite-level ultra runner for more than a decade. He is considered an influential voice in the sport, having served as host of one of the sport’s leading podcasts, “The Pyllars Podcast with Dylan Bowman,” which provides insight into ultrarunning, sports, business and the outdoor industry as well as serving as commentator for the live broadcasts provided by Western States and the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) over the past year.

“We are incredibly pleased and very excited to have Dylan on our board,” Fitzpatrick said. “In many ways, Dylan represents where the sport of ultra running is today and where it is going in the future. He has long been a passionate advocate for building the sport in the right ways. Dylan clearly understands what our race’s legacy is and he is someone who we believe can help our organization bring that legacy to the next generation.

“Dylan’s perspective and his many talents as a communicator and community builder will help increase the reach of our race and will help us further bridge the digital connection in how we share ideas relevant to our race, how we present and share our race with a worldwide audience, and perhaps most importantly of all, how we can continue making strides in building an even stronger sense of community and inclusion in our sport.”

Bowman, who grew up in Colorado and is a former college lacrosse player, ran his first ultra at age 23 in 2009. Since then, he set the course record at New Zealand’s Tarawera 100K and notched other international victories including Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji and the Ultra-Trail Australia 100K. He is also an accomplished FKT runner, having set the Wonderland (Washington) Trail FKT. This summer Bowman finished second at the Hardrock 100. In addition to his career in communications and digital media, Bowman is a former volunteer coach for the 1,000 Mile Club, a running club for incarcerated men held at the Bay Area’s San Quentin Prison.

Bowman’s appointment came about following the retirement from the board of Mark Falcone. Falcone announced earlier this spring he would be stepping down after serving on the board in a variety of capacities for more than 15 years. In addition to countless hours devoted to stewarding the Western States Trail through trail work, Falcone was one of the few Western States board members to ever also serve on the board of the Tevis Cup horse ride.

Posted in General Interest, Race News, WSER Foundation | on: September 20th, 2021 by Craig | Comments Off on Dylan Bowman Named to WSER Board

GU ENERGY LABS NAMED PERFORMANCE NUTRITION SPONSOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WESTERN STATES, GU ENERGY LABS REACH SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT

GU Energy Labs to serve as exclusive performance nutrition sponsor

AUBURN, California – The Western States Endurance Run (WSER) and GU Energy Labs are proud to announce that GU Energy Labs is now the exclusive performance nutrition sponsor for Western States.

“We are so excited to have GU as our exclusive nutrition sponsor,” said Diana Fitzpatrick, president of the Western States Endurance Run Foundation (WSERF). “Our race has a long and established history in our sport, and GU also has a long and established history in developing cutting-edge sports nutrition products that have helped revolutionize human performance in endurance events.

“GU’s strong community-based values, in addition to the quality products they produce, make this a perfect match. We couldn’t be happier to have GU as our partner.”

“I could not be more proud to return to our partnership with Western States as performance nutrition sponsor and support the tremendous work of the foundation,” said GU Co-Founder and CEO Brian Vaughan. “GU was born and tested on the trails of this historic race nearly three decades ago and has fueled some of its finest finishes over the years.”

“Beyond the race itself, I’m excited to support the foundation’s substantial community and trail stewardship initiatives, which preserve and maintain the trail system for all to enjoy.”

As exclusive nutrition sponsor, GU will provide a full suite of hydration, energy, and recovery products on course, including both their original and ROCTANE Energy Gels, new Liquid Energy Gels, Hydration Drink Tabs and ROCTANE Energy Drink. ROCTANE Protein Recovery Drink will be available to runners at the finish. Additionally, to fulfill its mission to be maximally sustainable, GU will supply reusable HydraPak SpeedCups and HydraPak 5-serving gel flasks to athletes and facilitate the recycling of all brands of sports nutrition wrappers on course through TerraCycle.

About Western States Endurance Run

Western States, first run in 1974, is the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race and one of the most prestigious. Each June, 369 runners from across the US and around the world embark from the start line in Olympic Valley, California, to take tackle a challenging course to the coveted finish line at Placer High School in Auburn, California.

About GU Energy Labs

GU Energy Labs strives to help athletes to reach their highest potential with products that deliver the right nutrients, in the right amounts, at the right time. Developed in collaboration with Olympians and age groupers alike, the GU nutrition matrix of Hydration, Energy and Recovery products has helped countless athletes achieve their dreams since its inception in 1993. Headquartered in Berkeley, GU Energy Labs produces all of its Energy Gels onsite with just the right blend of heart and science. Recommit to becoming your best athletic self, learn more about GU products, and discover how nutrition planning can help you get there at www.guenergy.com.

Posted in General Interest, Race News | on: April 9th, 2021 by Craig | Comments Off on GU ENERGY LABS NAMED PERFORMANCE NUTRITION SPONSOR

Lottery Changes Announced

The Western States Endurance Run has implemented the following changes to the annual lottery, effective immediately:

1. Runners will no longer need to have consecutive qualifiers to keep their ticket count in the lottery. Each runner will keep their ticket count active after failing to get drawn in the annual lottery. The next time they qualify and apply, regardless of when that is, their ticket count will double per the WSER 2^(n-1) formula.

All runners who entered the 2020 race lottery (held Dec 2019) will keep their 2020 ticket count. Runners who exercised their One-Time Lottery Bye in 2020 will keep their 2019 ticket count. All women currently using the Pregnancy Lottery Deferral can reenter the lottery at any time and will maintain their ticket count from the year they declared the deferral. All other runners will start at zero, and receive one ticket when they first qualify and apply.

Example

Mia has previously qualified four consecutive years and did not get drawn in the most recent lottery (the 2020 lottery, held December 2019). She had 8 tickets in that lottery. The next time she qualifies and applies to the WS lottery – regardless of whether that is next year, 2025, or 2032 – her ticket count will be 16.

2. The One-Time Lottery Bye is eliminated as it is no longer necessary.

3. The Pregnancy Lottery Deferral is eliminated as it is no longer necessary.

4. Entrants who withdraw from the Race before 1 p.m. on the day before the Race will maintain their ticket count from their most recent lottery the next time they enter the lottery. (Previously, entrants who withdrew from the Race prior to Race day would start over at one ticket in their next lottery.)

5. The Pregnancy Entry Deferral (for women entered in the Race who become pregnant prior to Race day) remains in effect, except that there is no time limit on how long a woman may defer her entry into the Race. To reenter the Race, they must run a qualifier and inform the Race Director of their intention to enter prior to the lottery for that year’s Race.

Posted in General Interest, Race News | on: March 22nd, 2021 by Craig | Comments Off on Lottery Changes Announced