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.

Mosquito fire with WS Trail – WSER

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. 

Soil Burn Severity Map – USFS

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/

El Dorado Creek Bridge – USFS

Michigan Bluff side of El Dorado Canyon – Carol Hewitt

Top of Cal St – WSER

View of Wortons Market from Cal St – WSER

Hot burn on Cal St

Cal-1 Aid Station – WSER

Dardanelles Fire Break – WSER

Trail near western edge of fire – WSER
Posted in Race News, Trail Preservation | on: October 6th, 2022 by Craig | Comments Off on Mosquito Fire Assessment

KRAUS AND ROCHE NAMED WSER MEDICAL RESEARCH DIRECTORS

Emily Kraus and Megan Roche have been named Medical Research Directors for the Western States Endurance Run, WSER President Diana Fitzpatrick announced.

Kraus and Roche succeed John Diana, who had served as Medical Research Director for WSER since 2016.

“Emily and Megan both bring impeccable professional credentials as well as a deep understanding of our sport to their new post,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have always viewed our medical research director position as one that needs to constantly evolve as runners in the sport increasingly turn to science-based information for the best practices in enhancing human performance. With Emily and Megan, we have two individuals who have proven track records in understanding the value of collaborative approaches in research, catalyzing that research and making it available for the betterment of the running community.

“They are both incredibly dynamic individuals who we feel will help take our medical research effort to the next level. I wish to thank Dr. John Diana for his incredible record of service to WSER over the past few years. Dr. Diana brought his own personal brand of collegiality, professional sense of collaboration and a strong sense of cohesiveness to our medical research effort. We are extremely grateful for all of the work he did in furthering our research agenda.”

Added WSER Medical Director Andy Pasternak: “Emily and Megan have all of the professional experience and personal qualities necessary to lead WSER’s medical research enterprise. Their insight into what the position needs to do in the coming years is very exciting. They truly wish to see our medical research endeavors continue the impactful legacy that has already been established by our previous medical research directors, while also positioning our future research studies so that they can help re-define how science-based discovery and translational research is being used to further our sport.”

Kraus is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. She received her M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2012 and her B.S. in Nutrition Science from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 2008. She has produced more than 20 peer-reviewed original research papers on a variety of topics. In 2018-2020, she served as principal investigator for a study at Western States on “Genetic and Serologic Determinants of Bone Health in Ultramarathoners,” which was renewed for further study in 2021.

Roche is the Research Lead for the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine Program as well as Research Lead for FASTR (Female Athlete Science and Translational Research). She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She received her M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine in 2018, earned her M.M.S. in Management from Duke University in 2013 and her B.S. in Neuroscience from Duke in 2012. Her more than a dozen research publications include studies on bone stress and mental health of athletes, among many others.

For more than 40 years, medical research activity has played an important role at the Western States Endurance Run. WSER’s late Medical Director Dr. Robert Lind welcomed and encouraged researchers from throughout the country and the world to come to WSER and study its runners. One of the earliest studies that established the connection between the body’s release of endorphins and physical activity was conducted at WSER in 1981 by Dr. Walter Bortz of Stanford University. Since 2006, more than 80 research publications or abstracts in human performance have been produced by researchers from throughout the world based on studies conducted on WSER runners.

Posted in General Interest, Research, WSER Foundation | on: July 14th, 2022 by JohnT | Comments Off on KRAUS AND ROCHE NAMED WSER MEDICAL RESEARCH DIRECTORS

2022 Race Recap

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

PETERMAN, CROFT POST SMASHING WINNING PERFORMANCES AT WSER

Adam Peterman becomes first male runner since 1986 to win Western States in first 100 ever; Ruth Croft runs third-fastest women’s time

Even in its 49th year, the Western States Endurance Run continues to make history, as Adam Peterman became the first men’s race winner since 1986 to win the race during a 100-mile debut, while Ruth Croft won the women’s race with the third-fastest time in race history, notable on a day when temperatures soared into the high 90s.

Peterman, 26, of Missoula, Montana, won the men’s race in 15 hours and 13 minutes. Peterman and Hayden Hawks, 31, of Cedar City, Utah, who finished second in 15:47, waged a pitched battle during the California Street section of the course at around miles 74-76 with Peterman taking a 2-minute lead at the Rucky Chucky river crossing at mile 78.

“It got pretty intense along the river,” Peterman said. “Both of us were hammering.”

Peterman became the first male runner to win Western States in his 100-mile debut since 27-year-old Chuck Jones won the 1986 edition of the race in 16:37.

“It’s hard to believe,’ Peterman said. “I thought I had a chance, but you never know what’s going happen over 100 miles. So I just tried to run my own race the whole time. I hoped that would make the podium. … It was really hard. (Winning in his debut) was hard to believe, really.”

Arlen Glick of Massillon, Ohio, finished third in 15:56.

Croft, 33, from Greymouth, New Zealand, had finished second to Beth Pascall in 2021. Croft used that experience in posting the third-fastest women’s time in race history, finishing in 17:21. Although Croft now owns two of the six fastest times in race history (her 2021 time of 17:33 is the sixth-fastest race history) Croft noted at the finish that her entire day on Saturday was “magical.”

“It was pretty special today,” she said. “I had an awesome crew out there and my parents came from New Zealand, and my aunt. It was pretty magical.”

She said that running with a good friend, Zimbabwe’s Emily Hawgood, who eventually would finish in fifth in 18:16, helped.

“I caught up with Emily coming up to Robinson Flat (at mile 30),” she said, “and we kind of teamed up ran a lot together.”

The two would run together for the next 20-plus miles before Croft took command of the race at Michigan Bluff at mile 55.7. She built a four-minute lead over Hawgood that she would never relinquish.

Alisa Macdonald, 41, of Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, finished second in 17:46, while Marianne Hogan, 32, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was third in 18:05.

Conditions saw temperatures reach into the high 90s throughout Saturday. Even with the high temperatures, the race saw 305 finishers out of 383 starters. There were 101 runners who finished the race in under 24 hours. In a testament to how well runners throughout the field were able to manage a challenging, hot day, the race’s “Golden Hour” – the time between 29 and the race cutoff at 30 hours – saw a phenomenal 79 runners celebrate a hard-earned finish on the track at Placer High School in Auburn, California.

The oldest runners to finish this year were 61-year-old Meghan Canfield of Corvallis, Oregon, who ran 24:38, and 63-year-old Simon Bennett of Ackworth, Great Britain, who finished in 29:32.

June 25-26, 2022 Full Race Results

Posted in Race News | on: June 28th, 2022 by JohnT | Comments Off on 2022 Race Recap

2022 WS 100 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

WESTERN STATES ENDURANCE RUN READIES FOR 2022 RACE: ‘CHANGING OF THE GUARD’

Women’s contenders poised to make history again while men’s field looks to crown first champion in post-Jim Walmsley era

The 2021 edition of the Western States Endurance Run featured one of the most competitive and historic women’s races ever held, while Jim Walmsley cemented his Western States men’s competition legend with a third commanding win. The 2022 edition of Western States, which will be held on June 25-26, promises to be just as notable. Deep women’s and men’s elite fields are vying to earn the top crowns at the 49th annual event. Presenting sponsor HOKA will again play an important role in this year’s event, including its support of Western States’ second annual Live Broadcast, which will begin just before the Saturday, June 25 start at 5 a.m. and will continue until race weekend activities conclude around noon on Sunday, June 26. The Live Broadcast can be accessed via Western States’ YouTube channel, with veteran elite runners Dylan Bowman and Corrine Malcolm providing commentary.

“We have incredible depth in both the men’s and women’s fields this year,” Race Director Craig Thornley said. “In 2021, on a brutally hot day, our women’s race made history with the high percentage of female finishers who finished in our top 30 – 15 of them were women, which speaks to what a pitched and exciting competition we had last year.

“We are expecting our women’s elite field, which features several notable international standouts as well as some of the most well-known figures in American trail running, to be highly competitive again this year.

“Our men’s race should be fascinating as well, as we look to crown a new race champion following a succession of memorable runs by three-time champion Jim Walmsley. The storyline for our men’s race will be ‘a changing of the guard.’ It is anybody’s guess who among a field of proven veterans and exciting newcomers will be our 2022 men’s champion.”

Seven of the top 10 women’s finishers are back for this year’s race, including second-place finisher Ruth Croft of New Zealand. Croft’s time of 17:33 was just behind 2021 women’s champion Beth Pascall of England, whose time of 17:10 run on a day where temperatures reached 101 degrees was the second-fastest in race history. Pascall is not running this year due to a long road back from injury during the winter and early spring. She will be at the Laverado Ultra Trail by UTMB the same weekend as Western States.

Top American entrants include Brittany Peterson of Pocatello, Idaho, who finished fourth in 2021 and was second in 2019, Katie Asmuth, of Mammoth Lakes, California, 2021’s fifth-place finisher, Keely Henninger, of Portland, Oregon, ninth in 2021, Kaci Lickteig of Omaha, Nebraska, 10th in 2021 and the 2016 Western States women’s champion, as well as Zimbabwe’s Emily Hawgood, who finished seventh last year.

Perhaps the most intriguing women’s entrant is Camille Herron. The 40-year-old from Warr Acres, Oklahoma, is the 100-mile world record holder, having broken her own record in February 2022 with a 12:41 run at the Jackpot 100-Miler in Las Vegas, Nevada. Herron, who also set the 100-mile American track record with her 13:21 at December’s Desert Solstice timed track event, fought through an off day and finished Western States in 2021 in 27:28.

Walmsley, as Thornley indicated, has cast a significant competitive shadow over the men’s race over the past five years. He set the Western States course record in winning the 2019 race in 14:09, and all three of his victories (2018, 2019 and 2021) represent three of the four fastest races ever run at Western States. Walmsley is living and training in France this summer as he prepares for August’s UTMB Mont-Blanc event.

Last year’s top men’s finishers will be well represented in 2022, with second-place Tyler Green of Portland, Oregon, third-place Drew Holmen, of Boulder, Colorado, fourth-place Cody Lind of Challis, Idaho, and fifth-place Tim Tollefson, of Mammoth Lakes, California, all returning. Jared Hazen, who ran the second-fastest time (14:26) in Western States history in finishing second to Walmsley in 2019, is also in this year’s field.

An added wrinkle to this year’s event will be Western States’ inclusion in the UTMB World Series. The UTMB World Series is considered the world’s ultimate trail running circuit that unites the sport’s biggest stars and runners of all abilities across 25 events held worldwide in 2022.

All runners who successfully complete Western States will be awarded four “Running Stones,” which can be used as entries into the lottery for the iconic UTMB Mont-Blanc and the UTMB World Series Finals in 2023. The top three finishers at Western States gain entry into UTMB in either 2022 or 2023. The top two finishers at UTMB Chamonix in August earn “Golden Tickets,” or automatic entry, for the 2023 Western States.

“The UTMB World Series has already proven to be a groundbreaking and important step forward for our sport,” Thornley said. “Western States has always made a concerted effort to make our sport more inclusive, internationalized and united. Our race is very proud to be part of the UTMB World Series, which at its core is an effort to give more runners more opportunities to compete at many of the most challenging and iconic events in the world.”

Now in its 49th year, the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run has a 385-runner field from throughout the United States and more than 30 countries. Runners start at 5 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in Olympic Valley, Calif., and travel 100.2 miles, 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.

Posted in General Interest, Race News | on: June 17th, 2022 by JohnT | Comments Off on 2022 WS 100 Press Release

Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute

Last updated: September 17, 2024 at 11:19 am

Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute Project Receives $800,000 Award Through Great American Outdoors Act.

2024 Volunteer Opportunities

The Western States Endurance Run (WSER) is pleased to announce that the U.S. Forest Service – American River Ranger District (USFS) has secured $800,000 in funding for the Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute Project (Project) through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).  The USFS, the Western States Endurance Run Foundation (organizers of the WSER), and the Western States Trail Foundation (organizers of the Tevis Cup Ride), worked together over several years to develop and gain approval of a plan for non-motorized alternative trail access through Granite Chief Wilderness (the Wilderness). Planning activities culminated in a 2019 Decision Memo, issued by the USFS, that formalized the decision to proceed with the Project.

The trail through the Wilderness that WSER uses on race day stretches from approximately miles 4 through 10.5 of the WSER course. Although the western portion of the trail through the newly expanded Wilderness has been recently rehabilitated and meets current USFS trail building specifications, other portions of the existing trail through the Wilderness were developed long before modern trail building criteria and techniques were defined, while other portions of the trail were created by citizens (social trails) that are not within the formally recognized trail network. The existing trail alignment is problematic with regard to both user safety and resource damage. In places the trail is overly steep with grades up to 30%, and over time have become heavily rutted and channelized, contributing to excessive erosion in sensitive sub-alpine riparian terrain. For decades volunteers from WSER and the Tevis Cup Ride have partnered with the USFS to maintain the trail through the Wilderness, but because of its design, or lack of design, it has required an increasing level of commitment. 

The Project is designed to close sections of the existing trail that have unsustainable grades that traverse a series of hillside springs (bogs) and replace these trail sections with sustainable trail segments that will be farther upslope and out of the densely vegetated area where the springs discharge. The Project has been divided into nine trail segments (see figure), and will result in 5.7 miles of new trail, along the ridge connecting Granite Chief, Needle and Lyon Peaks. New trail segments will access alpine terrain that has not previously been accessible, which will afford stunning views to the south, east, and west. When completed the new trail system will allow recreational users the opportunity to walk, run, or ride shorter loop routes from both the east and northwest side of the Wilderness. New trail segments will be designed using Best Management Practices to minimize erosion and be safer for all users. Unsustainable sections of the existing trail will be closed and vegetation in the affected area restored.

On a typical year the project area is covered by snow from October to June, and therefore field work can only be performed during summer months. The Project has been scheduled for the summers of 2023, 2024, and 2025. A 20-person professional trail crew will live in the Wilderness and work 5 days each week, for a total of 14 weeks. On weekends volunteer trail crews will perform work commensurate with their skill level. For the summers of 2023 and 2024 access will be arranged with the Palisades Tahoe Resort, and trail workers will use Palisades Tahoe maintenance roads to bring supplies and personnel into the Wilderness from the east. For the summer of 2025 access will be from the northwest edge of the Wilderness using Forest Service Road 51.

Craig Thornley, Race Director for WSER, states: “I have been very excited about this new trail since I first walked it a few years ago. It will not only provide a more environmentally sensitive and sustainable way to traverse the Wilderness and substantially improve the views, but because the new route across the Wilderness will be shorter it will allow us to make other changes farther down our event route to incorporate more single-track and sustainable trail sections.”

Chuck Stalley, the Ride Director for the Tevis Cup also supports the project, as “it will provide safer passage for our horses and their riders and require less annual maintenance.” 

Matt Brownlee, the USFS District Trails Manager, is fully committed to the Project “This exciting new trail realignment project will require three years of hard work but will provide years of public enjoyment while at the same time protecting sensitive resources in federally protected wilderness. This project was originally identified in 1993 due to accelerated erosion and lack of trail design parameters but didn’t gain traction until 2016 when myself/WSER/WSTF representatives began initial ground-truthing. Obvious terrain and construction hurdles will make this a logistically challenging project but will benefit the American public for years to come. A mentor of mine used to say “just go out there and make it better”, I truly feel that’s what we are going to accomplish with this legacy project and I welcome any and all who would like to be part of it.”

The USFS has estimated the Project will cost $1,350,000. GAOA funding will cover $800,000 of the cost and WSER has secured funding for its share of the remaining $550,000 in cost.

Posted in General Interest, Race News, Trail Preservation, WSER Foundation | on: January 19th, 2022 by Craig | Comments Off on Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute