Western States and HOKA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WESTERN STATES AND HOKA ANNOUNCE CONTINUATION OF PRESENTING SPONSOR PARTNERSHIP

AUBURN, Calif. – The Western States Endurance Run and HOKA have announced the continuation of the presenting sponsorship agreement between the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race and one of the fastest-growing performance footwear and apparel brands. The agreement extends the current presenting sponsorship partnership, originally formed in 2019 between the two organizations, through 2029.

“Western States has always focused on partners that have shared values and commitment to building our community and elevating the dreams of all runners throughout all of our sport” WSER President Diana Fitzpatrick said. “HOKA has engaged with Western States at every level of our organization to support our shared values, elevate the runner experience, and reach the global community through our live race day broadcast.

“We are thrilled that this partnership between Western States and HOKA will continue on for many more years to come.”

Added WSER race director Craig Thornley: “Alignment is critical to any successful and productive partnership between a run and a presenting sponsor. I’ve been so impressed over the past five years with HOKA’s understanding and championing of our mission in all aspects of what we do – our run, the runner experience, trail stewardship and medical research as well as the growth of a more inclusive sport for all runners. HOKA holds the same organizational values as WSER, and this shared commitment for the health and growth of the sport of ultra running has made for some of the most unforgettable years in Western States’ long history.”

“As the oldest 100-mile trail race in the world, Western States has demonstrated leadership and community building for its entire 51-year history. We are honored to continue our partnership with this outstanding organization that tests the best athletes in the sport and creates a transformative experience for every runner” said, Mike McManus, Director of Global Sports Marketing at HOKA. 

The new five-year agreement between WSER and HOKA also continues the highly successful “HOKA Golden Ticket” series of races. The HOKA Golden Ticket races allows the top finishers in the races that comprise the yearly series to gain entry into that year’s Western States. The 2025 schedule of Golden Ticket races was announced last week and includes six events from around the globe:

  • CCC – HOKA UTMB Mont-Blanc 100K France, Italy, Switzerland, August 30, 2024 (top three Male/Female)
  • Javelina Jundred Presented by HOKA 100M Arizona, October 26, 2024 (top two M/F)
  • Black Canyon Presented by HOKA 100K, Arizona, February 8, 2025 (top three M/F)
  • Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB 102K New Zealand, February 15, 2025 (top two M/F)
  • Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB 120K, Italy, March 22, 2025 (top two M/F)
  • The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100K, California, April 26, 2025 (top three M/F)

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, WSER believes in staging a transformational and quality world-class event for its runners, as well as performing trail stewardship and conducting medical research studies for the betterment of the sport. Held on the last full weekend in June from Olympic Valley, Calif., 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, Calif.

About HOKA®

HOKA® is one of the fastest-growing performance footwear and apparel brands in history. Conceived in the mountains, HOKA footwear delivers an unprecedented combination of enhanced cushioning and support for a uniquely smooth ride. Every day, HOKA pushes the innovation and design of its footwear and apparel by teaming up with a deep roster of world champions, taste makers and everyday athletes. From finish lines to everyday life, HOKA fans love the brand for its bold and unexpected approach, and its belief in the power of humanity to create change for a better world. HOKA empowers a world of athletes to fly over the earth. For more information, visit HOKA.com or follow @HOKA. #FlyHumanFly.

Posted in Race News | on: June 27th, 2024 by Craig | Comments Off on Western States and HOKA

2024 WS 100 Media Release

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 51st 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.

Posted in General Interest, Race News | on: June 24th, 2024 by JohnT | Comments Off on 2024 WS 100 Media Release

2024 Lottery Statistics

Last updated: December 1, 2023 at 15:20 pm

The 2024 race lottery will be held on December 2, 2023 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 7:00 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 2024 lottery is 9 years or 256 tickets.

You can view the final 2024 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 375 runners in 2024. 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. 105 of those 375 are automatic entrants resulting in 270 lottery spots. 267 of those will be selected in the lottery proper. The final three entrants to get to 375 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 270 in the lottery or 75 on the wait list (345) are as follows:

  • 8 runners 256 tickets, each has a 85.2% chance of getting selected
  • 70 runners with 128 tickets, each has a 61.6 %
  • 147 runners with 64 tickets, each has a 38.0 %
  • 256 runners with 32 tickets, each has a 21.3 %
  • 420 runners with 16 tickets, each has a 11.3 %
  • 606 runners with 8 tickets, each has a 5.8 %
  • 1231 runners with 4 tickets, each has a 2.9 %
  • 2216 runners with 2 tickets, each has a 1.5%
  • 4434 runners with 1 ticket, each has a .7 %

So what are the chances of getting into the race if you are selected for the wait list? In 2023 we went down to the 56th person on the list. In 2022 we exhausted the 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: November 30th, 2023 by Craig | Comments Off on 2024 Lottery Statistics

WSER names Lamont King to Board of Directors

The Board of Directors for the Western States Endurance Run has named Lamont King, Western States volunteer, ultra runner and accomplished public pension fund lawyer, to the board, WSER president Diana Fitzpatrick announced.

“We are extremely pleased to have Lamont join our board,” Fitzpatrick said. “Lamont’s accomplishments and involvement in our sport as a volunteer and runner are incredibly impressive, as are his professional accomplishments. King currently serves as Deputy General Counsel for CalSTRS, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which is the second largest public pension fund in the country. King led the investment attorney division at CalSTRS for ten years prior to being appointed the first-ever Deputy General Counsel. In his current role he acts as liaison between the General Counsel and the Assistant General Counsels where he provides legal guidance and leadership on matters supporting the entire organization. 

“We wish to welcome Lamont to the board as our run faces an incredibly dynamic moment in our sport. Lamont’s experience and perspective as well as his leadership and professional skills will be incredibly helpful for our board and our organization as we look toward an exciting future.”

“I have been fortunate to enjoy Western States as a fan, volunteer, and runner,” King said. “I am beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute as a WSER board member. I look forward to working with the board and the trail running community to continue the great legacy of Western States as the premier 100-mile endurance run.”

King, 50, started running ultras in 2014, inspired by the PBS documentary on Western States, “A Race for the Soul.” He has now finished more than 50 ultras, including Western States in 2022. He has been a volunteer at the Green Gate aid station and has also participated in numerous Western States trail stewardship days. He is a graduate of Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and received his juris doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. He also holds a CFA Institute Investment Foundations Certificate.

Posted in General Interest, Race News, WSER Foundation | on: November 20th, 2023 by Craig | Comments Off on WSER names Lamont King to Board of Directors

2023 RUNNER SURVEY RESULTS

Here are the results of the independent Western States Endurance Run (WSER) Runner Survey from the June 24-25, 2023 race, conducted by ultralive.net.

WSER runner registration takes place in Olympic Valley Friday before race day and 2023 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 93.9% participation rate of the 379 starters.

Here are the surveys from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. and 2022.

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?

This year’s race temps were “cool” and we saw the top 10 for women and men finish in very fast times. The top 10 women finished under 18:11 and the top 10 men finished under 16:09. Of the 379 starters we saw 328 finishers (86.5%) under 30 hours of which 110 (33.5%) finished under the coveted 24 hour mark for a Silver Buckle. The finish rate is the hightest rate since the early years when 100% completed (when only 1 runner on the course).

A total of 306 of the 328 finshers (93.3%) 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, 36 out of 110 (33%) finished in the 23rd hour of the race to get a silver buckle. This was slightly less than in the past couple of years most likely due to the cooler temperature which allowed for faster finish times. In the last two hours of the race, there were 121 (37%) finishers. The busiest times on the track are typically between 4-5 AM and 9-11 AM on Sunday morning and 2023 proved no different.

The graphs show the distribution of finishers by hour (14 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.

Despite the high country snow at the beginning of the race, the cool temperatures in this year’s race definitely attributed to the finish rate of 86.5%.

Shoes

Again Hoka was the most popular shoe (38.2%) for all finishers with Altra in second place with 17.6% and Salomon in third (10.1%). The rankings stayed the same for the sub-24 hour finishers. Hoka has been the top brand in the survey since it started in 2014. 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 on using most of the race.

Socks

Injinji is now the strong favorite for all finishers with Drymax coming in second again. The “other” category was quite large this year and runners seem to like a large variety of socks.

Paid Coaching Services

36% of the runners use a paid coaching service overall. Sub-24 hour finishers have fully embraced coaching now and nearly half (47%) use a coach.

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. Attendance is up with 40% of finishers now attending the weekend. 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) and at 50% is by far the most common pack in the race.

Watches

Garmin was the most popular watch overall in the survey. Coros is the second most popular and combined those two brands make up 90% of the watches worn in the race.

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 (89%) planned on using a pacer.

Data Accuracy

379 runners started the 2023 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 = 356 (93.9%) 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, Kati Laan and Janeth Siva.

Any feedback or insights are welcome!

Posted in General Interest, Race News, Surveys | on: August 14th, 2023 by Craig | Comments Off on 2023 RUNNER SURVEY RESULTS