Western States Endurance Run

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: John Trent, WSER Media Relations, press@wser.org

COURSE RECORD HOLDER WALMSLEY, 2023 WOMEN’S RUNNER-UP SCHIDE HEADLINE STELLAR WESTERN STATES FIELDS

AUBURN, Calif. – Men’s course record holder Jim Walmsley will make his first run since winning the race for the third time in 2021 while 2023 women’s runner-up Katie Schide heads the women’s field at the 51^st running of the Western States Endurance Run.

Western States starts at 5 a.m. on Saturday, June 29, at Palisades Tahoe Resort, at Olympic Valley, California.

“Jim’s runs at Western States have left an indelible mark on our history. We are very excited to have him back this year,” WSER Race Director Craig Thornley said. “Jim is going to be pushed by a highly talented men’s field, though. We are equally excited about our women’s race. Katie Schide ran the second-fastest women’s race in our history last year (16 hours and 43 minutes in finishing second to Courtney Dauwalter’s CR of 15:29). We have one of the finest women’s fields ever assembled at this year’s race.

“It’s worth noting that our women’s races over the past several years have proven to be deep and highly competitive. The 2023 women’s race saw a new women’s course record, as well as the second-fastest, fourth-fastest, sixth-fastest and ninth-fastest women’s times in our history. 

“This year’s race is shaping up to be no exception.”

Walmsley, 34, of Flagstaff, Arizona, established the men’s course record of 14:09 in winning in 2019. He has since spent the majority of his time living and training in France, preparing with single-minded focus for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, which he won last August. He has returned to his home base in Flagstaff this spring. When Walmsley makes his way to the starting line in Olympic Valley on June 29, it will mark his first race start in the United States since his win at Western States in 2021. Walmsley’s other victory at Western States came in 2018.

Top 10 runners from last year who are returning include: Tyler Green, 40, of Portland, Oregon, who finished second; Jiasheng Shen, 29, of Kunming, China, fourth; Daniel Jones, 33, of Wellington, New Zealand, fifth; non-binary runner Ryan Montgomery, 30, of Wanship, Utah, seventh; Jeffrey Colt, 33, of Carbondale, Colorado, eighth; and Cole Watson, 32, of Rancho Cordova, California, ninth.

Schide, 32, from Gardiner, Maine, also lives in Europe, in the village of Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage in France’s Mercantour National Park. She has had an extraordinary run of success over the past few years. Schide won UTMB in 2022, finished second to Dauwalter at Western States last year and then ran away from the women’s field at The Canyons 100K in Auburn in April. On some of the same trails used by the Western States Endurance Run, Schide set a new women’s course record at The Canyons by more than 40 minutes and finished sixth overall.

In addition to Schide, Top 10 runners from last year who are returning include: Hungary’s Eszter Csillag, 39, who lives in Hong Kong, third; Emily Hawgood, 29, of Beatrice, Zimbabwe, fifth; Ida Nilsson, 43, of Kalmar, Sweden, seventh; Priscilla Forgie, 33, of Edmonton, Alberta, eighth; and Leah Yingling, 33, of Salt Lake City, ninth.

Both the men’s and women’s fields will also feature several “HOKA Golden Ticket” entrants – top men’s and women’s ultra runners who raced their way into this year’s run through highly competitive ultras held both in the United States and internationally. 

In addition to the elite competitors, this year’s 375-runner field includes runners from all backgrounds, abilities and walks of life from throughout the United States and from more than 30 countries. 

The runners will be vying for a sterling silver belt buckle for a sub-24-hour finish or a bronze belt buckle for a finish under the run’s 30-hour absolute cutoff. The buckles have been hand-crafted by the silversmiths of Comstock Heritage for more than three decades now and are considered the most coveted finisher’s award in all of ultra running.

The 2024 run field will traverse the picturesque high country of the historic Western States Trail through the Granite Chief Wilderness in the early morning. They will then plunge into the deep canyons of the American River drainage. The runners will pass through the sites of old mining settlements such as Last Chance, Deadwood and Michigan Bluff, making technical and challenging ascents and descents of more than 2,000 feet, before crossing the Middle Fork of the American River at mile 78 at the Rucky Chucky River Crossing aid station. From there, they will make a final push to the finish line at the track of Placer High School in Auburn, California.

Among this year’s entrants is William “Will” Barkan, a 40-year-old runner from Mill Valley, California with progressive vision loss. Over the past seven years Barkan has finished challenging mountain 100-milers such as Run Rabbit Run in Colorado and Tahoe Rim Trail at Lake Tahoe as well rugged 100K’s such as California’s Miwok and The Canyons and Waldo in Oregon. 

In December’s Western States lottery, Barkan was selected from more than 9,000 lottery entrants from around the world to run in the 2024’s run. Barkan will run with a series of guides and has been granted an exemption by the Western States Board of Directors to use trekking poles during his run.

This year’s event will be streamed live on YouTube. Commentators Dylan Bowman and Corrine Malcolm will kick off the live broadcast at 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 29. The broadcast will continue through the entirety of the event and will conclude at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 30. Watch it at https://www.youtube.com/@WSER100.

ABOUT WESTERN STATES: First held in 1974, the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run has a 369-runner field from throughout the United States and more than 30 countries. Western States is considered one of the world’s preeminent 100-mile trail races. Its mission is to stage a transformational and quality world-class event for its runners, as well as perform trail stewardship and conduct medical research studies for the betterment of the sport. Held on the last full weekend in June starting in Olympic Valley, California, the 100.2-mile event travels through the Sierra high country and the canyons of the American River on the ancestral lands of the Washoe and Nisenan tribes, before finishing at Placer High School in Auburn, California.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

DAUWALTER RUNS A RACE FOR THE AGES AND EVANS RUNS AWAY FROM MEN’S FIELD AT WESTERN STATES ENDURANCE RUN PRESENTED BY HOKA

Courtney Dauwalter shatters women’s course record, Tom Evans runs the fourth-fastest men’s time at 2023 WSER

In a sterling career that has seen Courtney Dauwalter record one superlative after another, her course record-setting effort on Saturday in winning the women’s race at the Western States Endurance Run was perhaps her best ever.

Dauwalter, 38, of Leadville, Colorado, shattered Ellie Greenwood’s longstanding 11-year-old course record by more than an hour in running 15 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds. Greenwood’s previous record set in 2012 was 16:47.

Dauwalter, in winning her second Western States in the past five years, became the first woman in WSER history to ever break 16 hours. She finished in sixth place overall.

What made Dauwalter’s new record all the more remarkable was the fact that she needed to negotiate about 20 miles of snow in the early going of the race. A heavy Sierra winter had left the “high country” portion of the course with near-record amounts of snow, but Dauwalter, a former collegiate Nordic skiing standout, bided her time well over the most difficult portion of this year’s course. She ran early with UTMB champion Katie Schide, but eventually began a searing surge from Robinson Flat (mile 30) on that saw her move into the top 10 overall by mile 70. Her 2-hour, 10-minute split from Foresthill (mile 62) and the Rucky Chucky river crossing (mile 78) was the fastest ever by a woman runner at Western States by more than 20 minutes. To put the split into perspective, consider that Jim Walmsley recorded a 2:05 split to the river in setting the men’s course record of 14:09.

“The day was so fun,” Dauwalter said. “I’m so thankful for all of the volunteers who were out on the course … and they also got the trail ready … it was absolutely beautiful out there. And it was very difficult and I’m happy to be here at the track with all of you.”

Schide, 31, of Gardiner, Maine, would also break Greenwood’s course record in finishing second in 16:43. Eszter Csillag, 38, a Hungarian living in Hong Kong, finished third in 17:09. The top nine women’s finishers all broke 18 hours – a first in Western States history, making the 2023 race the deepest women’s race in Western States history.

In the men’s race, Tom Evans, 31, of Loughborough, Great Britain, used a similar strategy to Dauwalter’s to win his first Western States title. Evans, who placed third in 2019, shared the lead with Dakota Jones throughout much of the early going, with the pair entering the Foresthill aid station at mile 62 even. From there, however, Evans ran a 2:07 split to the river crossing to take a commanding 16-minute lead over Tyler Green of Portland, Oregon. Evans would finish in 14:40, which is the fourth-fastest men’s race ever run at Western States. Green finished second in 15:04 with Anthony Costales of Salt Lake City third in 15:09.

“I think for me, this year, I put all my eggs in one basket to come to Western States and have my best possible day,” Evans said. “And yeah, I still can’t believe it myself. … This is my favorite race in the world.”

Although the snow might have made for tough conditions in the early going, weather conditions for this year’s run could not have been more favorable. Temperatures were in the low 80s throughout the day.

In all, the run saw 328 finishers, which tied 2010’s “Unbreakable” year for the most finishers in race history. The 50^th Western States was the first time the race had been held on the Western States Trail since last fall’s 76,788-acre Mosquito Fire, which burned in California’s Placer and El Dorado Counties. The Mosquito Fire had a devastating impact on the communities in and around the Western States Trail, destroying 78 structures in Michigan Bluff, Foresthill and Volcanoville. The fire also charred about 16 miles of the Western States Trail. The work of Western States trail teams, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the Auburn State Recreation Area, helped bring the trail back in time for this year’s event.

As has been the custom for Western States, the 2023 event featured many emotionally moving stories.

One of the most compelling was the story of Zach Bates. The 21-year-old resident of Lakeside, Arizona, earned a silver belt buckle with his time of 23:37. Zach’s finish at Western States was just the latest of many firsts for him. Diagnosed with autism, Zach earlier this year became the youngest finisher ever at the Coldwater Rumble. Zach’s ultra journey began when he went to his family on the night of his high school graduation and told them he wanted to run a 100-miler before he turned 20. This year’s Western States saw him earn one of the most coveted finisher’s awards in all of running.

John Almeda, who has been identified as having nonverbal autism, also finished 2023’s run. Almeda, 29, of Sacramento, California, finished in 27:07. Almeda’s progression in the sport has been remarkable, having moved from runs around a local high school track in Sacramento to the Boston Marathon to a finish in last November’s Rio Del Lago 100.

Earlier this year, John’s mother, Vanessa said of her son: “He just loves to run, and I feel like autism is his superpower. He just feels free energy and pure joy.”

Zach’s mother, Rana, said earlier this year: “If we listen to our children and allow them to do what they want to do and be a support to them, you’ll be surprised at where they’ll end up.”

And although there were 328 official finishers, one of the most emotional moments of this year’s run came after the horn at the 50-yard line of the Placer High School track sounded to signal the 30-hour cutoff.

61-year-old Ashley “Ash” Bartholomew of Melbourne, Australia, the father of internationally respected ultra runner Lucy Bartholomew, missed the official cutoff by 2 minutes and 20 seconds, finishing in 30:02. Bartholomew’s effort over the final 1.3 miles as his daughter and a huge group of friends and well-wishers urged him on gripped the WSER live broadcast as he bravely made his way to the Placer High School while fighting a severe forward lean and fatigue.

Although he missed the 30-hour cutoff, the crowd at Placer High School rose to its feet and gave Ash a huge ovation.

It was the second straight year that Western States’ final moments had captured the imagination of all who were in attendance. In 2022, cancer survivor Jennifer Shultis also narrowly missed the 30-hour cutoff but earned a standing ovation that was very reminiscent of Bartholomew’s finish on Sunday morning. Shultis’ husband, Richard Benoit, finished this year’s race (with Shultis serving as crew chief) in 24:48.

This year’s race commemorated the 50^th Western States. In August 1974, Meadow Vista, California woodcutter Gordy Ainsleigh joined the horses of the Tevis Cup and covered the distance from Olympic Valley, California to Auburn, California entirely on foot in 23 hours and 42 minutes. Since then, more than 6,000 individuals have finished Western States.