Due to conflicts with other run events we’re changing the May trail work date to June 1, 8:00 am at Stone’s Brew Coffee House in Foresthill. Please sign up on the WS site if you plan on attending and remember to submit your USFS Volunteer Form.
Thanks,
Donn Zea
WS Trail Boss
The 1983 Western States race still boasts the closest top two men’s finish in the 39 year history of the race. Arguably, it is one of the best races ever at WS, and lucky for us it was recorded on DVD on Desperate Dreams II.
1983 Desperate Dreams DVD
1983 was a huge snow year so the alternate snow course had to be used for the first time. Returning champion Jim King hammered through the snow early to open up a huge lead over the field at Red Star Ridge, including 36 minutes over 1981 co-champion Jim Howard. But by Duncan Canyon aid station, King had fallen back to 15th after getting lost for 45 minutes in the snow. Undaunted, King moved back up the field to join Howard again at Dusty Corners and Last Chance (in 3rd and 4th place). King then hammered the canyons, and arrived in Michigan Bluff in first place, 27 minutes ahead of Howard who was still in 4th. King’s split from Last Chance to Michigan Bluff was 2:13! For comparison, Jurek’s split on his CR run in 2004 was 2:19.
King’s lead over Howard remained around 30 minutes through ALT by which time Howard was now comfortably in 2nd place. But Howard was not running for 2nd place. Only 7 minutes behind at Hwy 49, Howard threw down the unbelievable split of 56 minutes to the finish, catching King right before the white bridge and finishing 30 seconds ahead of King. This is still the fastest split ever run for that section. 5-time champion, and 25-time finisher, Tim Twietmeyer says that even if we dropped him off at Hwy 49 fresh, he couldn’t run 56 minutes.
Jim Howard at the finish of the 1983 WSER.
We are going to show the 1983 race on Sunday evening of the Memorial Day Weekend Training Runs. We’ll follow that with a discussion with the two Jims, facilitated by 8-time finisher Andy Jones-Wilkins.
The research studies for the 2013 WSER have just been determined and are now posted on the research page.
Six studies will be taking place that will examine a variety of issues including a couple areas receiving considerable recent media attention – potential cardiac damage from high volume exercise, and potential benefits of different foot strike patterns. To learn more about the first issue, our colleagues from the United Kingdom will be returning to the Run after completing studies here in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Regarding the later, we will expand upon our foot strike analysis at the 2012 WSER, where we saw indication that those who used a forefoot or midfoot pattern had higher blood creatine phosphokinase concentrations at the end of the race compared with heel strikers. Other studies will further examine the extent and causes of gastrointestinal distress during the Run, the frequency and underlying cause of vision cloudiness that sometimes occurs during ultramarathons, and types and frequency of injuries in those training for a 100-mile run.
There will be more to come on how you can participate in the various studies and contribute to our advancement of science.
Marty Hoffman, MD
Trail Volunteers are Essential! Volunteering on the trail is rewarding and fun. And, for those who are entered in the 2013 WSER and are within driving distance of the WS Trail, our scheduled work projects are the perfect way to satisfy the Run’s volunteer service requirement!
The 2013 trail work days have been set.
February 2, 2013 – Green Gate to Hwy 49
March 23, 2013 – El Dorado/Volcano Canyons
April 20, 2013
May 18, 2013 Moved to June 1, 2013.
June 21-22, 2013
At the first project on Feb 2 we’ll improve trail tread, trim vegetation, remove fallen trees, and ensure adequate drainage on the Green Gate to 49 Crossing section of the trail. See our 2013 Trail Work Opportunities page to sign up and to get further details.
For further information about our trail conservation mission and purpose please see our new Trail Stewardship page.
The Robinson Flat campout weekend.
Thanks for helping
Updated 12/5
As posted on the lottery applicant page, we have 2295 total lottery applicants for the 2013 race.
122 applicants with four tickets = 488 tickets
207 applicants with three tickets = 621 tickets
480 applicants with two tickets = 960 tickets
1486 applicants with one ticket = 1486 tickets
Total tickets in the hat = 3555
Here is the list of tickets (178 page pdf)
We are going to draw 270 unique names in the lottery and then an additional five from the lottery within the lottery. That is, the folks in the audience who have not been selected up to that point. Based on 3555 total tickets and 270 names drawn, the odds of getting selected have been updated as follows:
one ticket odds = 7.9%
two ticket odds = 15.2%
three ticket odds = 21.9%
four ticket odds = 28.0%
We used a Monte Carlo simulation to calculate these updated odds.
The lottery will take place at the Placer HS auditorium. We will begin introductions a little before 9am and start drawing names right at 9am. We expect to be done by 11am. Note that there is no food or drink allowed in the auditorium (water ok).
As names are pulled from the hat, they will be posted at ultralive.net as close to real-time as possible. There will also be a live video feed.
For a little historical perspective, here are the number of lottery applicants and ticket counts in the lottery since 2000.
2000 583
2001 556
2002 529
2003 638
2004 740
2005 791
2006 841
2007 1,048
2008 1,350 Fire year
2009 337 out of 390 returned 54 two-time losers, 34 autos for a total of 425 entrants
2010 1,693 Last year for two-time losers
2011 1,786 First year for multi-tickets in the hat. One ticket: 1286, two tickets: 500
2012 1,940 One ticket: 1221, two tickets: 461, three tickets: 258
2013 2295 One ticket: 1486, two tickets: 480, three tickets: 207, four tickets: 122
Western States is a registered trademark of the Western States Endurance Run Foundation copyright © Western States Endurance Run Foundation.
