Race News – Western States Endurance Run

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2023 WS 100 MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

50^th WESTERN STATES ENDURANCE RUN PRESENTED BY HOKA READIES FOLLOWING ‘EPIC’ CHALLENGES

Following the devastating Mosquito Fire in the fall and a heavy winter snow, WSER is ready for one of its most memorable starts

The challenges facing this year’s 50^th Western States Endurance Run presented by HOKA have certainly been formidable. But, according to Race Director Craig Thornley, who has helped lead a herculean effort over the past several months to bring the Western States Trail back from California’s largest wildfire as well as massive amounts of winter snow, the challenges were never insurmountable.

It all began during September-October’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. Then, just as trail restoration efforts were underway in the Middle Fork of the American River drainage in the late fall, winter snowfall left much of the “high country” of the WSER inaccessible until only the last few weeks.

“It’s been a challenging time for the race, that’s for certain,” Thornley said. “But Western States always finds a way. This year was no different. The trail volunteers who helped bring the trail back this spring were amazing in their belief and their commitment to our race. The snow has been melting, and again, thanks to our trail team and a number of key volunteers, we’ve been able to gain access to our key early aid stations at Lyon Ridge (mile 10) and Red Star Ridge (mile 16).

“An epic year requires an epic effort. It’s what Western States has always been about. It’s been extremely humbling to see the extreme lengths our people have put in to make sure Western States will be held on our normal course. Our volunteers, who are always at the heart of everything that we do, have been incredible this year.”

Saturday’s Western States will have its traditional start in Olympic Valley, California promptly at 5 a.m. The 100.2-mile event through the picturesque “high country” of the Granite Chief Wilderness and the historic canyons in and out of the Middle Fork of the American River then finishes at Placer High School in Auburn, California. 369 entrants from more than 30 countries will attempt to finish the course in under 30 hours – the run’s absolute time limit. A live broadcast will carry the action of this year’s run for the entire 30 hours. A link for the broadcast will be available on Saturday morning at www.wser.org

This year’s fields, on both the men’s and women’s sides, are among the most competitive WSER has ever assembled.

“It says something when we don’t have either our men’s champion (Adam Peterman, out with injury) or women’s champion (Ruth Croft, who had other racing commitments) back and the general consensus is that this could be the deepest race we’ve ever had,” Thornley said. “It’s going to be exciting to see how all of these really accomplished athletes are going to race not just against themselves, but on a course where in the high country, though it’s been melting, will still be highly disruptive and challenging.”

On the women’s side, five of last year’s top 10 are entered, including fifth-place finisher Emily Hawgood of Zimbabwe, who finished in 18:16. Other top 10’s who are returning include Leah Yingling (sixth in 18:32); Taylor Nowlin (seventh in 18:46); Camille Herron, who is fresh off a world 48-hour record of more than 270 miles, (eighth in 18:51); Katie Asmuth (ninth in 19:30).

2018 women’s champion Courtney Dauwalter of Leadville, Colorado, returns to Western States following a four-year absence. Her 2018 winning time of 17:27 was at the time the second-fastest women’s run ever at Western States. Western States will be the first leg of a challenging three-week double where Dauwalter will also attempt to win the Hardrock 100 in Colorado in mid-July.

Other notable entrants include 2022 UTMB champion Katie Schide, top Swedish runner Ida Nilsson who has excelled on the world stage at shorter distances and will be making her debut 100-mile effort at Western States, 2021 ninth-place finisher Keely Henninger, Heather Jackson, who is one of the world’s finest multi-discipline athletes, as well as 2016 women’s champion Kaci Lickteig.

The men’s race is highlighted by 2022 second-place finisher Hayden Hawks, who battled with Peterman through 70 miles of last year’s run before finishing in 15:47, as well as third-place finisher Arlen Glick, who ran 15:56, fourth-place finisher Tyler Green, who ran 15:57, France’s Ludovic Pommeret, who finished sixth in 16:20, Alex Nichols, who was eighth in 16:28, Cody Lind, who was ninth in 16:29, and Scott Traer, 10^th in 16:35.

In addition, France’s Mathieu Blanchard is coming off a stirring duel with the legendary Kilian Jornet at the 2022 UTMB, where Blanchard finished second. The United Kingdom’s Tom Evans returns to Western States following a four-year hiatus – he finished third in 2019 in 14:59. Dakota Jones, a Salt Lake City resident whose ultra running career dates back to his days as a teenage phenom, will be making his Western States debut at age 32. Jones is coming off impressive victories at the Transvulcania ultra in the Canary Islands earlier this year, as well as at the Javelina 100 in October in the Arizona desert.

This year’s event will also feature a top age group entrant in Gene Dykes, who at age 75 will attempt to become WSER’s oldest finisher. Nicholas Bassett of Wyoming made history at age 73 with his finish in 2018, becoming the oldest runner to ever finish. The 2023 WSER is also part of the UTMB World Series, which is considered the world’s ultimate trail running circuit, uniting the sport’s biggest stars and runners of all abilities in more than three dozen events held worldwide.

Saturday’s start will also commemorate 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.

The Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run has a 369-runner field from throughout the United States and more than 30 countries. Runners start at 5 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, 2023, in Olympic Valley, Calif., and travel 100.2 miles, through the Sierra high country and the canyons of the American River, before finishing at Placer High School in Auburn, Calif.

Posted in General Interest, Race News | on: June 21st, 2023 by JohnT | Comments Off on 2023 WS 100 MEDIA RELEASE

UPDATE: MOSQUITO FIRE TRAIL RESTORATION

John Catts, WSER and Tevis Trail Manager

In September of 2022 the Mosquito Fire burned 16 miles of the Western States Trail. Some areas burned extremely hot and in these areas there was very little organic matter left on the ground. Other areas did not burn as hot or burned in a mosaic pattern with some areas minimally affected.

Before the fire was fully out, and continuing until early snow prevented further access, our partners with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA), as well as CalFire, traversed the affected stretches of the Western States Trail and felled hazard trees. After the hazard trees were felled and bucked (cut into smaller sections and removed from the trail), our attention turned to erosion control and tread repair. With little to no organic matter left in the upper soil horizon erosion occurs at a much faster rate, particularly when large rainfall events (like this winter) occur. As a result the main drainages and many previously insignificant drainages carried large amounts of water, rock, and soil downhill onto the trail, and in some locations erosion in some drainages undermined the trail.

In spite of weather-related constraints, we have made significant progress repairing damages caused by both the Mosquito Fire and once in a decade storms. Below is a summary of progress made to the trail on lands managed by ASRA and the USFS, as well as a description of a more complicated type of project (tread armoring), performed for several drainages in Eldorado Canyon (USFS).

Auburn State Recreation Area

ASRA has a sizable and qualified trail team that maintains its trails. Before the fire ASRA was committed to spending time and effort to re-bench the California Street Section of the Western States Trail this year. To assist in this effort ASRA enlisted the services of the California Conservation Corps (CCC, Auburn office). Re-benching, using a trail machine (and by hand where trail machine access is not possible), involves removal of adjacent vegetation, and re-contouring the trail tread by removing sluff from the uphill side, removing any outboard berm, and creating a wide trail tread that has a 5% outboard slope, so water will sheet flow onto and off the trail and not down the trail. This allows us to shift the footprint of the trail created by years of use to the middle of the bench, which is much safer for animals and people. ASRA started this process with the CCC Crew and have been moving from Rucky Chucky towards Ford Bar, have taken a break due to weather, but will be back working eastward on May 3rd.

Meanwhile, on the 3.5 miles of the Western States Trail that burned in the Mosquito Fire (Dardanelles Creek to Patent Road Fire Break), our Trail Team spent the past 2 weekends repairing fire and storm damage. We cut what little vegetation remained within the trail corridor, removed eroded soil and rock from the trail tread, and to the extent possible with hand tools re-benched the trail. We also added erosion control features (waterbars) and repaired a few drainages. Photo #A is a completed stretch of trail, and Photo #B shows installation of a waterbar. Although the 3.5 miles of trail in ASRA that was burned in the Mosquito Fire is clear from obstructions and offers safe passage, there are still a few projects we need to complete, and the trail is still closed between Patent Road Fire Break and Dardanelles Creek.

Tahoe National Forest, American River Ranger District

As containment of the Mosquito Fire reached 100% the USFS was busy felling hazard trees in Eldorado Canyon and along Deadwood Ridge, which in most places burned very hot. The American River Ranger District Trail Team relied on federal Burned Area Emergency Restoration (BAER) funds to continue working in Eldorado Canyon through the fall and winter as weather permitted. Significant progress had been made restoring the trail in Eldorado Canyon. Activities include installation of erosional controls (mostly water bars), removal of eroded soil and rock from the trail, removal of large stumps from the trail corridor from hazard tree felling or other fallen trees, repair of historic retaining walls, and repair of the trail at drainages.

With funding from WSER & Tevis, a trail team from Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) joined the USFS Trail Team to help with this effort. SBTS spent much of February in Eldorado Canyon, left when the weather was unsuitable, but will be back in late March or early April. The WSER & Tevis Trail Team, provided assistance on volunteer days in December 2022 and January 2023, and plan to get back into Eldorado Canyon in April. As the snow melts and access via Deadwood Road is available SBTS and our volunteer team will move east to Deadwood Ridge, and down to Swinging Bridge (the eastern extent of the burn on the Western States Trail). From there it’s business as usual to clear the remainder of the trail prior to our events (OK, there might be a bit more work this year with the deep snowpack).

Come join us on volunteer work days in April, May (to be posted soon) and June (https://www.wser.org/volunteering/trail-stewardship/).

A reminder that the Western States Trail from Michigan Bluff to Last Chance is still closed, as is Mosquito Ridge Road.

Tread Armoring Project

Many of the techniques we used to control erosion are visible to the trail user (log water bars, rock water bars, waddle, swales), but some methods used to control erosion and restore the trail tread are not immediately obvious to the trail user. Therefore, we thought it would be informative to describe, and show through photographs, a more complicated and labor-intensive type of trail project, tread armoring.

In drainages where erosion has caused the trail tread to be narrowed and weakened the potential repairs include construction of retaining walls or tread armoring. In Eldorado Canyon re-routing a trail is not an option, because side slopes are often extremely steep, and the historical designation of the trail prevents re-routing without extensive studies and analysis. On the east side of Eldorado Canyon several of the badly eroded drainages had ample large rock available, and tread armoring was the preferred restoration technique.

Photo #1 shows the condition of a drainage before the project was started. Note the quantity of rock that had been transported down the barren slope.

Photo #2 drainage after removal of debris

Photo #2 depicts the same drainage, from the opposite side, following removal of debris from the trail tread. Note the deeply incised drainage above & below the trail and narrowed and unstable trail tread.

The next steps in the repair are to quarry suitable rock and excavate the trail tread to provide a stable base on which quarried rock will be placed. Large rocks of uniform thickness with flat surfaces are located and are transported to the site using rock slings, or if the rock is above or below the repair site lowered by hand or a grip hoist with a sling and moved with rock bars (Photo #3) or lifted up onto the trail with a grip hoist and rock bars.

Photo #4 shows the excavation of the trail tread to create a stable base for the placement of quarried rock. Since the downhill edge of the trail tread in the drainage was eroded and undermined, we excavated into the uphill side of the drainage, creating a gentle curve to the trail alignment, to make adequate room for the required tread width.

Finding the best large rock, to be placed on the outboard side in the middle of the drainage, is key (Photo #5). Within the trail teams there are often calls for “get a bigger rock”. When set, this stone needs to be stable or the underlying soil needs to be further removed to be stable, without the use of shims (so it stays stable over time). Other rocks will be placed carefully next to this keystone to lock into this main rock and each needs to be adjusted to be stable by turning, flipping, or selectively removing soil beneath it until it is stable. Photo #6 shows the final placement of these large rocks at this specific site. It also shows that to create long lasting stability and prevent erosion, the space between all these rocks was filled with crush (smaller pieces of rock created by breaking up shaley rock with a small sledge hammer).

When all the interstitial space between rocks has been filled with crush, soil can be placed on top. For longevity and safety its best to either place large rock on the outboard edge to keep users off the outboard edge, and if possible outboard barrier rock can be set deeply into the outboard edge of the tread. Photo #7 shows the armoring repair nearing completion.

With the trail armored where a drainage crosses, any new material eroded onto the trail is easily removed.

So the next time you see a stretch of trail that looks like this, know there is a solid base beneath your feet (or your horses feet or wheels) and that a lot of work went into it.

Posted in General Interest, Race News, Trail Preservation | on: March 25th, 2023 by Craig | Comments Off on UPDATE: MOSQUITO FIRE TRAIL RESTORATION

2022 Runner Survey Results

Here are the results of the independent Western States Endurance Run (WSER) Runner Survey from the June 25-26, 2022 race, conducted by ultralive.net.

WSER runner registration takes place in Olympic Valley Friday before race day and 2022 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 383 starters.

Here are the surveys from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

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
Watch brand
Did they pay for coaching services?
A few questions about lodging for the race to share with host sites

This year’s race saw 11 women finish in the top 30 runners overall, with the “top 10’s” of both women and men all under 20 hours. Of the 383 starters we saw 305 finishers (79.6%) under 30 hours of which 101 (26.4%) finished under the coveted 24 hour mark for a Silver Buckle.

A total of 290 of the 305 finshers (95.1%) 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, 40 out of 93 (55%) finished in the 23rd hour of the race to get a silver buckle. In the last two hours of the race, there were 117 (38%) finishers. The busiest times on the track are typically between 4-5 AM and 9-11 AM on Sunday morning and 2022 proved no different.

The graphs show the distribution of finishers by hour (15 hours to 29 hours), distribution of finishers by completed 100 mile races, and distribution of finishers by year of running ultras. Interestingly, many of the finishers over 24 hours have finished more than ten 100 mile races and have been running ultras over 10 years.

The hot temperatures in this year’s race definitely attributed to the finish rate of 79.6%.

Shoes

Again Hoka was the most popular shoe (42.8%) for all finishers with Altra in second place with 19.7% and Salomon in third (8.3%). The rankings switched for second and third place with the sub-24 hour finishers. 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 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

31% of the runners use a paid coaching service overall. Sub-24 hour finishers were slightly less likely to use a coach. And as a continuing trend, 48% of the DNF runners used a coaching service.

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 40% 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.

Packs

Salomon was the top choice for all runners (sub 24 and overall). For sub 24 finishers, Nathan edged out Ultimate Direction for second place.

Watches

Garmin was the most popular watch overall in the survey. However, for the sub 24 finishers Coros was the most popular watch. Suunto was the third most popular in both categories.

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. The following chart shows the correlation of using a pacer or crew to finish hour. In the overall survey, almost everyone (98%) planned on using a pacer.

Data Accuracy

383 runners started the 2022 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run

Ultralive.net team surveyed a majority of those runners through the registration process at Olympic Valley Final survey reflects N = 364 (95.1%) 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.

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 David Canfield.

Any feedback or insights are welcome!

Posted in General Interest, Race News, Surveys | on: January 14th, 2023 by Craig | Comments Off on 2022 Runner Survey Results

2023 Lottery Statistics

Last updated: December 2, 2022 at 9:20 am

The 2023 race lottery will be held on December 3, 2022 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 randomly selected, they will be posted at https://lottery.wser.org in real-time. There will also be a live video coverage of the lottery on our Youtube Channel beginning at 7:30 a.m. PST.

Each applicant ran a qualifying race of 100k or longer within the last year 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 2023 lottery is 9 years or 256 tickets.

You can view the final 2023 applicants and their ticket counts.

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 380 runners in 2023. 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. 106 of those 380 are automatic entrants resulting in 274 lottery spots. 271 of those will be selected in the lottery proper. The final three entrants to get to 380 will be selected from those in the audience. We will also select an additional 75 names for the ordered wait list. The probabilities of being selected as one of the 274 in the lottery or 75 on the wait list (349) are as follows:

5 runners 256 tickets, each has a 92.4% chance of getting selected
37 runners with 128 tickets, each has a 72.5 %
127 runners with 64 tickets, each has a 47.6 %
232 runners with 32 tickets, each has a 27.6%
374 runners with 16 tickets, each has a 14.9 %
525 runners with 8 tickets, each has a 7.7 %
731 runners with 4 tickets, each has a 3.9 %
1578 runners with 2 tickets, each has a 2.0%
3560 runners with 1 ticket, each has a 1.0 %

So what are the chances of getting into the race if you are selected for the wait list? In 2022 we exhausted a wait list of 75. In 2021 we exhausted the wait list of 50 which was rolled over from 2020. In 2019 the last person to get a spot on the starting line was selected 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, 2022 by Craig | Comments Off on 2023 Lottery Statistics

Mosquito Fire Assessment

On September 6, 2022, the Mosquito fire started at Oxbow Dam. The fire quickly spread uphill towards Michigan Bluff and Foresthill. As of today the fire is 95% contained and has burned over 76,000 acres. 78 structures were destroyed, many in the Michigan Bluff area.

Regarding the Western States Trail the easternmost extent affected by the fire is near Swinging Bridge (mile ~46 on the course) and the westernmost extent affected is the Patent Road Fire Break (5.7 miles west of Foresthill, or mile ~68 on course). While this is a total of about 22 miles of trail, the trail through Volcano Canyon and Foresthill was not inside the burn perimeter, and therefore only about 16 miles of the trail were directly impacted by the fire.

With respect to post-fire restoration we will be working with three land agencies/owners: US Forest Service (USFS) from Swinging Bridge to Bath Rd, a private land owner from Foresthill to just before Cal-1, and Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA) for the westernmost 3 miles to the Patent Road Fire Break.

Good news:

The Last Chance Townsite and aid station location was not burned
Pacific Slab Bridge was not affected
The Swinging Bridge was unburned
The Deadwood Pump is fully operational
The El Dorado Creek bridge was unburned
Michigan Bluff homes where the aid station is survived

Some parts of the trail where the fire burned hot show much more damage to the vegetation while other parts show much less or little damage. In areas that burned hot, the vegetation holding soil in place was removed and as a result the soil will erode more quickly and undermine the stability root systems for trees causing them to fall. Areas where the fire did not burn as hot will be less prone to these negative effects, but will still experience significant soil erosion, tree mortality, and hazard trees. Mitigation of hazard trees and soil erosion that will occur when the winter rains start falling are the two big priorities.

Damage repair from fire suppression activities has already begun (wide fire breaks are being either fully or if needed in the future partially restored, and water diversion features created). In addition some emergency stabilization activities (e.g., felling of hazard trees) has already begun. Emergency stabilization and long-term recovery and rehabilitation efforts will continue through the winter and spring, and may continue for up to 5 years. With respect to federal lands a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team has already been assembled, is performing a rapid assessment to determine the scope of the Emergency Stabilization that is required, estimate costs required to perform this work, and apply for BAER Funding. Additional funding for Long-Term Recovery and Burned Area Rehabilitation (BAR) may be available to assist in long-term recovery efforts. With regard to the State of California the Governors Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has been engaged, and provides a range of State Recovery Resources. In addition Placer County will help private land owners with removal of debris and hazardous materials, and removal of hazard trees.

This is not the first fire to impact the WS trail. The most recent fires were the Star Fire of 2001 and the American Fire of 2013.

The Western States Trail Foundation, Western States Endurance Run Foundation, and The Canyons Endurance Runs will be working with the agencies and owners to get the trail ready for our events in 2023. Trail work days are still TBD. We will share the info when it is created.

Tahoe National Forest, American River Ranger District lands are closed to the public until December 31, 2022, so there is no recreational trail access. ASRA has closed the fire affected area, from the Patent Road Fire Break east to Foresthill, until further notice.

For more info on the fire see: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8398/