Our selection criterion is based solely on the size of the race – we are basically allowing the runners to decide which races we choose as qualifiers. Races must be substantially all on trails and achieve 100 finishers at the qualifying distance to be considered.

Races less than 100 miles must have at least 2500 meters of elevation gain. We will not consider first-year races, but a second-year event would qualify provided it has met the 100-finisher size standard.  Events that offer multiple qualifying distances must achieve the 100-finisher size standard in a single distance. If that standard is achieved, however, we will accept all qualifying distances that are run concurrently.

Of course, this means that there are many worthy races that are not Western States qualifiers – our approach is based solely on the number of runners and not course difficulty or the overall quality of the event.  But this has become necessary now that there are more than 150 100-milers in the U.S.A. alone. 

We re-evaluate the qualifying race list each September.