Craig

2016 Lottery Statistics

Last updated: November 26, 2015 at 19:11 pm

There are 3510 applicants entered in the December 5, 2015 lottery for the 43rd running of the Western States Endurance Run on June 25-26, 2016 (a.k.a. the 2016 Lottery). This is a 37% increase from the previous year. Recall that we tightened the qualifying standards beginning with the 2015 lottery and saw a slight reduction of applicants.

As described on our lottery page, 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 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 consecutive 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, 5th year = 16 tickets, 6th year = 32 tickets, 7th year = 64 tickets. 2010 was the first year we started accumulating tickets so maximum number of years for the 2016 lottery is 7, or 64 tickets.

Here is final list of 2016 lottery applicants and the pdf of the tickets that will go into the barrel.

We expect to draw 270 unique names, and have calculated the probabilities of being selected as follows:

5 folks with 64 tickets, each has a 90.8% chance of getting drawn (4.5 estimated to be drawn)
14 folks with 32 tickets, each has a 69.7% chance of getting drawn (9.8)
71 folks with 16 tickets, each has a 44.9% chance of getting drawn (31.9)
171 folks with 8 tickets, each has a 25.8% chance of getting drawn (44.1)
377 folks with 4 tickets, each has a 13.8% chance of getting drawn (52.2)
639 folks with 2 tickets, each has a 7.2% chance of getting drawn (45.9)
2233 folks with 1 ticket, each has a 3.6% chance of getting drawn (81.6)

2016 Lottery Monte Carlo Simulation

The lottery will take place at the Placer HS auditorium, in Auburn, CA. We will begin introductions a little before 8:30 a.m. PST and then begin drawing names shortly thereafter. We expect to be done by 11 a.m.

As names are pulled from the hat, they will be posted at http://lottery.ultralive.net/ as close to real-time as possible. There will also be a live video feed at our Ustream channel.

Good luck to everyone.

Craig In General Interest, Race News

Altra Named Exclusive Footwear Sponsor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Craig Thornley, WS 100 race director, rd@wser.org. and
Colleen Logan, VP Marketing, clogan@iconfitness.com

ALTRA NAMED EXCLUSIVE FOOTWEAR SPONSOR OF WESTERN STATES 100

The world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race announces partnership with Altra Footwear

AUBURN, Calif. – Altra Footwear has been named the exclusive footwear sponsor of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, Western States 100 President John Medinger announced today. Altra is also the sponsor of the Altra 6K Uphill Challenge, beginning at the Western States start line and ending at High Camp. The Challenge takes place at 10 am on Friday, June 24 and is free and open to all.

“Over the course of the past several months, we talked to several footwear companies about their vision for a partnership with our Run,” Medinger said. “It became increasingly apparent, in our discussions with Altra Footwear Co-Founders Jeremy Howlett and Brian Beckstead, that Altra has a compelling vision for a partnership that we feel will immensely benefit our Run, the runners who come from across the globe to run our race, and the Western States community of friends and volunteers who have an incredible personal investment in what we do.

“Altra is a company that is clearly on a rapid and exciting trajectory. They are a company of high ethical grounding that appeals to all ability levels. And, they have a keen eye for where the sport is headed. They really do ‘get’ what we stand for as an organization, and they’ve made it very clear that our partnership will not only benefit our Run, but the sport in general.

“We are incredibly pleased to announce this partnership.”

Altra, which is located in Utah, traces its roots back to the work of founder Golden Harper, Beckstead and Howlett, who began experimenting with a better performing shoe which they named “ZeroDrop™” – the name refers to the lack of differential between the shoe’s heel and forefoot area. The shoe is also known for its distinctive FootShape™ toebox instead of the constrictive V-shaped toe box of virtually every other brand of running shoes.

“Altra Running and Western States Endurance Run are a natural combination, because we are both true pioneers in our respective fields,” said Brian Beckstead, Altra co-founder and VP of sales. “Western States invented the ultra-running race with the first ever 100-mile race in 1974. Altra pioneered running shoe design with a roomy foot-shaped toe box and a zero drop platform.”

Altra’s first – and only – product in their first line of shoes won “Best Debut” by Runner’s World in March 2012 and “Editor’s Pick for Most Innovative” by Competitor magazine in September 2011

When the line expanded to trail running shoes, the Altra Lone Peak was named “Editor’s Choice” by Runner’s World. Most recently, in Spring 2015, the Altra Superior 2.0 trail shoe won Editor’s Choice from both Runner’s World and Trail Runner. In Fall 2015, Altra Lone Peak Neoshell won “Best Weatherproof” from Competitor magazine, “Best Trail Running Shoes of 2015” from Men’s Journal and was selected for the Summer Gear Guide by Outside magazine.

The shoe’s unique Foot-Shaped toe box was an immediate hit with the ultra-running community, who necessarily spend continuous hours on their feet.

At the 2015 Western States 100, Altra shot to third place in the official shoe count at 16% of all finishers and 16% of all sub-24 finishers. In just a little more than 4 years, Altra has catapulted to the third largest trail shoe brand in the Run Specialty channel and now has 3 of the top 10 selling shoes in the industry, according to research from NPD.

“Ultra runners really appreciate Altra’s FootShape Toebox. It allows your toes to spread out which provides a relaxing comfortable place for your feet to be and provides a stable base over rocky terrain. At Mile 87 it’s particularly effective!” said Beckstead, who completed UTMB, Ultra Trail Mount Blanc in August in Chamonix, then two weeks later ran the Wasatch 100 in less than 30 hours.

The Western States 100-Mile Endurance run, first held in 1974, is the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail run. Held on the last weekend in June in Squaw Valley, Calif., Western States brings together runners from around the globe and from all 50 states for what is considered the world’s most competitive 100-mile race.

Craig In General Interest, Surveys

2015 Runner Survey Results

Here are the results of the independent WSER Runner Survey from the June 27-28, 2015 race, conducted by ultralive.net.

All runners have to go through check-in the day before the race in Squaw Valley and the survey team was positioned at the entrance of the check-in. Participation was completely voluntary and 94% of starters took some extra time to answer the 10 questions. We were able to correlate the data to finish times to make the analysis even more interesting.

Survey Questions

The runners were asked the following questions:

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
Lighting system
Did they pay for coaching services?

For 2015 edition of the WSER, there were 371 official starters, 254 finishers (68.5%) in under 30 hours, and 96 finishing (25.9%) under 24 hours for the coveted Silver Buckle.

The survey had 349 participants (94% of the entrants) including nearly all of the elite runners. Of the survey participants 238 finished (68.2%) and 90 finished in under 24 hours (25.8%).

Note: All graphs show numbers related to runners who participated in the survey and finished the race in under 30 hours.

Finish Hour

For sub 24 hour finishers, 28 out of 90 (31.1%) finished in the 23rd hour of the race to get a silver buckle. In the last two hours of the race, there were 81 (34%) finishers. The busiest times on the track are between 4-5 AM and 9-11 AM on Sunday morning. The graphs show the distribution of finishers by hour (14 hours to 29 hours). The first graph shows the average number of years running ultras compared to finishing time. The data implies that the number of years of experience does not correlate to a faster or slower finish time. The second graph shows the number of runners utilizing a crew or pacer compared to finishing time. Of the survey participants, 21 finished without a crew (8.8%) and 29 finished without a pacer (12.2%). And 10 (4.2%) hardcore participants finished without a crew and pacer. And finally, 3 of the 10 “screwed” runners earned a Silver Buckle.

Shoes

For the second year in a row Hoka was the dominant shoe for all finishers regardless of the group. For the sub 24 hour finishers, Altra took over second place after not even being on the radar in last year’s survey. Again, Brooks was a strong second when you look at the overall finishers.

Socks

Injinji was the clear choice for both the overall and sub 24 groups. Drymax was again second in both groups as well. The “others” category is quite large and might mean people need to pay attention to what they wear on their feet.

Paid Coaching Services

It seems there are a lot of ultrarunning coaching services out there yet very few WSER finishers use them. Maybe because a lot of the coaches actually ran the race this year. Or ultrarunners are an independent bunch and don’t like a training schedule. The percentage was even lower than last year (2014 – 20.3% had a coach)

Lighting

For the second year in a row, Petzl was the favorite light brand for runners finishing the race.

This year only the first 5 finishers (sub 16 hours) ran without the assistance of lights as compared to 9 in 2014.

And we are pretty sure Rob Krar didn’t even pack a headlamp again.

Packs

Ultimate Direction dominated as the choice of pack for both sub 24 hour and overall finishers. For the faster runners (sub 24), the Salomon pack was second favorite and Nathan was third. This order flip-flopped for the overall finishers.

Data Accuracy

371 runners started the 2015 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 = 349 athletes though individual questions may vary if athlete did not answer or know answer
Most graphs reflect data from the group of athletes who completed the race (238 in the survey finished)

Credits

Many thanks to the ultralive.net survey team: Kara Teklinski, Monique Winkler and Emily Yu.

Graphs and comments by Ted Knudsen.

Craig In Trail Preservation, WSER Foundation

Granite Chief Land Purchase Completed

With escrow closed, 10,000-acre purchase area near Granite Chief Wilderness opens to public, preserving Tevis and Western States events on historic Western States Trail

AUBURN, Calif. – A year-long fundraising and negotiating effort to help the American River Conservancy purchase a strategically vital 10,000-acre parcel for public use has been completed, the Western States Trail Foundation and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run Foundation announced on Tuesday. Escrow for the $11 million purchase of old-growth forest and mountain meadows near Granite Chief Wilderness and the Western States Trail closed late last week.

“Both of our boards are extremely pleased that this acquisition has been finalized,” Western States Trail Foundation president Tony Benedetti and Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run Foundation president John Trent said in a joint statement. “Opening the entire 100 miles of the Western States Trail to hikers, runners and equestrians has been one of the overriding goals of this effort. Now that this 10,000-acre area has been acquired by the ARC and is no longer a private holding, the public is the clear winner. Both the Tevis Cup 100-Mile Ride and the Western States 100-Mile Run will now have perpetual guaranteed access to the last privately-held section of the Western States Trail, ensuring no disruption for the future of either event. In addition, the acquisition now enables the United States Forest Service to complete its National Trail designation for the Western States Trail.”

The ARC, of Coloma, Calif., having partnered with Northern Sierra Partnership of Palo Alto, Calif., and the Nature Conservancy earlier this year, was able to reach its fundraising goal of $11 million in late July. Through fundraising and matching efforts of their own, the Western States Trail Foundation ($250,000) and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run Foundation ($100,000) contributed to the ARC’s total.

“We are so appreciative for the generosity the Ride and Run communities have shown over the past year,” Benedetti and Trent said jointly. “Our stakeholders have recognized the importance of this project. They’ve stepped up to the plate with donations, and with their overwhelming support in making sure we were able to cross the finish line for this project. It’s been quite an effort over the past year to organize, to raise money, and to make sure that the interests of our stakeholders were well-represented throughout the entire process.”

The 10,000 acres, located immediately west of Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley, Calif., had been previously owned by a timber investment firm. It includes 1,200 acres of mountain meadow and is considered a vital part of the State and Federal water delivery system to 23 million Californians. The area includes four “blue-ribbon” trout streams and three popular trails, including the hiking/running and equestrian trail used by the Tevis Cup and Western States 100 events, as well as the Picayune Valley Trail.

Western States Trail Foundation

Western States Endurance Run

Craig In General Interest

WSER Sponsor Profile: Julbo Eyewear

A favorite of the running community, Julbo Eyewear is synonymous with mountain running. We caught up with runner, climber and CEO of Julbo USA, Nick Yardley in the days leading up to this year’s race.

Julbo has been a sponsor of the WSER for years. Why keep coming back? What about the race compels the brand to be involved?

2015 will be our 3rd year sponsoring the WSER and it started for us after I ran the race in 2012 (finished in 22:56), When I crossed that finish line I just knew that Julbo needed to be part of this wonderful event moving forward; it was one of the most profound and rewarding days of my life. As the granddaddy of all Ultras in the US, the WSER draws an incredibly talented field of top athletes and has a bigger atmosphere than other races. It remains THE race that those new or old to the sport aspire to completing.

The event itself has a wonderful feel, mixing history, welcoming volunteers, great organization, positive energy and terrific scenery. Even the toughest soul will feel the emotion welling up some time over the weekend and the need to shed a tear.

Nick Yardley at WSER in 2012

You went from mountaineer to ultra runner, talk about the similarities in mountain culture that push each scene and how that culture is present at WSER.

While it may be hard for many who have never climbed to believe, at the core of both sports there is an incredible connection and similarity. The type of climbing I love most is alpine climbing, moving fast and light over mountainous terrain, often for many hours or even days at a time, seeking the zone where mind and body work as one and all else has no meaning.

Ultra running is really the same thing, it’s a beautifully simple sport and the goal is to move light and efficiently through wild terrain in search of that zen spot. As I had less and less time to climb, I needed another outlet. I knew I could suffer for a long time if needed so ultra running seemed like a great opportunity to explore and I’m still at a loss for words at all the wonderful experience and incredible folks the sport has brought me into contact with.

Who are the heavy hitting Julbo athletes taking on WSER? Any race favorites?

Well all the Julbo athletes are my favorites! We are extremely lucky to have some of the very finest athletes in the sport wearing our glasses, I’m going to be rooting hard and loud for every single one and see them all as real contenders.

The well-known names to look out for though are Rob Krar, Stephanie Howe, Ian Sharman, Gina Lucrezi, Dylan Bowman, Denise Bourassa, and Mike Wardian.

Julbo pushes the technical aspect of product. Anything this year that’s tailor made for the WSER?

It looks like it’s going to be a mother of a hot race this year, sun protection is going to be really key to success. Runners are going to be wanting well vented glasses with lenses that they can wear slogging up the escarpment at the start of the race and down the through the heat of the canyons where you’re constantly popping in and out of the shade I think the Zebra lens is likely to be the model most popular in the Venturi frame – but I do know some folks will be cruising in their vintage Megeve’s and getting style points.

Anything to add?

As a running community we’re lucky to have such a great event to aspire to. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Craig Thornley (RD) the board and all the volunteers that make it possible.

Craig In General Interest, Surveys

2014 Runner Survey Results

Here are the results of the independent WSER Runner Survey from the June 28-29, 2014 race, conducted by ultralive.net.

All runners have to go through check-in the day before the race in Squaw Valley and we positioned the survey team at the end of the process: right after the “mug” shot and right in front of the entrance to the Western States store. Participation was very good (93% of starters) and we were able to correlate the data to finish times to make the analysis even more interesting.