OT: Western States 100 // new women's course record
The world of ultrarunning is a small but mighty and growing one, and yesterday, one of the sport's crown jewels of racing commenced: the Western States 100 mile race.
For those unaware, WS100's origins are in the Tevis Cup, a 100-mile endurance ride on horseback through the Sierra Nevada. One year, some guy decided that he could run the thing (without a horse). Fifty years later, WS100 draws in some of the world's best athletes in the sport.
This year's running wasn't without some concern: a combination of fires damaging a large portion of the course and record-level snowfalls threatened to upend the race a bit, yet the incredible slate of volunteers worked through the past nine months to make it happen.
With unseasonably low temperatures and great conditions, Courtney Dauwalter - in essence, the sport's most decorated runner over the past several years, broke the standing women's course record by over an hour, covering the course in under sixteen hours. She placed sixth overall.
The other amazing aspect of this race is how a disproportionate number of finishers cross the line in the two "golden hours" - the hour prior to the 24-hour cutoff for a silver buckle; and the hour prior to the 30-hour total race cutoff. This year's final finisher crossed the line in 29:59:39 -- 21 seconds to spare before going in the books as a Did Not Finish (DNF).
If you have a moment, there's no shortage of youtube videos out there about this magical race. Have a look and be blown away.
Full disclosure: I can't run very fast.
interestingly enough, some of the best ultrarunners aren’t the fastest in the field either. The terrain can be a big equalizer.
consistency is what wins races.
There is actually quite a lot of walking in ultras, particularly the longer ones and those with very challenging terrain
I am not a runner at all. In decent shape but never run and struggle to go just a couple miles without taking walk breaks.
So my friend ran an ultra a few years ago and really wanted me to run with him for the last leg, which was 4.5 miles. I was waiting for him at the last checkpoint stressing over whether I should go with him.
To my relief, it was about half running and half walking at that point and just my pace 🙂
Wild.
Thanks for posting.
Impressive. She's relentless. She would make a fine terminator.
Occasionally see her running way faster than me in Golden, CO (assuming she's usually on hour 5 and I'm on minute 23). She's a total monster. And I absolutely love that she runs in basketball shorts-sized shorts.
totally badass.
Yikes! I am going back to the thread with sharks. It's quicker.
My friend finished in the top 5 for 40+ (top 30ish overall). He’s been running ultras for about a decade and finally won the lottery system to do WS100 this year. Only about 50 runners automatically qualify (by finishing top 10 in their gender at WS100 last year or top 2 in one of the other big ultras the past year). The other 300+ have to win the competitive lottery (which requires that you complete an ultra in the past year).
It’s insane to me that a person can do any activity for 19 hours straight. Much less an incredibly physically challenging one like running.
I've been in the lottery for five years now. hoping 2024 is my turn. :)
I have a new colleague who just joined our firm and is a big ultra-runner. I've been toying with the idea of doing a short ultra (50k) near me, just haven't pulled the trigger. I've been having too much fun training for fast* 5ks with my daughter (HS cross country summer training right now which we do together).
*Fast is a relative term, of course. For me, a fast 5k right now is sub-24. Back in HS (30 years ago), it was sub 19. I hope to break 23 this year.
That said, I've also done some 15k and halfs. Just haven't been training for those distances the past couple of years.
If you get in, let me know- I just posted below!
I don't like doing the things I like doing for 19 hours straight...
My partner and I signed up for our first ultra, this coming December. It's "just" a 50-miler but still, I'm a little intimidated by it! But also looking forward to it. And it's fun to start to dive into the ultra world. What a nutty hobby.
you'll do great! as i'm often reminded, 50 milers aren't running races, they're eating races (stay fed!)
For those curious, getting under 16 hours in a 100 mile race comes out to just a touch over 9 minutes and 30 seconds per mile. FOR 16 FREAKING HOURS STRAIGHT
Crazy impressive endurance.
...on a course with 18,000 feet of elevation gain.
Are you serious!? Recheck your math, lol! That's insane. I would be up against it to run one mile that fast.
And I'm in shape. Not runner shape, but still. I ran two miles the other day and I was happy with myself. WAS. Thanks lady 😂
It's the elevation as well. It starts at 6,200 feet above sea level; that's higher than Denver's elevation and then rises up even farther through snow, densely wooded areas, bare mountain tops, etc. It's incredibly arduous and a testament to anyone who finishes.
It's been some years but I used to run under 3 hours for a marathon and that was on pretty flat courses; I couldn't imagine that level of endurance for that long in decidedly unfriendly conditions.
Nothing to see here, move along...
For you ultra-running geeks and Michigan fans, I gotta chime in as a proud Michigan Inteflex grad (1993)
I was fortunate enough to witness this live as the medical director for the Western States 100. This is my 4th year as the medical director, and before that, I was a medical captain at the Peachstone Aid station around mile 70 . My wife (also Inteflex 93) is still the medical captain there. This year I got to see the runners at about 4-5 of the aid stations.
The elites are simply amazing. Along with being incredible runners, they are really fun to chat with after the race. Tom Evans post-race interview was a great example of the wonderful culture in the sport even in the elites. At one point, on the Cal Street section of the course and 62+ miles of running, he threw down a sub 6 min mile.
As mentioned, while the elites are incredible, I'm even more inspired by the number of people finishing in the Golden Hour. There are so many incredible stories, and it's inspiring to see runners from all over the world get their buckles.
NC State Coach Jim Valvano once said "If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day." During my 30+ hours of monitoring the runners on the course, I can tell you that along with the runners, I had a heck of a day on Saturday and Sunday.
If people are interested more in Western States 100, a new book just came out chronicling the history over the past 50 years. John Trent is a multiple-time WS 100 finisher and WS board member. In full disclosure, he's a good friend of mine and one of the nicest human beings on the planet. There's a nice interview with him here about the book:
https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxsFb0rAM1ZBv7kienXjYu4zaL1RS__e-l
aid station volunteers at ultras are some of the finest people i have interacted with. they've handed me slices of pizza and coffee at 2am, provided an interim shoulder rub, slathered suncreen on my face, and filled my pack with ice more times than i can count.
truly the unsung heroes of any journey. thanks for your contribution, Reno Drew.