Western States Endurance Run

Keep it fair. Keep it Simple. Raise the Bar.

The goal of having qualifying standards is to ensure that the runner knows what he/she is buying into, and to ensure that he/she has a reasonable chance to finish Western States within the time limit of 30 hours. Historically, the minimum standard has been the completion of a 50 mile run under 11 hours. WS has seen a dramatic increase in the number of applicants in its annual lottery, especially since the cancellation of the race due to fires in 2008. With a 369 starter limit imposed on the race by federal legislation, we accept about 400 runners each year. We reserve about 130 entries for race administration (aid stations, trail crew, sweeps, etc.), Montrail Ultra Cup winners, sponsors, raffle winners, overseas runners, members of the Western States Endurance Run Board of Trustees, etc., thus we draw about 270 names at the lottery each December. Here’s the history of the growth of lottery applicants since 2000:

• 2000 – 583 applicants.
• 2005 – 791 applicants.
• 2008 – 1,350 applicants (fire cancellation).
• 2010 – 1,693 applicants (last year for two-time losers).
• 2011 – 1,786 applicants (first year for multiple tickets in the hat).
• 2012 – 1,940 applicants.
• 2013 – 2,295 applicants.

The chances of being one of the lucky 270 drawn last year, with only a single ticket in the bucket, was a scant 7.9%. With the likelihood of continued increase in demand – which parallels the growth of the sport worldwide – if we continue with our current standards and races, the chances of getting selected in the lottery will soon be below 5%. We don’t believe that is good for the race or the runners who get a qualifying time, enter the lottery, and then get rejected in the lottery, some year after year after year.

The WSER Board of Trustees believes that the run should be open to anybody and is hesitant to make the standard faster or to require a 100 mile qualifying run. In 1974, Gordy Ainsleigh ran 100 miles with the horses but had never run 100 miles before that day. Many people who ran the race in the following years had also never run 100 miles before they ran from Squaw Valley to Auburn. The Board respects that history and still wants to provide the opportunity for a runner to stand at the start of the race, stare up at the steep mountains of Squaw, and have little idea of what lies ahead.

But, the Board also realizes that something needs to change to alleviate the increasing pressure on our lottery. Thus, the qualifying standards for entering the WS lottery beginning with the 2015 race are:

• 100K finish in under 16 hours or;
• 100M finish in time allowed by race.

We have limited the number of qualifying races to the largest trail 100 milers domestically, and the largest 100Ks that are also of significant difficulty. The 100K distance aligns better internationally. Worldwide, we’ve included the largest races but also have the goal of geographic diversity so runners from anywhere in the world have an opportunity to run a qualifying race. There are 63 races on the 2015 qualifying races list.

The 2015 qualifying run must be run from Monday, November 11, 2013 through Sunday, November 9, 2014.

We are happy to announce that Montrail and Western States Endurance Run have renewed their relationship for two more years. Montrail has been the presenting sponsor of Western States since 2007. The Montrail Ultra Cup will continue and the top three men and women in each of the races will earn spots in Western States which again will be the final race in the series. The races in the MUC, which will all be after the December 7, 2013 WS lottery, will be announced soon. Watch montrail.com, Montrail’s Facebook page, wser.org, and WSER’s Facebook page for details.

Meghan Arbogast at mile 78 during the 2013 WSER

The 41st Running of the Western States Endurance Run will be June 28-29, 2014, Squaw Valley to Auburn, California.

2013 Race Champions Timothy Olson (15:17) and Pam Smith (18:37)

383 Starters, 277 Finishers = 72% Finish Rate

95 Sub-24 hour Silver Buckle Winners

182 Sub-30 hour Bronze Buckle Winners

102 Official High in Auburn on June 29, 2013. 2nd hottest day in 40-year race history.

New Male Master’s course record 15:45 Mike Morton, 41.

2013 Race Results

Post race coverage at iRunFar.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: John Trent, media relations (775) 842-4871, president@wser.org

WESTERN STATES 100-MILE ENDURANCE RUN

FEATURES STELLAR FIELD FOR 40^th RUNNING

The world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race returns defending men’s champion Olson; women’s race wide open

The top trail runners in the world, including men’s champion and course record holder Timothy Olson, will embark on the 40^th running of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, June 29-30, 2013.

Western States is the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail run. The race features a field of more than 360 entrants from more than 20 countries, and more than 40 states. Runners start from Squaw Valley, Calif., the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. They climb and descend about 40,000 feet through the alpine beauty of the Granite Chief Wilderness and the deep, equally picturesque, yet infernal canyons of the historic California Gold Country, then cross the Middle Fork of the American River before finishing at Placer High School in Auburn, Calif. The 100.2-mile race has a 30-hour time limit.

Olson, 29, of Ashland, Ore., ran a race for the ages last year, shaving more than 20 minutes off Geoff Roes’ 2010 course record with a run of 14 hours and 46 minutes. A number of ultrarunning’s most talented and accomplished athletes will vie for the women’s title with two-time defending women’s champion and course record holder Ellie Greenwood sidelined with a stress fracture.

Top contenders in the women’s race include: Rory Bosio, 28, of Soda Springs, Calif., who finished second last year; Nikki Kimball, 42, of Bozeman, Mont., a three-time women’s champion (2004, 2006, 2007); Amy Sproston, 39, of Portland, Ore., eighth last year and the reigning World 100-Kilometer Champion; and Meghan Arbogast, 52, of Corvallis, Ore., 10^th last year and generally considered the finest veteran (over 50 years old) runner in the world. Intriguing newcomers include Emily Harrison, 27, of Front Royal, Va., a former NCAA cross country All-America who has run a 2:32 marathon and chased Greenwood to a second-place finish in the country’s largest 50-mile race, the JFK 50-Miler, in November.

On the men’s side, Olson will be challenged by: 2013 third-place finisher Nick Clark, 39, of Fort Collins, Colo., the only person in race’s modern era to run under 16 hours twice in their career; 2007 and 2009 champion Hal Koerner, 37, of Ashland, Ore.; 1997 champion and former course record holder Mike Morton, 41, of Lithia, Fla., who is making his return to Western States after a 16-year competitive absence and is coming off a superb year in 2012 that saw him set an America Record for the 24-hour run and notch a victory in the blistering conditions of the Badwater 135-mile run. A cadre of younger, rising runners will press the “old guardsmen” every step of the way.

“Last year was an amazing day for all concerned – we had record low temperatures, both the men’s and women’s course records were broken and we handed out the most silver buckles (for sub-24-hour finishes, 148) in our modern era,” said race director Craig Thornley. “Both our men’s and women’s fields this year are extremely deep. We could have champions ranging anywhere in age from their 50s to their early 20s.

“We had a relatively dry winter in the high country, so conditions are snow-free and potentially fast. Thanks again to the Montrail Ultra Cup, (which has provided an avenue for qualification for many of sport’s elite runners through a national series of qualification races), there are probably close to a dozen to 15 runners with a legitimate shot at winning either our men’s or women’s race.”

This year’s race is also notable in that it will mark the 40^th anniversary of Gordy Ainsleigh’s historic run in 1974, when Ainsleigh, of Meadow Vista, Calif., became the first person to cover on foot the entire 100 miles of the Western States Trail between Tahoe and Auburn in less than 24 hours. The 66-year-old Ainsleigh is entered in this year’s race.

WHAT: 40^th running of the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run

WHEN: Saturday, June 29, 5 a.m. start at Squaw Valley, Calif., finish at Placer High School, Auburn, Calif. More than 360 trail runners from more than 20 countries and more than 40 states to compete.

Western States Endurance Run: https://www.wser.org

Montrail Ultra Cup: http://ultracup.montrail.com/overview.aspx